And Away...

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A triumph’ – Daily Mail Bob Mortimer’s life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away… Bob Mortimer thanks the heart disease that almost killed him. He also thanks the "Hell's Angels farmer" he caught having sex with his girlfriend when he came home early from work one day. In short, he is a remarkable person even setting aside the comedy success.

This above insight covers only two years of an influential comedy career that is still ongoing - will I ever laugh any harder at live comedy than the time that the seemingly natural response to smashing each other with increasing size foam frying pans was of course to bring on a giant cheese grater, with the necessary vicious up and down action and overdubbed sound effect? In one way I hope so to keep experiencing new things in life, but I somehow doubt it…She kept Tane in the dark as she set off alone and dropped off a bag that actually contained scrap paper and leaflets. She hid in her car, and when the assailant went to collect the ‘money’, she managed to take the crucial photos that would confirm his identity and bring him to justice.

PLEASE NOTE:There are only three episodes airing this week, with no episode scheduled for Thursday 7th September due to AFL coverage on Seven I have never minded… playing second fiddle’: Mortimer with Vic Reeves on Shooting Stars, January 2003. Photograph: Kieran McCrum/BBC Can an extremely shy person who has never once dreamed of a life in show business in his approximately 30 years on Earth become a beloved comedian with many stage and TV shows to his credit? Yes! This memoir alternates chapters between descriptions of Bob Mortimer's emergency triple bypass and his childhood, adulthood, and show business success. I suggest getting the audiobook version, which includes enthusiastic singing and about two dozen different accents. This was a book that I was looking forward to all year and inhaled when the magical publishing time arrived, still wanting to savour every moment. I must admit that it took me a few minutes to get into the audio version as it was delivered in a far less manic pace, despite the huge energy from the cover, but again this matches in with the beauty of Bob as a performer - the total joy is always apparent, even in the melancholic moments, but from a grounded person that turned to the surreal to make life more interesting without it being desperately forced. In recent years Bob has become a popular contestant on Would I Lie To You for the incredible stories from his life, and Bob's first book is filled with more of the hilariously unbelievable misadventures that fans love him for. From burning down the family home to starting a short-lived punk band, Bob shares tales from his life with the warmth and good-natured humour that have made him a national treasure.

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I found that I no longer felt the need to just be the funny guy,” he says of his career since the heart operation. “I was actually better at just being myself.” The book, too, grows more confident in talking about serious subjects as it progresses and it’s the honesty and openness that he allows in Gone Fishing that make And Away…, by the end, an unexpectedly moving read. Although a wedding has been the obvious conclusion drawn by many for the formal event, both those on the tour and actor Shane Withington have denied this to be the case. They returned to Summer Bay the following week where Felicity offered them a regular gig. Bob was against the idea and encouraged Kirby to ditch Eden and Remi so they could set up on their own. Kirby tried to broker peace between the others but Bob decided to quit the band. Kirby refused to go with him, breaking up with him. They had to arrange emergency auditions for a new lead singer and ended up choosing Theo. She helped Theo learn how to balance his work with the band with his apprenticeship at the garage, recalling how her family wanted her to study medicine and she went to uni but realised she liked music more. It was just written so incredibly well that I haven't stopped reading it. It is now 4am on the second day of reading and I've just finished and I will hate myself for this later but I fell down the rabbit hole.