Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter. He was a co-host on the

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain on the E4 panel show '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' and the narrator of the reality series '' Celebs Go Dating''. He presented

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

entertainment series ''Wedding Day Winners'' and '' All Together Now''.

Early life

Beckett was born on 2 January 1986 in Mottingham,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. His father (nicknamed "Super Dave") was throughout his career a driver of vans, lorries, oil tankers, and cabs. He calls his mother, who was a homemaker throughout his childhood and later worked in a shop, "Big Suze". He has four brothers. Beckett went to Edgebury Primary School and then Coopers School in Chislehurst. He attended

Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

from 2004 to 2007, where he studied Tourism Management.

Career

Beckett started performing stand-up in 2009. His performances led to a third place in '' So You Think You're Funny'', and winning the Amused Moose Laugh-Off which earned him an invitation to perform at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia. In

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Beckett was nominated for the best newcomer award in 2011. He made his debut at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2012 with his solo show "Rob Beckett's Summer Holiday". In 2011, Beckett made a guest appearance as Mike in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' Fresh Meat''. From 2012 until 2014, Beckett co-hosted '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'', the

spin-off from the main show. He presented the show with Laura Whitmore and

Joe Swash Joseph Adam Swash (born ) is a British actor and television presenter from London, best known for his role of Mickey Miller in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and various presenting roles with ITV2. He won the eighth series of '' I'm ...

. He announced his departure from the show in October 2015, to concentrate on his tour. He was replaced by David Morgan. Beckett also presented the ''Rock'N'Roll Football'' Sunday show on Absolute Radio from August 2014 until 2018. Alongside fellow comedian Ian Smith and former footballer Jimmy Bullard, Beckett hosts UK television channel Dave's comedy-football podcast ''The Magic Sponge'', an irreverent look at the lives of professional footballers. Beckett narrated the 2016 E4 series '' Celebs Go Dating''. In February 2017, the second series of ''Celebs Go Dating'' began airing with him writing and narrating once again, this time with some overseas celebrities in tow. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain on the More4 panel show '' 8 Out of 10 Cats''. Beckett was a contestant on (and eventual winner of) the third series of '' Taskmaster'', which aired in October 2016. In 2018, he presented ''Wedding Day Winners'', with Lorraine Kelly, and '' All Together Now'', with Geri Halliwell, both Saturday-night entertainment series for

. The following year, Beckett started presenting a

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

TV series ''Rob & Romesh vs...'', in which he and fellow comic and presenter Romesh Ranganathan travel around the world, delve into the lives and careers of celebrities, and take on various challenges. As of April 2020, Beckett has co-hosted a podcast named ''Lockdown Parenting Hell'', with fellow comedian Josh Widdicombe. The pair frequently interview celebrities regarding the difficulties of parenting during the Coronavirus lockdown. On 20 February 2022, Beckett started his new 5–7pm Sunday Show on BBC Radio 2, a timeslot he shared throughout the year with '' Paul O'Grady on the Wireless''. In March 2025, he starred in the first series of '' LOL: Last One Laughing UK'', hosted by Jimmy Carr and Roisin Conaty, alongside

Richard Ayoade Richard Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 Br ...

, Sara Pascoe, Lou Sanders, Bob Mortimer, Judi Love, Joe Wilkinson, Joe Lycett, Daisy May Cooper and Harriet Kemsley.

Personal life

Beckett married Louise "Lou" Watts, a teacher, in 2015. The couple have two daughters. Beckett is a supporter of Arsenal. He has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

and

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

. Beckett has two whippets, called Fred and George.

Filmography

Television

Film

Stand-up

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Rob 1986 births 21st-century English comedians Actors with dyslexia BBC Radio 2 presenters English actors with disabilities Comedians from the London Borough of Bromley Comic Relief people English male comedians English male television actors English male voice actors English television presenters Living people People from Mottingham People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Television presenters with dyslexia