Kinship Coffee, Driffield: Yorkshire town ‘buzzing’ after comedians Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer visit local coffee shop and hidden gem nature reserve Skerne Wetlands

Kinship Coffee Shop owner Tom Watson was shocked to find The Fast Show star Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer - known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their double act - walk through the door on Wednesday, May 15.

Mr Watson, 43, from Driffield, had been a fan of theirs for more than 20 years and the comedians had just come back from fishing at Driffield Beck.

“It was totally random, I had no idea they were coming to the area,” he said.

“It was just a normal day, I was serving a customer and then this gentleman walked in and at the corner of my eye I thought that guy looks like Paul Whitehouse but it can’t be, why would he be here.

“I kept looking, but tried not to make it obvious that I was looking and it was clear that he was Paul Whitehouse. Then 30 seconds later, Bob Mortimer walks in the door as well and I was like oh my god why are they here? Why are these two comedy legends in my coffee shop?

“The other customer left and it was just us three, so I was like what are you guys doing here? He just said, we’re fishing, we’ve come to fish.

“Paul then said he’d always wanted to fish at Driffield Beck. I didn’t even know this but apparently it’s the first or second best trout fishing in the country, just four miles up the road.”

Even though Mr Watson is usually quite shy, he asked them for a picture and they agreed.

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They came into the shop a second time and caused a stir in the town of Driffield.

His shop got very busy for the rest of the week.

“They came back the next day, totally out of the blue again,” he said.

“There were a few more people in the shop then so they were talking to a few people.

“They said they had a really good day fishing yesterday and that they’d caught about six or seven [fish].

“It was very busy yesterday, Thursday was very busy and Saturday was very busy as well. People were coming in just to tell me ‘oh I’m so jealous, I’m such a huge fan of them’.

“The whole town is absolutely buzzing about it, they’ve been supporting the local community, they had a meal at Highfield House, they were in a couple of the pubs.

“It’s given a bit of a boost to the town, it’s amazing that two guys can come into the town and cause such a buzz. They do span generations.”

Bob had introduced Mr Watson to a nature reserve Skerne Wetlands close to the shop that he had never heard of before despite having lived there all of his life.

“Bob said it’s amazing that there’s such a beautiful river down there but hardly anybody knows about it,” he said.

“It’s true, there’s a nature reserve up the road and I didn’t even know about it until the other day, it’s crazy. I’ve lived here all my life.

“I went up there yesterday evening with my drone to have a look around, it was beautiful. I guess it’s not very popular because dogs are not allowed over there.

“Maybe it’s hard to find, it’s down a dirt track. But there are a lot of things around here in the Yorkshire Wolds.

“I think East Yorkshire gets left behind compared to North Yorkshire, it doesn’t seem to be as fashionable I guess. There are some absolutely beautiful places around here.”

Mr Watson, who first set up Kinship Coffee Shop in September 2021, described his first impressions of Paul and Bob.

“They were two really nice guys, Paul was much more chipper and how you’d expect him to be, but Bob was a bit quieter than I thought he would be,” he said.

“They were both very polite and nice. They just seemed like two lovely guys.

“Working in this industry, you do get some people who come in who are very rude, but they weren’t at all, they were really nice.”

Mr Watson said he doesn’t feel East Yorkshire gets enough promotion compared to other Yorkshire counties, despite having beautiful landscapes.

“I don’t really think the local tourist board does a great job of promoting East Yorkshire to be fair,” he said.

“Bridlington has got some amazing beaches, the coast has got some incredible white cliffs, there’s puffins, seals and all sorts along the coast and the Yorkshire Wolds is beautiful.”