Bob Mortimer facing ‘battle’ as he gets older after thinking ‘I’ll be glad when I’m gone’
Bob Mortimer spoke candidly on his mortality (Image: BBC)
TV star Bob Mortimer opened up on the “battle” he faces as he gets older as he tries to stop his brain going “I wish I was dead”.
The 67-year-old is one of Britain’s best-loved comedians. His partnership with Vic Reeves is legendary, and he has also appeared on TV panel shows including Taskmaster and Would I Lie to You?
But he admitted he is “fighting against” his brain trying to “ease that journey” into whatever comes after this life.
Appearing on brand new podcast Outsiding, hosted by Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost and journalist Caitlin Moran, he explained how he was feeling.
Bob said: “You’re in this battle as you get older. There’s a little drive within you that wants to say the world is awful and I’ll be glad when I’m gone, just to ease that journey.
“And it’s a really battle against that. You do start finding joy in old memories, what’s happened in your life. Just to keep a bit of joy in your brain, to stop you going ‘I hate this place, everything’s gone to s***, I wish I was dead’.
Bob admitted it can be ‘a battle’ (Image: Channel 4)
“You are fighting against it a lot of the time.”
The comedian has talked about his mortality before. He went under the knife for triple bypass surgery in 2015 after doctors discovered that 95 per cent of his arteries were blocked.
Speaking on Kathy Burke’s Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake podcast, Mortimer admitted that seeing the white light made him believe in life after death.
“I did see the light at the end of the tunnel. I experienced going towards the light and feeling happier than I have ever felt, ever.”
“It was quite extraordinary, and then I woke up a day later and I was OK. I thought, ‘This is great. I no longer fear death and everything’.”
Bob is one of the UK’s best-loved comedians (Image: BBC)
Bob shared his near-death experience with fans, who quickly dampened his enthusiasm for the possibility of life after death.
He added: “Loads of people wrote to me and said, ‘It’s because your body gives out loads of PCT, some chemical to get you through that and it gives you these hallucinations’. I was a bit sad about that.”
Bob also suffers from from rheumatoid arthritis, having had the condition before in his mid-20s.
The comedian also revealed that his experience has changed how he approaches life. He said that while he wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it has opened him up to new experiences.
Bob said: “I wouldn’t wish it on people there is a positive to a near-death experience.
“People used to ask me ‘do you fancy doing this or that?’ And it was like I had a file of reasons in my head for not doing things. I would rifle through my head until I found one. But I’ve stopped that.”
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