The comedian appeared alongside Paul Whitehouse On Friday’s episode (September 1), where he explained how their show, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, came about as a method of recuperation following his triple heart bypass surgery in 2015.
Asked by host Roman Kemp how the health benefits of nature sparked the series, Mortimer replied: “Yeah I wasn’t very well.”
“I’m never very well. It’s been a long time since I was very well,” he laughed. “So Paul took me fishing to get me out the doldrums after heart operations. And that’s how it all started.”
“He was very vulnerable at the time and I thought, ‘I could manipulate this into a show,’’’ Whitehouse joked. “You think I’m joking, don’t you? Look at the dead eyes.”
Mortimer underwent triple heart bypass surgery after it was discovered that “95 per cent” of his arteries were blocked (via the Guardian).
In an interview with the Big Issue in 2018, the comedian said: “My doctor told me that I would have had a heart attack on stage. He looked at my tour schedule and said I would most likely have gone down in Southampton.
His audiobook autobiography is absolutely brilliant. He used to have a full English and a heavy smoke for breakfast every single day, until he basically couldn’t stand up one morning and pretty much died on the spot. It’s full of unlikely tales which he freely admits some might not be true but it’s great fun wondering if any or all are total horseshit.