Bob Mortimer has revealed that he saw a white light at the end of a tunnel while undergoing hearth surgery.
The Gone Fishing star, who rose to fame as part of a comedy double act with Vic Reeves (real name Jim Moir) in the ’90s, underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 2015 after it was discovered that 95 per cent of his arteries were blocked.
Speaking on Kathy Burke’s Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake podcast, Mortimer admitted that seeing the white light made him believe in life after death.
“I did see the light at the end of the tunnel. I experienced going towards the light and feeling happier than I have ever felt, ever.”
He continued: “It was quite extraordinary, and then I woke up a day later and I was OK. I thought, ‘This is great. I no longer fear death and everything’.”
However, after mentioning his near-death experience to fans, Mortimer’s optimism about the afterlife was soon quelled.
“Loads of people wrote to me and said, ‘It’s because your body gives out loads of PCT, some chemical to get you through that and it gives you these hallucinations’. I was a bit sad about that,” he said.
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Earlier this month, Mortimer provided fans with update about his wellbeing, admitting that he is “not very healthy right now”.
In addition to concerns about his heart, the comedian confirmed that he has also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, having had the condition before in his mid-20s
More recently, in the latest series of Gone Fishing, Mortimer was forced to miss an episode after contracting shingles. His co-star Paul Whitehouse was instead joined by comedian Lee Mack.
In an interview in Metro, he said that the viral skin condition cost him the use of several muscles. “The muscles I’ve lost, I’ve lost,” he said. “But other ones can compensate for it, you know what I mean?”
“You know what? It was worse than my heart period,” he added, before saying that he has a “terrible feeling” that he will no longer be able to go for runs.