Joel Dommett almost missed the birth of his son because he was too busy eating.
Joel Dommett almost missed his baby's birth
The 'Masked Singer' presenter and his wife Hannah Cooper welcomed their first child Wilde into the world last September and because the 38-year-old star was determined to get his "money's worth" from the private hospital where the tot was delivered, he made sure to make the most of its lavish food offerings while his spouse was going through a lengthy labour.
Speaking to Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the 'Dish' podcast, he said: "We were in this lucky scenario where we did it privately - by that I mean medically, not alone. All you need to know about the story is, is I'm unbelievably tight, like I really… this is the most money I've ever spent on anything in my life.
"There was this point about eight hours in, this lady came in with a piece of paper and I said, 'Oh, hello what's that?' And she said, 'Oh, it's a menu.' And I said, 'Is it included?' And she said, 'Yes, of course it's included,' and I was like, oh my God, amazing. And I then went across the menu and tried to sort of order what I thought looked to be the most expensive. As much as I could for money, and I pick what I thought my wife wanted at that point.
"About twelve hours in, we're then in the throes of it. It's happening. The gown is off, the contractions are happening quickly, there's urine on the floor, it's all going on I'm just trying my best, you know.
"That's the point where the duck with a red wine jus arrives. And, immediately the room smells so much and my wife's like, 'What's that smell?' And I have to say, 'It's duck with a red wine jus.' I'm trying to eat this duck with a red wine jus as quickly as possible because I'm not going to get rid of it. And she's like, 'What did you get for me?' And I say, 'A ham sandwich.' I got her a ham sandwich. And I give her the ham sandwich, I eat the duck with red wine jus, and then the birth ended up being very long.
"We got to about thirty hours in. Too long! I'm like, I've got to go back for the 'Friends' rerun. And she has an epidural and she has a little sleep, and they said, after you've had your sleep, you're gonna push and your baby's gonna be born.
"While she was having a sleep, I thought this is a perfect time for another meal. And so I didn't make the same mistake as before I left the room.
"What I didn't know was that whilst I was out of the room, she woke up and they said, 'Oh, it's time to push, it's time to birth your baby.' So she starts pushing and delivering the baby and then suddenly sort of like, 'Where's my husband? Where's my husband?'
"One nurse goes, 'I don't know,' and another nurse goes, 'He's next door having a lamb shank.' "
Joel made it for the birth and is enjoying being a parent, a journey he described as "mental" and "insane".
He gushed about his little boy: "He's crawling around now. He's got to this point where he's started laughing, so my life is now consumed, as a comedian obviously I'm desperate to make him laugh."
Tagged in Nick Grimshaw