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WINNER MORTIMER AND WHITEHOUSE:


GONE FISHING 2 BBC2 Owl Power


Producer Lisa Clark explains how a gentle show about ‘not very much’ became the perfect programme for difficult times


“I’ve heard lots of different descriptions of it - like a warm bath, balm for the soul, a hug,” says Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing producer, Lisa Clark. “I guess, in a sense, it’s a show about not very much.” And that’s been part of the key to its success.


Pure and simple Because “it’s a great programme for these times,” says Clark. “You can just sink into the British countryside. I think that’s why people have really enjoyed it.” And enjoyed it more than the production team ever thought. “The commissioning editor David Brindley, when he first commissioned it, said ‘Well let’s hope people like a show kind of about nothing.’ And it was scary at the time. It’s all very well to


look back now as it has been a success but, at the time, two middle age blokes going fishing doesn’t exactly say dynamic.” Also key to its success is its honesty, says


Clark. “Viewers can work out that it is very real. There’s not a lot of producing going on there. You put Paul and Bob into a beautiful setting, you


VIEWERS CAN WORK OUT THAT IT IS VERY REAL. THERE’S NOT A LOT OF PRODUCING GOING ON


steer them gently around various topics and you let them go.”


And, says Clark, unlike other ‘celebrity travelogues’ “they don’t have an added mission


17


televisual.com Special Supplement Spring 2021


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