BBC

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing returns

ByMax

Oct 21, 2025 #bbc, #gone?, #returns

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing returns for an eighth series from 9pm on Sunday 26 October on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two.

The return of the award-winning series promises even more of a personal edge, with each fishing location chosen by its relevance to Paul or Bob personally, following the broad journeys of their lives.

Interview with Bob Mortimer

Can you tell us about the forthcoming series of Gone Fishing – it feels a little different this series?

Well, I think if it is different, it’s because we have a slightly different approach. We wanted to be free to pick the places we’ve always wanted to go and places which, sort of, personally meant something to us. So, it’s just a slightly different approach, you know, rather than just focusing on species of fish.

And some of the accommodation this series is in keeping with our memories – the caravan in episode two was very 70s holiday. That was one of Paul’s nostalgia trips, back to Wales where he used to fish with his father and friends.

Meanwhile, my nostalgia trip took me back to Manchester and saw one of my oldest friends, Paddy, that I hadn’t seen for maybe 25 years or something, or even longer.

It was one of our most challenging fishing series. We didn’t perhaps catch as many as we would normally hope to, but we did get some Clonkers. We got a particularly beautiful carp in Wales.

As always of course I cooked for Paul, he’s always very kind, and says he likes all the meals, but the meal I cooked in Manchester, I think he genuinely enjoyed – it was take away fish and chips – his best meal this series was venison, cooked on stones, in Findhorne, Scotland.

And I thoroughly enjoyed cutting Paul’s hair this series. Turns out I’m maybe a better hairdresser than I am fisherman.

There were some new experiences fishing wise – tell us about that.

We went night fishing on in Wales which I’d never done before – that was a new experience for me, fishing in the night. In total darkness.

It actually all feels a bit sinister in the dark, with the river flowing and little bubbles and plops the splashes occurring all around you, but it really does get you in the zone. And I was lucky enough to catch a nighttime sea trout. Never seen one of those before. They’re the same fish as the daytime ones, but there’s something special about the fact that you’re just blind fishing. You know, you can’t even see where you’re casting to, it was fun.

You’ll see that once again, we go in search of a Perch – at Burley Lake and the River Wye and I know I’m spoiling it but to our discredit, we failed to catch a decent sized perch. That’s seven series now we’ve been trying to get one, still haven’t. I don’t know why, we’re doing everything we should do but it doesn’t happen. Maybe it’s because we’re never fishing like hard, expert, professionals.

Our main thrust is to enjoy the day. And if you’re diverted away from the fishing with chatting and cooking, thinking about the evening, going to the pub, you’re never going to be 100% on your game. I think that’s true.

But the perch it’s one of the so-called easier fish to catch. The grayling is a very difficult fish to catch, but we’ve had great luck with grayling. The perch however evades us, but we’ll be back next time.

What makes fishing special to you?

The brilliant thing about fishing is, is that like, if I say you like squash, all that’s on offer is the squash court. That’s it. When you’re a day’s fishing, you’ve got miles of riverbank to explore. You’ve got a local town nearby that seems to, you know, the drinking and the eating is very much part of the day. I wouldn’t set up a barbecue in a squash court. You know what I mean?

As always the locations are stunning, how do you find the locations?

In this series, we found some of them because we were re-visiting places that meant something to us. I said I would love to go back to Manchester. I have a lovely memory of living there and I just wanted to see it again, so then we found some fishing in Manchester.

I was desperate to have a go on the river Itchen in Hampshire and Paul has always wanted to take me there. So that’s what we did.

And Paul was desperate to fish the Findhorne in Scotland. That’s my favourite episode. The scenery in there is absolutely stunning. You could easily convince yourself you’re in Canada or something, it’s glorious. Didn’t do too well with the fishing, but I got to cut his hair.

What was the highlight of your cooking?

There was a meal I’ve most enjoyed cooking in all seven or six series – I cooked venison burgers for him on hot rocks. And I thoroughly enjoyed that. And we had the black, sort of, burnt Scottish buns. Funnily enough, it was a very memorable little snack that was, it was lovely.

And how’s Ted this year?

Ted’s slowed down a bit. He still enjoys himself but sometimes we have to put him in his little pram. When we’re doing a lot of walking to get to the river. But you know, you’re always guessing with your pets and what they’re thinking aren’t you? You look at his demeanour, you look into his eyes, and he still seems to love what he’s doing.

And can I ask how your health is? We know you had shingles, how are you doing?

I’m still suffering very much with recovering from shingles. I lost a lot of muscle, an awful lot of muscle in my legs, and I’m just desperately trying to get some strength back in them. But it doesn’t really, change my lifestyle or anything. I mean, I can’t run but I don’t do that much running these days, so it’s not a problem.

Both me and Paul in the series are discussing the fact, quite a few times, that we’re beginning to feel our age. We’re not as fast, we’re not as strong, we’re forgetting things. We’re a bit more grumpy. We look physically a lot different from the first seasons that’s for sure! We’ve aged. As has Ted!

But you’re still loving fishing together?

The thing for me, is Paul’s actually, largely because of the fishing, is much better travelled than me so I’m discovering the country as I do these shows, you know.

I’ve never been to the Findhorne up in the far northeast of Scotland, and I never would have, apart from the show. So, I’ve got to thank Paul, and I’ve got to thank the fish for carrying on under adversity with the state of our rivers, you know?

How do you choose the music?

Our wonderful editor, Doug, chooses the music. And then when we are sent the first cut of the episodes most of the music is just perfect. And then we’ll make a note of suggestions – could you try Brian Ferry there? Could you try this bit of music there? So, it’s a bit of a collaboration, but the main thrust is our editor Doug, and then me and Paul always manage to get a few of our favourites in there as well.

