Joel Dommett nearly missed birth of his son as he was eating lamb shank

Joel Dommett almost missed the birth of his son because he was eating a posh lamb dinner.

‘The Masked Singer’ host, 38, and his wife Hannah Cooper, 34, had their boy at a private hospital in September, and the presenter has now said he was so intent on getting his “money’s worth” at the pricey facility he decided to tuck into two feasts while his partner was in the throes of a 30-hour long labour.

He told the ‘Dish’ podcast: “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.”

Opening up about how he ordered duck with a red wine jus in the thick of Hannah’s labour, he went on: “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.”

After Hannah’s labour stretched to 30 hours, Joel ordered the lamb shank that nearly led to him missing his boy’s delivery.

He said: “We got to about 30 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.”