Comedian Bob Mortimer married his wife, Lisa Matthews, half an hour before undergoing major heart surgery, revealing he proposed to her while "bleaching the sink" the day before the operation.
In the season one episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which airs tonight (October 19), Bob was late for his fishing session with Paul Whitehouse. When Paul questioned him, Bob admitted he had been at a wedding anniversary celebration.
"Paul, are you in a strop with me?" Bob asked as he finally joined his friend in the water. After clearing the air, Paul asked Bob how he had proposed to Lisa, with whom he had been in a relationship for 22 years before their wedding.
Proposal During Bleaching the Sink
Bob replied: "I was in the kitchen, I think I was bleaching the sink. I was going into hospital the day after for my heart op, and I said 'If I die, pet, you know, you get nowt'."
Elaborating on his thought process, he explained: "I said 'If I die, this is going to be a mess for you, because I ain't got no wills or nothing. So, shall we get married?' And combine that statement with the smell of the bleach...just gave us that romantic nudge, you know?"
Marriage Before Triple Bypass
Speaking at a press conference in central London to launch the 2016 leg of his tour with comedy partner Vic Reeves, Bob explained how he married Lisa on the morning of his triple bypass operation.
"I found out I needed heart surgery on the Thursday, so I made a will on the Friday," he explained. "I found out I couldn't get married to Lisa because you have to give 21 days' notice. My consultant said I was incredibly ill so the registrar in London gave me permission to get married on the Monday.
"I got married at half nine on the Monday and went to hospital at 10 to have the operation." He later shared a photo on X of himself and Lisa, calling her the "love of my life".
Wedding Details and Health Scare
"Met 24 years ago. Got married then straight to the hospital. The love of my life, Lisa x" he shared. Bob and Lisa first got together in 1993, and they have two children.
Asked at the 2016 press conference if Vic Reeves was his best man, Bob replied: "No, there was just me, the wife and our two kids in the registry office, that's it." He also admitted that he still hadn't been on a honeymoon, adding: "I haven't had my honeymoon yet, I might go to Barbados."
Mortimer underwent emergency triple heart bypass surgery after doctors discovered that 95 to 98% of his arteries were severely blocked. He initially thought he was fighting a chest infection, but the doctor warned him that he was on the brink of having a heart attack on stage.
He told Big Issue: "When I came home from being told I had to have heart surgery, it feels so dramatic. You think it is over. Heart surgery just sounds… it was weird, the things that would make me cry were my favourite egg cup, my cats.
"Four days later they were cutting me open. I was 95 per cent blocked. It is amazing when you see the pictures, because it is an incredibly resistant organ – if there is a gap it will f****** push that blood through it."
Repeats of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing air on BBC Two on Mondays at 10pm.
