Mortimer & Whitehouse return for Christmas special with Gazza
- A new Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing on BBC Two will feature former England footballer Paul Gascoigne
- The Beautiful South's Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott also appear in the hour-long special, shot on the rivers Tyne and Eden
- The comedians are on a quest to catch the "elusive English salmon"
Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have shot a festive fishing special with football legend Paul Gascoigne, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Gazza shares his passion for angling with the pair in the latest Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing on BBC Two, as they head to the rivers Tyne and Eden in the North of England on a quest to catch an elusive English salmon.
The Beautiful South's Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott also appear in the hour-long show, set to air next month, alongside Dr Anand Patel, who chats to Mortimer about loneliness during the festive season. And the series' faithful hound Ted also returns, with the comedians taking an emotional trip to a local dog shelter.
With a further mystery guest dropping by, the production promises "plenty of laughs, a few tears and some big surprises, which will leave you well and truly immersed in the Christmas spirit".
Despite famously laying claim to the entirety of the fog on the Tyne and routinely declaring his expertise with a rod, former England player Gascoigne failed to catch a nibble when he appeared on the Italian version of I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! this year.
Spawning a tie-in book in 2019, Gone Fishing has run for four series to date, plus last year's Christmas special, which attracted 2.99 million viewers.
This autumn's run averaged around two and a half million viewers an episode, but the 2020 festive instalment, set on the rivers Esk and Tees, brought in an audience of 3.2million.
Rob Gill once again directs Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing, with Lisa Clark producing for Mortimer and Whitehouse's production company Owl Power.
The special was commissioned by Patrick Holland, the BBC's director of factual, arts and classical music, and Catherine Catton, head of popular factual and factual entertainment. The commissioning editor is Max Gogarty.
Last week it was revealed that the comedians are also embarking on a mini live tour together next year. Six dates have been announced of An Evening With Mortimer & Whitehouse, starting at the O2 Guildhall in Southampton on the 11th of May.
The BBC also confirmed last week that Whitehouse would be joining his long-time collaborator Harry Enfield in a mockumentary of the corporation's programming, The Love Box In Your Living Room, airing next year as part of the BBC's centenary celebrations.