Bob Mortimer left his friend and co-star Paul Whitehouse visibly moved as he paid tribute to his late father in an emotional episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing on BBC Two. In the fourth episode of the new season, the pair were in County Durham, fishing the River Tees for a rare species of wild brown trout.
Bob was taken back to being six years old as he and Paul went on a trip along the landscapes of his youth. Bob, who has spoken a lot about death as part of the show, lost his dad when he was very young, but some of his fondest memories are of the fishing trips they used to go on.
A Moment of Reflection
Towards the end of the episode, Bob went to a peaceful spot where his father had once sat to reflect on his childhood while preparing a meal for the pair. "So, is this the sort of place for your abiding memory of your dad?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, so we are joined together again, in a way," Bob said. "My dad stood here, and I'm sat here now, 60 years later." As they silently reflected with a cup of tea, Bob asked: "Shall I say goodbye to my dad?" "I think you should," Paul agreed.
"A Very Moving Tribute"
"Charles Stockton Mortimer, that was his name," Bob began. "I never knew you, but I grew from you. I remember you stood here on this rock, catching a pike, and I know that behind that, you had taken us for a day out."
"And that's what I think I miss, Paul. A day out with pops. Although as your years advance, it sometimes feels like you have been a good replacement," he ended with a joke. Paul, who looked very impressed with Bob's heartfelt words, said: "That was a very moving tribute."
Confirming a Real Memory
Bob had been excited to show Paul locations from his past in Teesdale, and earlier in the episode he had sent a photo of their location to his brothers, seeking confirmation that it was a "real memory" from his childhood. "Sam will have been 10 or something," he recalled, offering some rare insight into life with his siblings. While he awaited their reply, he said: "I often wondered as I got older, whether there's like a good time to lose a parent. Was it lucky for me to be six and not 16, or not 12?"
"I feel for you, mate, I really do," Paul said with sympathy. "I have a lot of good memories with my dad." Bob's brother Sam replied with good news, saying: "Wow, amazing, I remember it so clearly... lots of dragonflies."
Bob was thrilled to be in the right spot and to have recalled a "real memory", saying it was nice to have it confirmed. He previously opened up to the BBC whilst on Desert Island Discs about how losing his dad at such a young age shaped his whole life. His father was killed in a car crash, and he said of that time: "I just remember coming back home, being ushered away by policemen, not knowing what was happening and then a couple of weeks later being told that my dad had died… and then crying and being very sad about it, then kind of forgetting about it really and thinking that it hadn't affected me at all. But then, later in my life [I realised] it was probably the defining moment of my life, it's defined my personality."
Bob described himself as his mum's "little helper" as a child, regularly taking on jobs around the house, but he was also responsible for a big fire in the family home. He explained: "I was counting my fireworks up and I lit some sparklers. It said on the packet 'not suitable for indoor use' – to me that meant that they're OK for indoor use. The sparklers lit the box of fireworks and I ran the box through to the kitchen and let them go off. I then spent about an hour trying to get rid of all the marks out of the lino and off cabinets. I walked back into the living room and it was fully ablaze."
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing airs on Sundays on BBC Two at 9pm. The entire season is on BBC iPlayer.
