If I'd gone to the BBC in 2018 and said I'd like to make a TV series with my friend where each week we'd go and catch fish in a different scenic location I'd have probably been told to sling my hook. But then I'm not Bob Mortimer or Paul Whitehouse. The BBC said yes to them and Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is now back for its seventh series on Sunday with an eighth run already planned.
It is easy to see the appeal, and not just to men in hats of a certain age. The fish, tench and carp in the first week, are almost incidental. The locations are absolutely stunning — it's Rockland Mere in Norfolk in episode one. The cast, rod-based pun intended, even boasts the best dog on TV outside Aussie comedy Colin From Accounts, in scruffy Patterdale terrier Ted, who has built up such a devoted following he even has his own spin-off "Pawtobiography" being published later this year.
But it's the relationship between Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse that makes the series the true catch of the day. Now in their mid-sixties, they've been friends for a long time and it shows in their easy banter. In the first episode of the latest series when, for example, they trade bass player faces and funny voices like a couple of overgrown kids you can see the rapport in action. There is no competitiveness, no attempts to outdo each other's gags. The humour flows as gently as the rivers they visit. This is more Slow Show than Fast Show. Perfect for a Sunday night wind down.
I've interviewed Paul Whitehouse a few times in the past and he has always used humour — and those brilliant funny voices — to bat away personal questions, but he seems more candid in front of the cameras now. Maybe it's an age thing. And as is well known, both comedians have had heart issues. The series came about after Paul encouraged Bob to learn to fish to get him out of the house more after his major triple heart bypass surgery.
There have been reports that Bob's health has been an issue again recently and he opens up about this when they chat to Dr Anand Patel by the sun-kissed riverbank. Bob had a serious bout of shingles which lasted for six months (this was presumably when Lee Mack stood in for him). He had a rash that stretched from his lower back right down to his toes and had difficulties sleeping. Shingles aren't always connected to chicken pox, they discover, and it is best to get vaccinated. Jokes and medical advice. What more could you want?
By keeping it mainly light they are not afraid at times to tackle, pun intended again, big subjects, from masculinity and mental health to mortality. Bob is so content and relaxed that he imagines spending the rest of his life with a rod in his hand and just dissolving into the soil. But not before he has one final comedy fall from his camping chair.
There is a question that always bothers me when watching them though. Would you call Mortimer and Whitehouse a double act? They certainly have the compulsory chemistry of a double act, but there is no straight one in the twosome, setting up gags so that the other can harvest all the laughs.
And, of course, Mortimer is already half of one of my favourite double acts of all time with Vic Reeves. They haven't done much together for a while, although Bob did appear on Vic's Painting Birds With Jim And Nancy Moir on Sky Arts last year — a programme that had such a similar location-based nature vibe to Gone Fishing they could have been really cheeky and called it Gone Painting.
There are stories in the media that Jim/Vic has chatted to Bob about the possibility of a live reunion. Maybe even a show at Wembley Stadium Jim/Vic half-joked. If they do it they will keep the tickets cheap though, he added. Look out Oasis, there will be no dynamic pricing for this dynamic duo.
In the meantime though, let's enjoy Bob spending time with Paul Whitehouse. At one point Bob asks Dr Anand if it is OK to drink alcohol. The advice is that you can but you should consider it a treat. Which is the same way I regard Gone Fishing. As far as relaxing television is concerned it is the ultimate treat. "Aren’t we lucky to have each other," says Paul to Bob. And aren't viewers lucky to have Gone Fishing.
Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, Sundays from September 22 at 9 pm, BBC Two. Episodes are also available on BBC iPlayer.
