Vic's art-felt tribute to Bob

Portrait of his recovering friend

Vic Reeves has sketched a touching portrait of Bob Mortimer in his hospital bed.

The image, which he shared on Twitter, shows his comedy partner giving a thumbs-up sign while wearing a respirator. Pinned to his chest is a large heart.

Mortimer had a triple heart bypass last month, causing the duo to cancel the first leg of their first live tour since 1994.

The 56-year-old also made his first public comment since the operation to apologise to fans for the inconvenience, saying the surgery was urgent.

He tweeted over the weekend: 'So sorry to those who bought tickets that we had to cancel 1st leg of tour. 3 consultants said I had to have the op immediately. #Shitty.'

So sorry to those who bought tickets that we had to cancel 1st leg of tour. 3 consultants said I had to have the op immediately. #Shitty
— Bob Mortimer (@RealBobMortimer) November 7, 2015

He also retweeted the image Reeves had drawn, and posted under his real name of Jim Moir along with the caption: 'Bob. Better now.'

Moir has always been a painter. He studied art at Sir John Cass College in Whitechapel, east London, and he sneaked into lectures at Goldsmiths college after it rejected him.

Vic and Bob's House Of Fools co-star Matt Berry also reported back on Mortimer's condition, saying in an interview today: 'He’s doing fine. These operations are very common now and the doctors know what they’re doing. And thank God, Bob had it done when he did, rather than there being a Tommy Cooper situation on stage.'

The 25 Years of Reeves and Mortimer tour, wryly titled The Poignant Moments show, is expected to start in January. Before that, Mortimer will be seen in a celebrity version of Storage Hunters that airs on Dave over Christmas, recorded before his surgery.