Robert Henry Robinson (17 December 1927 – 12 August 2011) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host, journalist and author. He presented ''

Ask the Family ''Ask the Family'' is a British game show that was first broadcast on BBC1 from 12 June 1967 to 22 October 1984 hosted by Robert Robinson and then on UK Gold from 6 June to 10 October 1999 hosted by Alan Titchmarsh and from 4 April to 5 May 2 ...

'' for many years on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Biography and career

Robinson was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England the son of an accountant father, and educated at Raynes Park Grammar School in south London and Exeter College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He then became a journalist for the ''

Sunday Chronicle The ''Sunday Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the United Kingdom, published from 1885 to 1955. The newspaper was founded in Manchester by Edward Hulton in August 1885. He was known for his sporting coverage, already publishing the '' Sporting C ...

'' (TV columnist), the ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was a weekly English tabloid newspaper that was published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. It was acquired by Alli ...

'' (film and theatre columnist), the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' (radio critic and editor of ''Atticus'') and ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'' (film critic). He began working on television as a journalist in 1955. During the 1960s and 1970s, he presented the series '' Open House'', ''Picture Parade'', '' Points of View'', the leading literary quiz ''Take it or Leave it'', ''

'', '' BBC-3'' – including the discussion during which

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Initially making his mark as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised John Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) and encouraged the emerging wave ...

became the first person to say "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" on British television (Robinson told Tynan that this was "an easy way to make history") – and ''

Call My Bluff ''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. The theme m ...

''. In 1967, Robinson presented the edition of ''The Look of the Week'' in which classical musicologist

Hans Keller Hans (Heinrich) Keller (11 March 19196 November 1985) was an Austrian-born British musician and writer, who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being a commentator on such disparate fields as psychoana ...

was brought face to face with the young

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

. He wrote and presented ''The Fifties'' on BBC1. Robinson was the presenter of ''The Book Programme'' on BBC2 from 1973 to 1980 and a number of spin-off documentaries, such as '' B. Traven – A Mystery Solved'' (1979). He wrote and presented several

BBC1 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 (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

documentaries under the title ''Robinson's Travels'', among them ''The

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

Trail'' (1976), ''Cruising'' and ''Indian Journey''. In 1986 he wrote and presented ''The Magic Rectangle'', one of the BBC documentaries marking the 50th anniversary of television. On radio, he presented ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's flagship morning news show, and '' Stop The Week'', a fiercely competitive talk programme. Robinson fronted '' Brain of Britain'' on BBC Radio 4 for many years, but was replaced by

Russell Davies Robert Russell Davies (born 5 April 1946) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Davies was born in Barmouth, North Wales. He attended Manchester Grammar School, according to his own statement on a November 2010 '' Brain of Britain'' programm ...

during the 2004 series owing to illness. He returned to host the new series in 2005 until handing over the reins to

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its lau ...

in 2007. In September 2008 Robinson chaired the special ''Brain of Brains'' and ''Top Brain'' editions of the quiz and returned to host the series in 2008; Davies then replaced him for the 2009 shows. In August 2010 it was announced that Robinson was to step down permanently from ''Brain of Britain'' to be replaced by Davies. Robinson was known for his

comb-over A comb over or combover is a hairstyle for bald or balding men in which the hair is grown long and combed over the short hair area to minimize the appearance of the scalp. Sometimes the parting is lowered so that more hair can be used to cover t ...

hairstyle. ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' used to lampoon Robinson under the nickname 'Smuggins'. In a sketch on the BBC's ''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

'' he was impersonated by an actor wearing a cricket box over his forehead. Robinson was also the subject of a sketch by

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

and

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

in the second series of ''

A Bit of Fry & Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series ...

'', and Fry occasionally did an affectionate impression of Robinson when hosting the quiz show '' QI''. He was also lampooned by comedy duo David Mitchell and

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...

in the second series of ''

That Mitchell and Webb Look ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'' is a British sketch comedy television series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb that ran from 2006 to 2010. Many of its characters and sketches were first featured in the duo's radio show '' That Mitchell an ...

'', where he was shown as the presenter of an early version of their fictional gameshow ''Numberwang''. He appeared in a ''

Viz comic ''Viz'' is a British adult comic magazine founded in 1979 by Chris Donald. It parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'', but with extensive profanity, toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour ...

'' strip under the name Robin Robertson.

Personal life

Robinson married actress Josephine Richard, whom he had met while a student at

, in 1958. They had three children including the actress Lucy Robinson. The couple remained together for more than fifty years, until Robert's death. He died aged 83 in St Mary's Hospital,

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

on 12 August 2011 after a long period of ill health.

Books

*''Inside Robert Robinson'' (journalism) *''Prescriptions of a Pox Doctor's Clerk'' (journalism) *''Landscape with Dead Dons'' (1956) (mystery novel) *''The Conspiracy'' (1968) (novel) *''The Dog Chairman'' (1982) (journalism) * ''The Everyman Book of Light Verse'' (1984) (as editor) *''Bad Dreams'' (1989) (novel) * ''Skip All That'' (1996) (autobiography) *''The Club'' (2000) (novel)

References

External links

* *
Broadcaster Robert Robinson dies at 83
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Robert 1927 births 2011 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford BBC radio presenters BBC television presenters English game show hosts English male journalists English radio personalities English television presenters Broadcast mass media people from Liverpool People educated at Raynes Park County Grammar School Radio critics English male novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English male writers