And Away...

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Bob Mortimer thanks the heart disease that almost killed him. He also thanks the "Hell's Angels farmer" he caught having sex with his girlfriend when he came home early from work one day. In short, he is a remarkable person even setting aside the comedy success. I have never minded… playing second fiddle’: Mortimer with Vic Reeves on Shooting Stars, January 2003. Photograph: Kieran McCrum/BBC

He finally reveals that his grand plan is actually a move to New Zealand, and Felicity is stunned – what about the life they’ve been building in Summer Bay?

Before listening to this the only thing I really knew about Bob Mortimer was his comedy career with Vic Reeves and more recently his Gone Fishing TV series with Paul Whitehouse. I’d listened to their audiobook last year and discovered he’d had a heart bypass and also that he’d been a solicitor before he became a comedian. Other than that I really didn’t know much about him, or where his comedy roots had come from. She kept Tane in the dark as she set off alone and dropped off a bag that actually contained scrap paper and leaflets. She hid in her car, and when the assailant went to collect the ‘money’, she managed to take the crucial photos that would confirm his identity and bring him to justice. She later explained that she knew he would try and stop her, and that she had to deal with this her own way. PLEASE NOTE:There are only three episodes airing this week, with no episode scheduled for Thursday 7th September due to AFL coverage on Seven Can an extremely shy person who has never once dreamed of a life in show business in his approximately 30 years on Earth become a beloved comedian with many stage and TV shows to his credit? Yes! This memoir alternates chapters between descriptions of Bob Mortimer's emergency triple bypass and his childhood, adulthood, and show business success. I suggest getting the audiobook version, which includes enthusiastic singing and about two dozen different accents.

In an attempt to convince her, Tane shows Felicity photos of the plot of land he wants to buy, somewhere that they could make their own. It’s within their price range and close to Tane’s family – it’s perfect. Eden and Remi are lost for inspiration. Marilyn fears she’s lost a friend. Rose defines her parents’ separation. Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) has been on a downward spiral since she was assaulted at the Battle of the Bands competition at the beginning of June. The story of Mortimer’s 30-year showbiz career is remarkable not least because it hinges almost entirely on a chance meeting in a south London pub in 1988. Unlike most of the artists who later became his friends and colleagues, young Robert had never harboured ambitions to perform; he was a desperately shy boy who suffered such crippling social anxiety that he endured three years of university barely speaking to another soul. By the age of 30, he was growing increasingly disillusioned with his work as a council solicitor, a career he had embarked on after studying welfare law in a desire to make a difference. His only previous brush with the limelight was an abortive attempt at pub karaoke, but when an old schoolfriend invited him along to a local comedy show and he saw the first chaotic iteration of Vic Reeves Big Night Out, it was an epiphany: “What is he? Where am I? Who sanctioned this? I have been transported, in an instant, to a world of entertainment far, far away from anything I have ever witnessed before.” Although a wedding has been the obvious conclusion drawn by many for the formal event, both those on the tour and actor Shane Withington have denied this to be the case.They returned to Summer Bay the following week where Felicity offered them a regular gig. Bob was against the idea and encouraged Kirby to ditch Eden and Remi so they could set up on their own. Kirby tried to broker peace between the others but Bob decided to quit the band. Kirby refused to go with him, breaking up with him. They had to arrange emergency auditions for a new lead singer and ended up choosing Theo. She helped Theo learn how to balance his work with the band with his apprenticeship at the garage, recalling how her family wanted her to study medicine and she went to uni but realised she liked music more. At the end of the book, he tells the reader that if there's a shy person at their office or school or social gathering, they should try to include that person in conversations, outings, and so on. And he advises shy readers to try to come out of their shells, even if it seems scary. Bob Mortimer's life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away...