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And Away… review – how Bob Mortimer went from sidekick to standalone

An often moving memoir examines the comedian’s unlikely journey from Big Nights Out to riverbank ruminations with Paul Whitehouse

No one was more surprised than Bob Mortimer at the unexpected success of Gone Fishing, his BBC two-hander with Paul Whitehouse, now on its fourth series, in which the old friends sit on a riverbank ruminating on life and generally arsing about while attempting to land a fish. “In many ways, the show is the culmination of my journey back from sidekick Bob to standalone Robert,” he reflects, towards the end of his first memoir, And Away…, adding: “I could never have got there without my heart nonsense.” The poignancy of the show is the authenticity of its premise; long before they thought of pitching it for television, Whitehouse really did insist that Mortimer accompany him on fishing trips as an aid to recovery after a triple heart bypass in 2015, an act of generosity that Mortimer credits with giving him “the kick up the arse I needed” to get back on his feet.

The echo of that brush with mortality at the age of 56 reverberates through the book, though Mortimer is the opposite of self-pitying; throughout, he errs on the side of downplaying the various hardships he has experienced, as if he’s constantly seeking the elusive balance between sincerity and entertainment. If Gone Fishing, as he says, “changed [public] perception of me as a performer”, revealing a Mortimer that is a long way from the madcap “Bob” persona he inhabited as professional sidekick to Vic Reeves for most of his career, the memoir confirms this more thoughtful, reflective side.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3i8xN8W
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