BBC's Bob Mortimer addresses major transformation amid health battles

BBC's Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing star Bob Mortimer returned to screens with the first episode of season eight of his scenic and serene series alongside his pal Paul Whitehouse. As the duo explored fishing in Hampshire's River Itchen, the comedian opened up about transforming his smile.

While they took a break from fishing and admired the view, the pair were talking about their appearances when Bob grinned and asked Paul: "Do you like my new teeth?" The Welsh actor responded: "Yeah, it's nice. Where'd you get them done?" To which Bob hilariously responded: "Dentist." He then denied travelling to Turkey for his makeover, which prompted the BBC Fast Show star to probe: "What did you ask for?"

Clamping his teeth together, Bob sarcastically remarked: "Teeth that work, listen." As he displayed his new teeth in action, he convinced his pal to do the same. But when Paul's teeth were more silent than his, Bob joked: "No, because they'd crumble, wouldn't they? They'd crumble like an Edinburgh rock."

Later on in the episode, the friends were enjoying some breakfast when their physical features returned to the topic of conversation.

As Paul questioned if Bob was still dealing with shingles, the star admitted: "Yeah, it's messed up my muscles in my leg, but you have to have an attitude of gratitude, it could be so much worse.

While Bob joked: "Look at your face. You've got to look at that every morning," Paul laughed and retorted: "At least you've enhanced your teeth, haven't you?"

The comedian then bared a huge grin, proudly showing off his pearly whites, while his pal pretended to be blinded by his smile. The 66-year-old added: "Have you seen how long they are?" as he lifted his top lip to expose the true length of his teeth, prompting a shocked response from Paul, who exclaimed: "Oh no!" and then mimicked a horse.

This came after the Reeves and Mortimer star recently sent pulses racing by uploading a throwback photo of himself, which he captioned: "1990 with original teeth."

The caption appeared to reference Bob's confession on Would I Lie to You? that he often performs dental work on himself.

"For the past 15 years, I have performed my own dentistry," he admitted, to the panel who were stunned to learn it was true.

At the time, he said: "I don't do extractions. I do fillings, crown replacements...I don't do implants, I don't do root canal."

The TV star went on to explain that he uses a dental cement, which is used for fillings and other dental procedures, when he's performing work on himself and admitted that the "hardest thing" about the process is finding a suitable way to hold the mirror.