Triple bypass? We should all try one

Heart ops get you hooked on life, says comic Bob Mortimer

COMEDIAN Bob Mortimer says he recommends having a triple heart bypass after his near-death experience gave him a “kick up the backside”.

The Gone Fishing star was forced to have emergency surgery three years ago after docs said his arteries were 95 per cent blocked.

Bob, 59, said: “It’s one of those things that if you could do it without consequence, you could almost recommend it to people.

“It changes how you feel about things and you become a lot more aware of your health. It gives you a kick up the backside and gets things in perspective.

“When I first got the news, I thought I’d be a goner and I got very sentimental about my favourite egg cup and things like the seat I watch the telly in.

“They were the things I thought I’d miss, rather than work.”

AGONISING

Bob, half of comedy duo Vic and Bob with Vic Reeves, added: “I’m very pleased to still be here. It’s been an interesting journey.

“I still eat things I shouldn’t but I’m more aware and engage with the world more.

“Before I had my heart problem, if I was asked to do something I would look through a mental file for reasons why I could say no. Now I tend to be more on the side of just doing it.”

Bob, a former solicitor who also has agonising rheumatoid arthritis, had surgery in 2015 after visiting a GP with a suspected chest infection.

The Shooting Stars host was so close to death he made a will and was given special permission to marry his long-term girlfriend Lisa Matthews an hour before the op, watched by their sons Harry and Tom, then aged 18 and 17.

It was announced this week Bob will return for a second series of Gone Fishing with close pal Paul Whitehouse, 60. The BBC2 show follows the pair as they fish.

Bob said: “We wondered if we’d made a minute of TV worth watching. We weren’t trying and that was the idea – no narratives or journeys. Two old codgers chatting. And it turns out people seem to enjoy watching us. “All the hours writing and all I needed to do was sit on the river bank and fish. It’s like meditation. You get a chance to think and that’s easy to neglect in your life.”

Bob is also preparing for a series of Vic and Bob’s Big Night Out in November, and plans to “get out and about” on a tour afterwards.