Interview with Paul Whitehouse

Tell me what makes series eight so special.

The thrust of this series is that we go to places that we’ve either fished before or resonate with us from our past or mean a lot, and, and so I think there’s maybe an extra level of poignancy to this series, it’s a little bit more heartfelt.

So I take Bob to a place that I fished with my dad and fishing just always reminds me of my dad. Even though I’ve fished many times without him, that link is really important. I do wonder, would I have been into fishing, if it hadn’t been for my dad.

Although, and Bob and I talked about it, we say, when we were kids all the boys, used to go fishing, everyone! Pretty much all my old friends when I was a kid were fishing. It became a thing you did. There’s a picture I share with Bob of fishing when I was younger on a bridge, and I can still remember that time so vividly.

It was such a passion of my dad’s and I had that special link, because it was so ingrained with him. It meant I did spend a lot of time with him, in a way that unless you’ve got that bond, that shared interest, you probably don’t with your parents, do you? Usually when you grow up you try to get away from your parents!

What do you love about fishing?

It’s a link to the past and to the younger me. When I was a kid, it was the fascination and that never really goes and the excitement of it too.

Bob says I’m sometimes a little bit blase if I catch a small fish, but I don’t think that’s true. I’m not blase, you know, I still get a sense of wonder when I look at a small fish, because actually, in many ways, they’re more pristine and more beautiful.

But I think it’s that instant link to your past, to friends, to your childhood, and we’ve- we’re lucky enough to still have something that makes Bob and me feel like that. That’s a rare gift as well, that that sort of straight line to your childhood, and the magic of it.

How spontaneous are the funny moments you share?

I mean, a lot of the moments are absolutely spontaneous. There are one or two things we have to talk about, though: we need to go to the accommodation now, talking about where are we off to; what river and why and what’s the significance of it but even that’s not scripted.

But beyond that, it’s just, you know our humour, and it’s absolutely spontaneous.

Sometimes though if we shut up, it’s just as lovely. If not lovelier!

Taking in the beauty of the countryside is one of the things viewers love isn’t it?

Yes, absolutely and we get to show things that viewers may not necessarily see. There’s a part where the light is dancing on the trees when we fish in the Itchen and not many people see that, because you’re not down that low in the water and looking up at the tree, so you probably would never see the light playing off the underside of those branches. So not many people see it and I think that’s why they enjoy it.

It takes us by surprise because we don’t see it very often, but when you do, suddenly it’s captivating, a little light show going on. It was spectacular, every now and then we see it, you know, obviously, not always on camera, and it’s still arresting, it’s extraordinary.

Tell me about Ted. How’s he doing?

Yeah, I mean if we’re struggling, god! Poor old Ted. I mean, but he’s game, isn’t he, Ted? He’s always got his own agenda. But now I’m not sure if he even hears us when we call him! He just plods off on his own. And he struggles a little bit. We have to lift him up sometimes, we have to carry him over some obstacles.

We did put him in a bit of pram for one episode. I mean, you know, he can get along, but you can see he struggles. And it’s quite funny when he lies down, he lies down like a frog. You know, his front legs go in front of him, and his back legs are splayed! He’s like a cartoon really, isn’t he?

What are your highlights of the fishing this series?

Well, I get a very nice grayling on the Itchen. That was a bit of a surprise, because we were really fishing for trout, and it’s a cracker. And we love the grayling. They’re very beautiful fish. They call them the lady of the stream. I’m not really sure why but they are a beautiful fish, and they’ve got a sort of iridescence when they’re small, like extraordinary colours. But as they get bigger, they become sort of silvery and gun metal grey, and it’s very striking still.

You know, that’s a sign at the river if you catch a grayling, it means that the river is in reasonable health. As we know our rivers are being challenged so it’s always a good sign. It doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t work to do, but it’s a good sign.

And without giving too much away Bob got a sea trout at night, which is a victory. I get as much joy out of seeing Bob catch fish as me getting my own. I genuinely do.

In episode one it’s your birthday – was that the perfect way to spend your birthday?

Well, yeah, obviously I’d like to pretend that it should be with my friends and family, but let’s say it was a pretty good second.

Bob teases you in this series about your fishing prowess. How much rivalry is there between the pair of you?

Well, I’ve caught a lot of fish in my time, so I don’t need to prove myself, especially not to Bob! If we went through it, species by species, I’d absolutely destroy him.

But do you know what, his fly fishing has really come on and he’s cleverer than he lets on, is Bob. He pretends to be stupid, but we know he’s absolutely as bright as a button. He’s got an intuition. And he does what a lot of anglers do, which is put himself in the position of the fish and try and think of it from their point of view, where they’d be, you know.

And I remember him saying something very astute, very early on. He went, when people ask, who the best angler is, he says, I’m probably up there because I’m one of the happiest anglers. And surely that makes you the best angler, because you have the best experience. I thought, it’s quite well thought through, Bob.

What was the highlight of the series was?

I loved the Findhorn. We didn’t catch anything, but in terms of the scenery, I mean, that was beautiful for me. I love the Findhorn, I fished there, not in that place, in a different part of the Findhorn. But I think he’s one of the most beautiful rivers in Scotland, in the UK. So that would be my visual highlight. And I love the end.

Who chooses the music?

It’s a sort of toss-up between Bob, me, Doug Bryson, our editor, who’s got great musical knowledge, and Lisa our executive producer. We all chip in, and we all make suggestions, and gradually we whittle it down to ones that we all like, so it’s a joint effort.

But the whole series is a joint effort, our camera crew everyone is part of it, part of what you end up seeing on screen. And they’ve been the same team, pretty solid team since the start of Gone Fishing. That makes it pretty special.

Interview with Ted