Tony Shalhoub opens up about contracting Covid-19 in Monk skit

'We really are all Monk now,' Shalhoub says, referring to the germaphobe detective he played for eight years

Tony Shalhoub has opened up about contracting the coronavirus as he reprises the role of the germaphobe detective Monk. In this file photo, he accepts the award for Lead Actor in a Musical for 'The Band's Visit' in 2018 Tony Awards. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonShow less

American-Lebanese actor Tony Shalhoub has had a “rough few weeks” after he and his wife, Brooke Adams, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Shortly before opening up about the experience on an episode of Seth MacFarlane's Peacock At-Home Variety Show, the Emmy-nominated actor appeared on the show as the germaphobe detective Adrian Monk to show us how "we are all Monk now".

Monk’s obsessive compulsive habits may have seemed peculiar when the eight-season show first aired in 2003, but today, as the world battles the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, his habits seem to be the norm.

During the show, Shalhoub opened up about his experience of contracting Covid-19.

“Last month, my wife, Brooke, and I came down with the virus. And it was a pretty rough few weeks. But we realise that so many other people have had it a lot worse,” Shalhoub, who has now recovered from the virus, said before the sound of cheering and the clatter of pots and pans pulled his attention to the window of his New York City apartment.

“Must be seven o’clock. Time to go out and show our appreciation to all our heroes: the health-care workers and first responders,” he said before bidding the audience goodbye.

“Stay safe and sane.”

What about the Monk skit?

The skit, entitled Mr Monk shelters in place, starts with an anxious and astonished-looking Shalhoub sitting in his New York apartment, wearing a chequered shit and the faded brown blazer Monk is known to wear. Viewers then see the detective furiously washing his hands before becoming distracted by a smudge in the mirror.

After donning gloves on his hands and feet (before wearing socks and shoes), Monk then takes his audience to the kitchen, where he is washing fruits in a dishwasher, picking up objects with a pair of prongs and microwaving mail before opening it.

Shalhoub is then joined by other actors from the Monk series in a video conference.

“Say, why are you standing back there?” Captain Stottlemeyer, played by Ted Levine asks Monk.

“What? I’m six feet away,” Monk says to his computer. “It’s called social distancing.”

Finally, as the video conference and the skit wrap up, Monk brings out a broom to help him close the laptop screen from a distance.

Tony Shalhoub the actor then takes over, sitting on a couch with his dog dosing off on his lap. “I hope you’re all being careful and following protocol,” he says. “We really are all Monk now."