Bob Mortimer: I'm writing a second novel
Following the success of The Satsuma Complex
Bob Mortimer is writing a second novel, following the success of his debut, The Satsuma Complex.
However new title will not feature Gary – the semi-autobiographical character of a disillusioned legal assistant – who was at the centre of the first.
‘I thought if I did the same character, I'll just write the same book,’ the comedian told Kathy Burke on her podcast. ‘So I thought, you know go doing something different.’
Then he joked: ‘As it happens, it is the same book!’
Mortimer added that it was ‘very nerve-racking for someone like me, writing a book. That's a new arena to be judged in, so I was just pleased not to be completely slagged [for the Satsuma Complex].
No title or publication date has been announced for the new novel.
The Satsuma Complex came out in 2022 following the success of his memoirs, And Away… made the Sunday Times bestseller list. It is out in paperback tomorrow.
On he podcast, Mortimer also said that he regretted having never done a solo stand-up show, and said: ‘I wouldn’t mind doing that.’
But he added: ‘I've always loved doing stuff with other people.
‘I used to see – no names – but some comedy performers, they’re right fuckers. You know what I mean? They’re not particularly nice. I’ve put a bit of it down to the fact that they are on their tod, being pampered backstage, being driven… But I’m not going to get away with that in front of Vic. Yeah. Nor is he in front of me. It's good to be with someone and you know, enjoy it as a holiday rather than [work].
‘But now I think maybe it would have been fun to have the bottle to go up and just try to do it.’
Burke’s podcast, Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake, revolves around death and Mortimer said he’d like to die fighting a bear – or hit by an articulated lorry carrying Flumps.
And he said he was once mistaken for TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh.
‘I went to see Rufus Wainwright at the Brighton Dome,’ he recalled. ‘And I went out for a fag and they wouldn't let me back in. Then the security bloke beckoned me and let me in and he thought I was Alan Titchmarsh, 100 per cent. He said, "Alright, Alan."’
Published: 24 May 2023
