Bob Mortimer had staggering number of sugars in his tea before cutting down to six

Comedian Bob Mortimer confessed to once heaping a jaw-dropping number sugars in his tea for a heartbreaking reason.

The national treasure is now down to a single-digit amount of the good stuff.

The 66-year-old Gone Fishing star has always been candid about his health, previously opening up about his major heart surgery, informing fans of his enlarged prostate, and detailing how a severe case of shingles caused him to lose a considerable amount of muscle mass.

Mortimer also seemingly once had a penchant for sugary brews - an addiction that may have been born out of the death of his biscuit salesman father.

The TV panel regular lost his dad when he was six years old, and previously complained that he’d become what some referred to as a ‘hero child’.

Bob Mortimer once confessed to having double-figure spoonfuls of sugar in his brews (BBC)

The term refers to a high-performing person who uses their achievement and ideally success to hold the family together, per Psychology Today.

In an interview with The Guardian in August 2019, Mortimer claimed the death of his parent was perhaps ‘more upsetting than [he] would have realised’, possibly leading to his life-long sugar obsession.

“When I went fishing with mates as a kid I’d usually have strawberry jam or banana sandwiches on Mother’s Pride with sugar sprinkled all over,” Mortimer recalled.

“At one point I was putting 17 sugars in my tea. I know it’s unbelievable and I do wonder sometimes what my mum was thinking to allow it.”

The five-time author admitted that if he ever put in an extra dash of sugar, making it a whopping 18 teaspoons, it would be way ‘too sweet’ for him.

The father-of-two has now dropped his tea's sugar content right down (BBC)

“I suppose if I was trying to analyse it, losing my dad was more upsetting than I would have realised, yet I got quite a kick out of sugar.”

Two years later, Mortimer broached the topic again, telling The Sun: “My dad died in a car crash and I think I started taking all these sugars then, because it is mood altering. That might be the link.”

The Taskmaster favourite, who had triple-bypass surgery in 2015, revealed at the time that he’d cut down to five or six sugars in his drinks

During a 2023 Celebrity Gogglebox special, the Middlesbrough native confessed he’d managed to shave his sweet treat intake down to just four spoonfuls.

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing returned for an eighth series on BBC Two (BBC)

Speaking to fellow comedian Richard Ayoade, 48, he explained: “I’ll build up during the day.”

Gone Fishing, starring the father-of-two and Paul Whitehouse, 67, returned to TV for an eighth series on Sunday (October 26).

The award-winning BBC show features the famous pair travelling around the UK, hitting up nostalgia spots like Manchester, Wales, and Scotland.

Tune in to Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing every Sunday at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.