Comedian Bob Mortimer shares fears for future after 'worst health year' of his life

Comedian Bob Mortimer opened up about his fears for the future as he admitted he had experienced the 'worst health period of my life' in 2023. The comedian, known for his partnership with Vic Reeves, said he is worried he may never be able to run again following several health issues.

The 64-year-old had triple heart bypass surgery in 2015 and this year had the painful rash known as shingles, caused by the same virus as chickenpox. The Would I Lie To You? star was also forced to give up playing football decades ago due to arthritis.

During a festive special episode of Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which he stars in with pal Paul Whitehouse, the pair travelled to Scotland for Hogmanay and visited the rivers Dee, Tay and Ericht. Gone Fishing follows the comedy legends as they fish some of the UK’s most beautiful waters, talking about life, health, angling and nature with a healthy dose of slapstick silliness.

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In the latest episode, Bob revealed how 2023 has been for him. He told his friend: “It’s been a very, very, very unhealthy year for me, Paul, with shingles. It was worst health period of my life to be honest. And you know what? It was worse than my heart period.”

In 2015, he had been due to go on tour with his comedy partner and Shooting Stars co-host Vic when the pair had to cancel the dates due to Bob requiring an operation on his heart.

He added: "At the moment, me consultant (is) saying I’m heading for 80 per cent muscle recovery in me leg, and she said: ‘You’ll just have to see what that means for you.’