EXCLUSIVE: Jason Manford on his new 'addiction' - and why he did it with a fan before comedy gig
The comedian loves the fastest growing sport in the UK - Padel - and wants the next generation to get the chance to play
Jason Manford is so addicted to padel that he played with a fan who contacted him on Instagram just before a show in Southampton earlier this month. And the Salford-born comic wants a new generation of school kids - including the potential first Olympians - to get the chance to experience the fastest growing sports in the UK.
The racquet sport, which combines tennis and squash in a court surrounded by glass walls, is already a smash hit across Europe and South America. And Manford, 44, is among the 400,000 people who played padel in this country last year.
“I love it because someone like me, who is not a naturally sporty person, can play it,” said the canny left-hander. "You can pick up a racket, get involved and play straight away.
"And I love the social aspect to it. You play with mates, I am on about 25 Whatsapp groups of padel dads, school padel, dads and lads padel. I always think that men need a the third thing, they need something to do when they go out. It's rare that they just sit down and have a chat.
"I have now found friends through padel. You get to an age don’t you where you think: I’ve got my friends, this is it. I'll never make any more friends now. But then you do. You find a common hobby, common ground and that is what padel is for me.”
The comedian, who is on a nationwide tour called A Manford All Seasons, has former Newcastle goalkeeper Shane Given and the Thomas brothers as “padel mates”. But Manford added: “On tour, earlier this month (Oct 1) I was in Southampton.
"A lad messaged me on Instagram and said: ‘Fancy a game of Padel. I'm coming to the show tonight but I have got a court at 5 o’clock. I thought: ‘Yeah, alright’. I just went down to play with someone who was in my audience later that night. And he wasn’t a serial killer!
"It is something about it. Once you are playing the game, you just thinking of how to get the ball over the net. No-one cares when you are playing the game. It is so much fun.”
Manford, a self-confessed “scruffy council estate kid”, now wants to make padel more inclusive and accessible for children. The average UK price for a court is £58 an hour - and that is more in London.
The number of courts in the UK has also climbed from 68 in 2019 to 1,000 in July this year. Many more are planned - and an increased supply should bring down the cost.
Speaking at the Celebrity Pro Am Padel Tour National Final at Canary Wharf this week, he said: “The main thing about padel, as anyone from the outside looking in will say, is that it is expensive. We are here in Canary Wharf and it is probably the most expensive place in the country - £120 for an hour and a half. That is a lot even between four of you. It is a crazy amount of money.
“So it is about making it accessible to everyone. So what I am trying to do is make sure this game doesn’t become elitist and only for people with money. Just try to make it accessible for kids like me when I was a kid. I wouldn’t have been able to play this sport.”
He has set up the Jason Manford Padel Academy with the ambitious aim of getting one million kids to play in 10 years.
“We have had a thousand kids come and pick up a racket and play the game in a year. Kids who would never have experienced it otherwise. And I have set a target of a million in ten. I am not Carol Vorderman but we are behind! You know what, if we get there, we get there. It is building momentum. It is going to be a sport in the Olympics in four, eight, 12 years time. And the person who will represent Team GB hasn’t even picked up a racket yet.”
Manford added: “To be honest, what we need is funding because I have just been doing it myself. I'm trying to raise money in different ways and, and find funding and sponsorship. If anyone fancies sponsoring us, that would be great.
“And what we actually struggle to find sometimes is the schools. Getting in touch with schools is really hard. So I would love PE teachers, headteachers, even parents at schools who want their kids to be involved, get in touch with us online or look at the website and let us know.
"Because sometimes we are over subscribed but at other times, we have had to cancel because there has not been enough interest. Which is awful. So please get in touch.
"And I am absolutely on for a game before my next concert! Any time!”
Instagram: @JMPADELACADEMY
Facebook : JM Padel Academy
Email for schools: jm.pdl.academy@gmail.com
CUPRA is the proud sponsor of the Pro Am Padel Tour 2025. For more information visit www.cupraofficial.co.uk