Brown: My Wii-z kid son can thrash me at tennis ... and with a serve like this, is it any wonder!

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What the deuce?: Mr Brown tries his hand at tennis at a school last July

The last time he showed off his serve, sporting pundits singularly failed to hail him as the next Roger Federer.

So it's no surprise that Gordon Brown has found a way to try to polish his tennis skills behind closed doors.

The Prime Minister has revealed that he regularly plays against his son John on the Nintendo Wii games console.

But Mr Brown doesn't seem to be getting any better – because the four-year-old beats him.

The games machine has wireless motion-sensitive controllers which players can use to imitate the action of sports equipment such as tennis rackets, golf clubs or baseball bats.

Millions have been sold around the world since 2006, and it seems that a Wii has found its way into Mr Brown's home.

In an interview yesterday designed to emphasise his life-long enthusiasm for sport, the Prime Minister said: "The Wii is very popular. My kids have been playing with it.

"I have played a game of tennis on it, but I didn't succeed. It is quite a strenuous game.

"It didn't leave me out of puff but that's probably because I was beaten pretty early on by my son – and he's only four."

The last time Mr Brown's tennis skills were called into question was last July, when he showed off his serve – while immaculately dressed in a suit – during a visit to a London school.

In a nod to his political reputation, his tennis style was described as powerful – although not necessary elegant.

But even if his enthusiasm outstrips his ability, Mr Brown was keen to stress his commitment to sport.

"It makes you fit," he said. "It makes you more disciplined. It makes you feel part of a team.

"That's why I'd like to see five hours of sport in school, not just two, and we're going to build up to that."

In the interview with BBC Radio Five Live, the Prime Minister spoke about his childhood love of sport.

"It was football when I was youngest, then it was rugby, then I played a lot of tennis. I did a lot of running actually.

"So all I remember about school is actually sport."

He added: "We really had only football and rugby and tennis and running. Now they have yoga, dance, orienteering – a range of things that I didn't really know much about."

Mr Brown also took the opportunity to tackle head-on a very thorny subject – his support for the Scottish football team.

He once boasted of Scotland's "humbling" of the England team that won the World Cup. He claimed that his national side were the real world champions because they beat Bobby Moore's heroes soon after England's 1966 victory.

This outbreak of patriotism was in stark contrast to his comments about wanting England to host – and win – the 2018 World Cup.

Asked whether some Premier League matches should be held overseas – a proposal which has infuriated supporters – he said diplomatically: "I think the fans have got to come first."

Mr Brown also addressed fears that football is becoming more ill-disciplined.

"I don't think it's good for young kids to see players both committing offences and arguing so much with the referee," he said.

"We tend to blame only the player that's responsible for the incident . . . but perhaps we should hold the captain more responsible."

And asked if he ever had time to relax – whether he ever put his sons John and Fraser, 19 months, to bed, and asked his wife Sarah for a beer and a packet of crisps – he said: "That's what I do."

He painted a picture of the Browns as a regular British family on a Saturday night, saying: "I think my sons love Pop Idol, The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing."

But he confessed that he had no hidden talents which would bowl over Simon Cowell and the other judges.

"I did learn to play the piano when I was young but I'm not that good at these other things," he said.

"I wish I could say that I could ever appear on Strictly Come Dancing, but I couldn't."

 

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