Bob Mortimer: Writing Novels, Gone Fishing & Last One Laughing

The Romesh Ranganathan Show

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Monday, 9 November 2026 - 1 hour 17 minutes

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 Intro
00:45 Meet Bob Mortimer
02:04 Last One Laughing: series two nerves
08:09 A gift for Bob
11:17 Why Bob prefers cats
12:09 Writing a book with no plan
15:25 Why Michael is such a brilliant book
25:22 How Gone Fishing started
33:01 Why Gone Fishing gets so deep
38:44 Romesh's House of Fools audition
45:12 A question from Shanthi
50:00 Bob's notes on the show
55:41 Bob's health and the lard question
1:09:49 The ending of Michael
1:12:59 Outro

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