Paul Whitehouse exposes Bob Mortimer's true colours in Gone Fishing admission

The BBC show Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing has reportedly been commissioned for an eighth series, with previous screenings reaching nearly two million viewers per episode. Now the actor has confided that he thinks the secret to the pair's success is their unrelenting commitment to being "100% real".

The idea for the programme took shape when he invited his pal out fishing as he recovered from gruelling triple bypass heart surgery. Talking on the Bedside Manners health podcast, Paul confessed that he "lured him out", only for the laughs the pair shared to turn into something more than they originally intended. "I took him to a place in Hampshire and this idyllic chalk stream. It wasn’t just the natural environment. Strangely, I think it was a bit of picture-postcard old England that also appealed to him," he enthused.

“We started going out a few more times and it was one day in particular, I think it was a really beautiful day in May, and the river was idyllic and the flies were hatching, and the reed warblers were warbling.

“We just made each other laugh - had a daft laugh as Bob would say, and I thought, oh this might be a good idea for a programme."

The idea met with the BBC's approval and they arranged for them to do a trial together on-screen.

"They seemed to go for it and the reason it’s been successful is exactly as I outlined there, because it came 100% out of real life," he exclaimed.

The pair have been all around the UK and Irish countryside for the seven series of the hit show that have been released so far, visiting everywhere from Norfolk to North Wales, as well as the likes of Dumfries and Galloway.

The show has achieved six BAFTA nominations and has reportedly been commissioned for an eighth series, in good news for longstanding fans.

Meanwhile, Paul - who, like Bob, has also had heart surgery - now has a brand new TV project in the works.

He is scheduled to play the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caretaker Argus Filch in the new Harry Potter TV series.