MORTIMER & WHITEHOUSE: GONE FISHING

It’s amazing how entertaining it can be just watching funny people talk. That was the premise of The Trip, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, and it’s even truer of this freewheeling ramble with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer (above), which starts its fifth series this week but shows no sign of diminishing returns. Ageing is certainly a topic of conversation between the two men, though, with Bob asking if Paul has discovered the delights of the elasticated waistband (he hasn’t — ‘not yet, not quite’). And it’s in moments like this that you wonder if they’ve completely forgotten that the cameras are even there. These

two men are lifelong performers though, so forays into more deliberate entertainment are evident, too, from a Michael Caine impression (again, reminding us of The Trip) to Whitehouse bringing out his ‘suits you’ character from The Fast Show in response to a discussion about beer bellies. There’s a spot of cricket, and some fishing of course, but none of that really matters in this show — it’s all about listening to these two getting along, talking honestly and humorously, and providing us with a vicarious getaway into both nature and the very best kind of friendship. Friday, 9pm, BBC2