Rovers return
ARMCHAIR anglers: Mortimer and Whitehouse Season 4 starts on Sunday at 8pm on BBC2.
The season kicks off with the team heading to North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
If you’ve been to the island you’ll know it’s an absolute gem for game and sea anglers.
The pair are fishing in a place completely unlike anywhere they have fished before.
This small, remote and beautiful island has an intricate network of tidal pools and sea lochs, making it near enough equal parts land and water and therefore the perfect place to fish for sea trout.
Mortimer and Whitehouse have kicked off a terrestrial TV revival. The Bafta-winning show has spawned a bestselling book (and FANTASTIC audio book).
The series showcases the timeless beauty of the British countryside and gives a unique insight into the nature of male friendship and the importance of companionship to a fulfilling life.
A lot of friendships are fostered and revived over a common goal, whether it’s planning the trip, catching the fish or breaking the day down on the way back and planning the meal you’re having as compensation or celebration.
In a BBC interview, Paul said: “The fish of the UK needn’t worry too much as Bob and I return for another series of Gone Fishing.
“I love Bob and he needs me more than ever so we’re back on the river bank for more high jinks.”
Bob, cheerful as always, said: “I love doing this show and am over the moon to get the chance to go fishing with Paul again. I am already working on heart healthy recipes to cook and new ways to irritate him.”
The seed for the programme came from Paul using angling as a vehicle to help his friend Bob, on the road to recovery from depression, which he suffered after heart surgery.
Bob said: “There comes a moment when you realise you’ve said nothing for an hour and a half. I haven’t worried about the past, or future.
“Fishing lets you free yourself from the day-to-day pressure, allowing you to live in the moment.
“Finding a bit of serenity can be crucial in a world which screams at you 24/7.
“On the bank with a pint of maggots and a flask, the only thing you need to think about is making sure you drink from the right one.”
I run the risk of being an angling TV critic this year but you can see the influence of Mortimer and Whitehouse in a lot of loch-down programming and something like Channel 5’s Fishing Scotland’s Lochs & Rivers that offers a pretty nice view of how folk see Scotland and discovering a bit of the joy of angling.
If that’s the trend then long may it continue!