Workplace table tennis has landed in Coronation Street!

Millions of viewers watched the Connor siblings Kate and Aidan, played by Faye Brookes and Shayne Ward, enjoy a game of table tennis in the Underworld factory while they discussed a forthcoming match against another business with their father Johnny Connor (Richard Hawley).

With Connor Snr unconvinced of the merits of the match, Kate and Aidan attempted to persuade him that our sport would help ‘grease the wheels’ of business, while Aidan delivered the line ‘table tennis brings people together’.

England legend and 11-time national champion Desmond Douglas was even mentioned as Aidan let slip that he had told the boss of the rival firm that Johnny nearly made the 1988 Olympics and had been coached by Des!

ITV insiders tell us that table tennis features again in the soap later this week, when the match is played and a business deal hangs in the balance.

The soap’s producers were helped by coach Olav Stahl, who worked with the actors to prepare them for their scenes, as revealed in the latest issue of our coaching magazine The Winning Edge.

Table Tennis England’s Head of Development, Emily St John, said: “It’s great to see the Coronation Street characters playing and talking about table tennis – I’m sure the actors are enjoying it behind the scenes as well.

“The character of Aidan is quite right that table tennis brings people together and is good for business, which is why we launched our Loop at Work package earlier this year and which has already been taken up by almost 100 businesses employing a total of more than 19,000 staff.

“If you would like to find out more about Loop, please check out our website!”

Desmond Douglas was amazed to be name-checked in one of the UK’s biggest TV shows. He said: “I can’t believe it, but as long as it helps table tennis, that’s great!”