How roller skating became London’s unlikely lockdown saviour Leonie Cooper You’ve probably seen them in your local park, a flash of brightly coloured protective gear whizzing past as you take your daily stroll. Or maybe you’ve heard the trundle of wheels, followed by a joyful whoop as they master a new trick, or a yelp of ignominy as they crash to the ground. They are the capital’s new breed of roller skaters and they’re swiftly multiplying. As a form of social distancing-compliant outdoor exercise, London’s lockdown love affair with skating has seen all kinds of people getting their skates on, from Taskmaster comedian Lou Sanders to I Am Not Your Baby Mother author Candice Brathwaite. Sanders has set up a TikTok account — @louskatersanders — to document her roller journey, featuring attempted handstands in underground Lidl car parks while on wheels and sessions on the graffiti-covered skate ramps of north London. ‘It’s the most fun I’ve ever had and I used to do mandy quite a bit,’ joked the presenter on Instagram.