Two Doors’ Doon: It’s going swimmingly

Two Doors Down star Doon Mackichan has revealed how taking the plunge helped her mental health during lockdown.

The comedy actor has been stepping into the sea every day during the pandemic to go cold water swimming and says the experience was a “mental-health game changer”.

“It’s not only good for the immune system but it banishes all anxieties – whether that’s fears for our health, our parents, our jobs, our homes or ourselves,” said Doon, who plays Cathy in the BBC sitcom.

Doon started a cold water swimming group in Hastings, where she spent much of lockdown. “It really caught on during the pandemic.

“Apart from keeping my youngest daughter going when she was learning online, this is the thing I feel most proud of during lockdown.”

Doon began wild swimming as a child when she lived in Scotland, swimming in Largo Bay with her dad. She says getting the chance to come back to Scotland this year to film a Christmas special of Two Doors Down in a Highland lodge was great. “We were all so grateful to be working,” she added. “It was great to be back in the Scottish countryside.”

After the special, on tomorrow, filming on the fifth series is due to start next year.