Paul Whitehouse is a beloved comedian who can often be seen fishing with his pal Bob Mortimer when he's not on the stage dressed as Grandad in the acclaimed Only Fools and Horses musical which he wrote. Paul, 64, now lives a relatively quiet life in North London but has had a career full of laughs whether he was on the screen or working as a decorator for some of British comedy's biggest names.
Fast Show legend Paul's journey into the world of showbiz and comedy is far from ordinary as he was actually inspired to put pen to paper and start writing sketches after working as a tradesman on Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's shared house in Dalston. Paul was working alongside his university friend and now fellow comedian Charlie Higson and the pair moved in together in London after Higson completed his degree as Paul had dropped out of his studies.
While working on the house of the famous comedy duo, Paul was squatting in a council flat in Hackney and he has an apparent soft spot for the capital as he now lives in North London. Fry and Laurie spoke about their 'hilarious' plasterer Paul in their Reunited show in 2010 and said he was 'funnier than they were' as he would create comedy sketches as he worked.
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Whitehouse and Higson later moved to an estate in London and while enjoying a trip to the pub they met Harry Enfield, who was their neighbour. Harry was performing stage acts at the time and he secured a spot on Channel 4's Saturday Live and he approached his neighbours to come and write comedy sketches for him on the show.
Paul's genius comedy mind was then propelled into the world of sketch comedy as he appeared on A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Harry Enfield's Television Programme and Vic Reeves Big Night Out.
Vic Reeve, of course, is the comedy partner of Bob Mortimer who Paul now takes on fishing trips across the country in their gentle and heartwarming show Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
Paul is probably best known as the co-creator and one of the main stars of BBC comedy sketch series The Fast Show which ran from the mid-to-late nineties. He worked alongside his uni friend Higson and made a name for himself as a comic writer and actor with a cheeky wit.
Despite what his accent may suggest, Paul was actually born in Wales and has spoken about his mother's disdain as she realised her son had lost his Welsh lilt after the family moved to Middlesex when Paul was just four years old.
Speaking to WalesOnline Paul recalled his early school days, he said: "At school I didn't say a word for the first four weeks – I called it my Silent Month. I think it was because everyone was speaking so differently from how it had been in Wales. Then, after four weeks, I came home one day and said, 'Muumm, I wanna go to Sarfend!' For her that was the end because I had lost my lovely Welsh lilt."
Speaking to the Evening Standard about his role in his brainchild, the Only Fools and Horses musical, Paul (who has lived in Islington for a quarter of a century) spoke about a close encounter with Chris Eubank, he told them: "It's not Primrose Hill but it still has its moments.
"The most frightening thing that has happened to me was in Upper Street when a big SUV pulled over and this bloke ran out, shaping like he was going to hit me. But it was only Chris Eubank. He'd met me a few times before."
Paul is a father of three daughters including two from his previous marriage to wife Fiona and has another daughter, Delilah, with current partner Mine Conkbayir who he met when he was 23. Paul and Mine do not live together but have properties close to one another in North London where he lives a relatively normal life when not teaching pal Bob Mortimer how to catch a giant fish.
He's also taken on a new show in which he travels around England and Wales examining some of the issues facing the UK's rivers and waterways. The BBC's description of the show says Paul will be "looking at the issues that their rivers and waterways are facing. He begins by visiting the north of England to find out the impact water companies have on rivers, exploring the change in the industry since privatisation in 1989 and what regulations are in place when it comes to sewage discharge."
The first part Paul's new show, Our Troubled Rivers, will air tonight (March 5) on BBC2 at 8pm.
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