Tales From the riverbank

Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse give seven good reasons to watch their hugely popular fishing show

- IAN MACEWAN, ALISON SLADE

You might not expect viewers to get hooked on a TV series in which two men in their 60s go fishing. But Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, in which old friends Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse do exactly that, has proved to be a surprise hit.

As the show returns for a third series, starting with a trip to the River Tweed in Scotland in search of salmon, we asked Mortimer, 61, and Whitehouse, 62, to give us seven reasons why we should tune in...

1 MOTHER NATURE

Mortimer The No.1 reason to watch Gone Fishing is to see the British countryside.

Whitehouse That’s what I was going to say. But Bob’s right, your breath is taken away by some of the places.

Mortimer There’s that lovely reveal, when you first see the river – the only thing I can compare it to is when you come up the steps at a football stadium and see the pitch. You realise that there’s something bigger than us.

Whitehouse Am I going to have to concede that there’s a higher power, Bob? I’ve been holding out my whole life…

2 FRIENDSHIP