Bob Mortimer: From The Long Shoe to Last One Laughing, the Beloved Comedian Strikes Gold Again

There are some faces that just make you smile the moment you see them. Bob Mortimer's is one of those. The man is a true national treasure, a status he's earned not through any grand design, but by being completely, brilliantly, and often bafflingly himself. Whether he's narrating a wild tale about a rogue pheasant on Gone Fishing or dropping a deadpan one-liner that takes three days to fully process, Mortimer operates in a comedy lane all his own. And right now, he's everywhere – in the best way possible.

The Joy of New Bob: A Trio of Tales

For those of us who can't get enough of his uniquely whimsical style, the past few years have been an absolute treat. His move into fiction has been nothing short of delightful. It all started with The Satsuma Complex, a novel that felt like being wrapped in a warm, slightly surreal quilt. Then came The Lost Library, co-written with the equally talented Tom Adams, which doubled down on his gift for spinning mysteries out of everyday life. These aren't just celebrity books dashed off for quick cash; they're genuine, page-turning reads filled with the kind of quirky characters you'd expect to find lurking in the mind of a man who once convinced an entire nation he'd been attacked by a "rat-eating seagull."

Now, hot on the heels of those successes, comes The Hotel Avocado. Without giving too much away, it's a return to the world of his debut novel, and it's classic Mortimer. You've got the usual mix of mayhem, a protagonist you can't help but root for, and sentences that suddenly take a sharp turn into a hedge of glorious absurdity. And lurking in the background, as it always seems to, is the mythical The Long Shoe. It's a phrase that keeps popping up, a running gag that feels both deeply personal and strangely universal – a perfect example of how Bob can take a random bunch of words and make it feel like a secret handshake between him and his audience.

Last One Laughing: The Mortimer Masterclass

Of course, we also get to see the man in his natural habitat: on television, stirring up chaos. The second season of Last One Laughing UK has just dropped on Amazon Prime, and it's a masterclass in Mortimer's unique talent. The concept is simple: a bunch of comedians are locked in a room together. If you laugh, you're out. It's a pressure cooker of comedy, and watching Bob navigate it is a thing of beauty.

While the likes of Jimmy Carr and Roisin Conaty are busy trying to crack each other up with polished jokes, Mortimer operates on an entirely different wavelength. He'll just stare into the distance, or start talking about his neighbour's odd habit of painting his garden gnomes, and the sheer strangeness of it all becomes infectious. He doesn't even need to tell a joke; his face, a canvas of gentle confusion and suppressed laughter, does all the work. It's a reminder that in a world of slick comedy routines, there's still plenty of room for the beautifully bizarre.

• The Satsuma Complex: Gary Thorn's journey through a south London mystery, complete with a talking squirrel. An absolute must-read.
• The Lost Library: A charming adventure involving a dead author and a missing manuscript. Pure escapism at its best.
• The Hotel Avocado: The highly anticipated sequel. Expect the unexpected.

What makes Bob Mortimer so beloved, I think, is that there's no noticeable gap between the man and the performer. He's not playing a character; he's just turned up the volume on his own gloriously peculiar self. Whether he's signing copies of The Hotel Avocado or silently trying not to crack up on Last One Laughing, he's always unmistakably, wonderfully Bob. And thank goodness for that.