Gone fishing mogul Paul Whitehouses, 62, and his co-host Bob Mortimer, 61, scoffed at the BBC show before it came out. With three successful series and their Christmas special, Paul admitted that he does not expect the last popularity of his career.

In a recent joint interview, he said: “Before, we were really doomed to scrape.

“I was asked many times to do fishing shows, and I would always say no. But there was something about it, the heart angle and Bob’s subsequent recovery, you know, ‘Glory! Bob is risen!'”

Both longtime friends survived life-threatening coronary events, and Bob underwent open-heart surgery and performed emergency stents on Paul after a colonic fracture.

But after the trials and tribulations that life has thrown at them, their time is now doing what they love – fishing.

Read: Paul Whitehaus opens house on real reason for rejecting gon fishing

“I have to admit I watch a lot of it, I’ve never seen my own shows. It’s so comforting in a way. I can not put my finger on it, but it’s a very cowid friendly show.”

The couple will be seen descending into the Ties River on the North Yorkshire / County Durham border in festive installments, a special place for Bob because this is where he learned to fish as a young man.

“That was my golden Christmas season, when I was very young,” he told the publication.

“I thought it would be nice to lay the groundwork there, to show the neck of my forest, my old house that I used to enjoy that Christmas, and the places where I used to fish when I was young.

“Going back is a revelation to me. Friends remember how important it was to you.

“The way you spent time with them when you were young, knocked on the door and said, ‘Let’s go and walk the streets for five hours.’

The full interview with Bob and Paul is now available for reading on the Radio Times.