Hooked on Bob & Paul

On paper, BBC2’s new series Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing could have come from the same Alan Partridge ideas list as Youth Hostelling With Chris Eubank. Send two comics – Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse – on a fishing trip and film what happens. There’s more to it than that, though. Much more. Last night’s opening episode was a lifeaffirming half hour of gentle melancholy, whimsical nostalgia and unadulterated joy. Mortimer and Whitehouse are two of our silliest, most quickwitted comedians. Any time spent watching them pronounce chicken in a Scouse accent or doing bad Robert De Niro impressions is time to be cherished. They also have heart disease in common. Paul has had three stents fitted. Bob has had a triple bypass. They do say laughter is the best medicine. That. And spending hours on a riverbank with one of your best mates trying to catch some tench.