Bob Mortimer: Writing Novels, Gone Fishing & Last One Laughing
- 1h 16m
- Transcript
Summary
Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
Comedian, solicitor, and author Bob Mortimer joins Romesh Ranganathan to discuss his career, his writing process, and his life experiences. Mortimer explains how he writes his novels without an advance plot, adopting a French method of making the story up as he goes along. The conversation covers his television work on shows like Last One Laughing and Gone Fishing, his aversion to dogs, and various humorous anecdotes including an encounter with Blur's Damon Albom. Mortimer also talks about his health, his approach to diet, and his fondness for cats, while Ranganathan guides the conversation through lively banter and games.
- When writing novels, Mortimer prefers not to plot ahead, instead discovering the story organically scene by scene. 13:14
- Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse produce Gone Fishing themselves as two close voices with a strong, uncompromised vision. 29:05
- Mortimer initially started taking massive amounts of sugar in his tea just after his father passed away. 1:05:41
- Mortimer prefers cats over dogs, citing the clean and fresh atmosphere cats bring compared to dogs. 31:47
Highlights
- 8:10
Supermarket Shopping Preferenceinsight
Mortimer explains why he loves going to supermarkets in person rather than getting groceries delivered, enjoying the instant gratification of buying items like Marmite.
- 13:31
The Tragic Private Detective Storystory
Mortimer recounts how he was offered a private investigator job by a detective just days before the man was found murdered with an axe in a south London pub car park.
- 26:36
Uncommissionable Gone Fishing Originstory
Mortimer explains how the concept for Gone Fishing was uncommissionable on paper, starting simply as two friends going fishing before Paul Whitehouse pitched it directly to the BBC.
- 29:38
Introduction of the Dog Tedstrategy
Mortimer notes that the only format change ever introduced to Gone Fishing was adding Ted the dog simply because he kept wandering into the background shots.
- 1:04:39
Mortimer confirms that he used to put sixteen or seventeen sugars in his tea, a habit that started right after his father passed away.
- 1:06:36
Wetting Trousers on Televisionstory
Mortimer reveals he once wet his trousers on television while interviewing Sting as Davy Stott on House of Fools after Jim asked about a red sports car.
About this episode
Why did Bob Mortimer never speak to Damon Albarn again? In this episode of The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Romesh is joined by comedian, writer and national treasure Bob Mortimer, ahead of his new novel Michael. They talk about how Bob writes a book without a plan, the surprising second series of Last One Laughing, and why Gone Fishing has become so much more than two men by a river. There’s also a heated cats vs dogs debate, a very particular opinion on lard, and a story about a pair of stolen glasses that Bob clearly hasn’t recovered from. A Ranga Bee Production. Chapters: 00:00 Intro00:45 Meet Bob Mortimer02:04 Last One Laughing: series two nerves08:09 A gift for Bob11:17 Why Bob prefers cats12:09 Writing a book with no plan15:25 Why Michael is such a brilliant book25:22 How Gone Fishing started33:01 Why Gone Fishing gets so deep38:44 Romesh's House of Fools audition45:12 A question from Shanthi50:00 Bob's notes on the show55:41 Bob's health and the lard question1:09:49 The ending of Michael1:12:59 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
14,430 words · 8 speakers
Topics
- Comedy
- Writing Books
- Television Production
- Gone Fishing
- Last One Laughing
- Humor and Anecdotes
- Bob Mortimer
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