Triple bypass? We should all try one
Heart ops get you hooked on life, says comic Bob Mortimer
Laughs with pal Paul Whitehouse on Gone Fishing 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.
Before, if I was asked to do something I would look for reasons to say no BOB ON CHANGING HIS WAYS AFTER CHEATING DEATH