Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
BBC TWO, 10.00PM
The premise of this programme may sound familiar – two comedians go on a journey of discovery to beautiful locations – but, unlike Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s The Trip, this one features the real personalities, as opposed to fictionalised versions. Lifelong friends Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer share more than a love of comedy, they have both suffered from heart disease. And so, for this funny and poignant six-part series, keen angler Whitehouse attempts to teach Mortimer, a complete novice, the peaceful art of fishing as an aid to his recovery – and maybe learn something new about each other along the way.
In the first episode, they head to Norfolk to fish for tench, and there they talk candidly about everything from showbusiness to solitude and relationships. They also reveal how they recently came face to face with their own mortality.
This is one of the few occasions that you get to see Mortimer and Whitehouse being themselves, without costumes and props – if you discount the fishing rods. And while there are underlying life-and-death issues in the show, its tone is celebratory, and is about seizing the moment.