Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse confess 'we're a lot iller than we look' as they reveal their concerns over how much longer they can continue with hit show Gone Fishing

Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have admitted they are 'iller than they look' and voiced concerns for the future of their hit show Gone Fishing.

The comedy duo, aged 67 and 68 respectively, spoke to The Sunday Times Culture about their health woes, including Bob's emergency triple heart bypass surgery in 2015 and Paul having three coronary stents fitted in the same year. 

Their health scared led to the show Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which launched in 2018, after Bob's wife Lisa Matthews feared he was slipping into depression, so asked Paul to take him fishing. 

Gone Fishing has now been running for eight seasons, however Bob warned: 'If we did the show for long enough and became decrepit then one day we might catch a pike and the pike will drag us in..

'And I don't mind ageing Paul, but I'd hate it if we couldn't come fishing any more and that's not far off Paul, that's not far off.'

Paul went on: 'There's no mucking wround with heart issues. You are there and if you're not careful you're gone. And Bob and I had threatened to fish for ages so we thought we better get on it with it for both our sakes'.

Bob explained that he had ignored the warnings of his health issues as he just thought he was 'out of breath', while playing with his sons Harry, 29, and Tom, 28.

He said: 'We're a lot iller than we look. When I look back on it, I just thought I was getting breathless when playing football with my sons...

'I just put it down to old age because I was in my early 50s. But you should not be out of your breath in your 50s. That is the sniper's alley decade for heart attacks'.

He discovered his need for surgery during a pre-tour check-up, when a doctor immediately referred to a cardiologist who told him that some of his arteries were between 95-98% blocked - landing him in surgery days later. 

Bob said: 'He told me that if I'd gone on tour I would have probably died on stage in Southampton. The overpowering feeling was one of fear....

'I was very scared. I convinced myself that it would be absolutely life-changing. I don't suppose I thought I was going to die, although they give you the warning that everyone gets before an operation.'

Speaking about how Paul helped him with his mental recovery via fishing, he said: 'When you've had the operation – especially that big cut down your chest – you feel very vulnerable, even going out into the street...

'I was sat about a bit. It's true that the only voice in my life telling me to get out of the house was Paul Whitehouse. He was very insistent and very persistent...

'He was the first person I opened up to apart from my wife about the journey. And there's that lovely thing about fishing. If I'd gone for a drink with Paul, all we'd have done is try to make each other laugh...

'But when you go to the riverbank you make each other laugh and there's still six hours left and you do get a bit reflective and I started to dare to ask Paul about his rehab. We both support each other with it.'

In 2022, Bob said he had a 'very, very unhealthy year' that left him with a 'terrible feeling' when his rheumatoid arthritis returned after 29 years.

His later contraction of shingles led to his worst health crisis, as he said of having the virus: 'It was worse than my heart period.' 

Shingles (herpes zoster) is a painful viral infection caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus—the same virus that causes chickenpox.