Gone Fishing's Paul Whitehouse and his pal Bob Mortimer pay tribute to the show's beloved late TV dog Ted - as star makes TV appearance just days after being attacked at a cashpoint

Gone Fishing's Paul Whitehouse and his pal Bob Mortimer paid tribute to the series' beloved late TV dog Ted as they appeared on The One Show on Thursday.

The TV appearance came just days after Paul was attacked by a thug in broad daylight as he stepped up to use a cashpoint in a busy central London street.

Disturbing footage obtained by the Daily Mail shows how the 68-year-old entertainer was violently set upon by a stranger in Islington last Friday.

But as he appeared on the evening show he looked happy and healthy and didn't mention the incident. 

During the interview he did however open up about the late dog Ted, as host Alex Jones said to him: 'We have to talk about this series [of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing] being the last time that we're going to see lovely Ted...'.

Bob, 67, replied saying: 'Yeah, so sad. Oh, it's so sad. And of course, he always stole the show, didn't he?'

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing returns for series nine this coming Sunday at 9pm.

Paul then added: 'Yeah. We have to give it to him, don't we? It was, is it method acting? Because they say don't work with dogs and animals and that, but he was amazing, wasn't he?'

He then joked: 'He was so disinterested. He didn't care about us!'

Bob then explained: 'So he's in only one show this new series, and then for Christmas we give him a really proper send-off,' before Paul added: 'I think it's the first episode, isn't it? 

'It's our farewell to Ted, and yeah, he's extraordinary in it. But yeah, we'll really miss him. Yeah, well we do, and yeah...'.

Back in April the pair paid an emotional tribute to Ted after he passed away that week, following six years on screen with the duo. 

The much-loved canine first made his appearance on the BBC Two show in 2020 – and cemented his status as a fan favourite during the Christmas Special in 2025, for which Ted was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Ted was rescued from a Surrey dogs' home in 2013 at the age of six months old before moving in with Lisa Clark, who is the Executive Producer of the show. 

Following his passing, Bob and Paul led tributes to the canine member of their Gone Fishing family, admitting they were both going to 'miss him so much'. 

Bob said: 'So very, very sad. Lovely Ted, the best companion and the greatest little chum. Going to miss him so much... and away boss.'

Paul added: 'Bye bye Ted old friend. He wasn't a dog, he was a species all of his own. He's gone to the great briefcase emporium in the sky. We will really miss you mate.' 

Paul's appearance on The One Show comes soon after he was attacked by a thug in broad daylight as he stepped up to use a cashpoint in a busy central London street.

He had been on his way to pick up medication for his wife and was getting cash when he got into an altercation outside a Sainsbury's local on the Essex Road, close to where they live.

News of the attack – which was then widely reported – first emerged via an Instagram post by his wife, Dr Mine Conkbayir, on Saturday.

She posted: 'Well, a horrid start to the weekend would be an understatement…Last night, Paul dashed out to get me some meds. He was mugged on Essex Road (Islington) – at the cashpoint beside the Sainsbury's Local. He did fight back and retrieved his card, with the perp scuttling away empty-handed. But that's not the point, is it.'

The CCTV confirms that he bravely stood up for himself in the face of a surprise assault by someone he had apparently not even noticed.

But it also appears to show that, rather than a conventional mugging however, the flare up came about when the attacker became angry at the comedian going to use the cashpoint before him – when he had been waiting for it to become free.

And rather than trying to steal his bank card, in fact it had been left at the ATM after his attack on the star – and he then threw it towards him, with Whitehouse then bending down to retrieve it.

A shopkeeper saw what happened and told the Daily Mail: 'The sudden escalation to physical violence was completely disproportionate and no doubt terrifying for Paul.

'He's a hugely popular character around here. Everyone knows and loves him so there's been a lot of upset over the news. To be fair, it wasn't really a mugging as first reported – it was more like queue rage.

'But that doesn't make it any less awful – to attack a man who is nearly 70 just because he didn't notice you were waiting is shocking behaviour. The bloke needs to be caught before he does this to someone else.'

A spokeswoman for the star said: 'This was a distressing physical and verbal attack. We have no further comment to make.' 

Dr Conkbayir, 45, who hosts a podcast with her husband, had explained that Paul had gone out that day to help her after she had had 'a bad reaction to some treatment' which left her 'feeling rather rotten'.

She went on: 'I kept shtum, out of respect, but he just came over, having taken our daughter to football, still frustrated. I asked whether he'd like me to post – he said yes – in the hope that it might help folk to be more aware when out and about.

'So, please, everyone – I don't mean to patronise, but please be super vigilant out there.'