The comforting openness of Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse on Gone Fishing

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is a therapeutic show to watch for many reasons – the incredible scenery, the emotive music, the sense of being immersed in nature.

But what is particularly comforting is how it shows “two fellas being open with each other”, something the stars themselves – comics Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse – have realised viewers really appreciate.

It’s because they’re talking about topics which resonate with people, from overcoming serious illness – Mortimer had a triple heart bypass in 2015 after doctors discovered his arteries were “95 per cent blocked” – to getting older and how it changes you.

“I was out in the street last night; this woman came up, who was walking her dog, and she said, ‘Oh, sorry, I recognise you – my husband, who suffers from depression, really loves your show’,” says 62-year-old Whitehouse, who was born in Wales but grew up in London. “They [viewers] are very candid about their lives.

“Because the subject matter is so real and was so difficult for us – certainly Bob anyway – I think people with their own genuine problems really identify with it.”

In the first episode of the new series, the pair travel to the River Tweed in Scotland to continue their quest to catch a salmon. We also witness Middlesbrough-born Mortimer, 61, talking about the loss of his father, who died in a car crash when Mortimer was a toddler.

“I think, for this third series, we probably open up even more than we did in the first two,” notes the star, famous for his work as a double act with Leeds-born Vic Reeves (such as their comedy panel game show Shooting Stars).

“People say, ‘You open up and you talk about very serious and personal things’, but we’re not ‘those sort of blokes’; we just happen to be at that time of life and we had the opportunity to do it in a very naturalistic way that is obviously going to help other people as well,” reasons Whitehouse, known for co-creating BBC sketch show The Fast Show.

With a chuckle, he adds: “So, we’ve had to become slightly better people!”

The pair are very jokey throughout our chat, especially when Mortimer reveals he’s a big fan of the Real Housewives, a franchise of reality TV series set across America.

But when I suggest that younger generations are becoming more accepting of men talking about their feelings and showing emotion, they agree – and take on a more earnest tone.

“The last show of the new series we did try and address specifically what you’re talking about and we got a doctor who specialises in men’s health to come and just give some guidance to us that, hopefully, people can take something from as well,” recalls Mortimer.

“We talk in another episode about how we would never have hugged our parents or told our parents that we loved them or whatever, but I think that happens now. We try, a little bit grandly, to pass on the message, ‘If you haven’t told your mum, now might be the time to get it done’, or your daughter or son or whatever.”

Asked what else the doctor covered in their chat with him, Mortimer explains: “Well, he was amazing at just really practical things. Men are a bit reluctant, especially to go to a doctor about emotional problems. He suggested an opening sentence you might like to use if approaching your doctor. I think it was something like, ‘I’ve been feeling low for a while, and I didn’t know who to talk about it to’.”

Serious topics aside, there is plenty of fishing in the series too. It was inspired by the fact that Whitehouse has been a keen fisherman since he was young.

After he had a procedure to insert arterial stents in 2010, he found regular rehab exercise has helped his recovery – and one way to get out of the house was to teach long-time pal Mortimer how to fish.

It would seem novice Mortimer still has plenty of mishaps on the river – not just missed fish and missed opportunities, but a lot of falls too.

“So much we haven’t used because some of them – oddly enough, perfectly genuine falls because I’m terrible on my feet but when I’m on camera – they look a little bit contrived.”

– Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing returns to BBC Two on Sunday August 23.

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