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

ITV2 ITV2 is a 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 five analogue terrestrial stations, ...

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 ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' is a British comedy panel show broadcast on Channel 4 and its sister networks, airing since 3 June 2005. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr; the current team captains are Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan. The show is based ...

'' and the narrator of the reality series ''

Celebs Go Dating ''Celebs Go Dating'' is a British dating reality series. It began broadcasting on 29 August 2016 on E4, with the first series having 15 episodes. Paul Carrick Brunson and Anna Williamson currently appear as the dating agents, with Tom Read Wil ...

''. He presents

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

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

Early life

Beckett was born on 2 January 1986 in

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He has four brothers. He went to Edgebury Primary School and then

Coopers School Coopers School is a mixed secondary school with academy status in Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley, England. The current Head of School is Claire Bessa. The school shares a site with the community special school Marjorie McClure. ...

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

. He attended

Canterbury Christ Church University , mottoeng = The truth shall set you free , established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Church of England , city ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

from 2004 to 2007, where he studied

Tourism Management Hospitality Management and Tourism is the study of the hospitality industry. A degree in the subject may be awarded either by a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a relevant departme ...

Career

Beckett started performing stand-up in 2009. His performances lead to a third place in ''

So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past wi ...

,'' and winning the Amused Moose Laugh-Off which earned him an invitation to perform at the

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

in Australia. In

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, 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 Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

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 network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

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 Laura Whitmore (born 4 May 1985) is an Irish media personality and model based in London. She was a video jockey for MTV in 2008, and has since presented television shows, such as ''This Morning'' (2014), ''Survival of the Fittest'' (2018) an ...

and

Joe Swash Joseph Adam Swash is an English actor and television presenter, 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 a Celebrity...Get Me ...

. 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 Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW. History 1993–1997: Vi ...

from August 2014 until 2018. Alongside fellow comedian

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

and former footballer

Jimmy Bullard James Richard Bullard (born 23 October 1978) is an English former professional footballer, coach and television personality. He is the co-host of the Saturday morning Sky Sports show '' Soccer AM''. As a player he was a midfielder and played y ...

, Beckett hosts UK television channel

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

's comedy-football podcast ''The Magic Sponge''; an irreverent look at the lives of professional footballers. Beckett narrated the 2016 E4 series ''

''. 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 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

panel show ''

''. Beckett was a contestant and eventual winner on the third series of '' Taskmaster'', which aired in October 2016. In 2018, he presented ''Wedding Day Winners'', with

Lorraine Kelly Lorraine Kelly, (born 30 November 1959) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter. She has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' Good Morning Britain'' (1988–1992), '' GMTV'' (1993–2010), ''This Morning'' (2003 ...

, and '' All Together Now'', with

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

, both Saturday-night entertainment series for

. The following year, in 2019, Beckett started presenting a Sky TV series ''Rob & Romesh vs...'' where he and fellow comic and presenter

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...

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 Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on '' The Last Leg'' (2012–present), ''Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), '' Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Mock ...

. The pair frequently interview celebrities regarding the trials and tribulations of parenting during the Coronavirus lockdown. On 20 February 2022, Beckett started his new 5-7pm Sunday Show on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, a timeslot he will be sharing throughout the year with ''

Paul O'Grady on the Wireless ''Paul O'Grady on the Wireless'' (billed as ''Paul O'Grady'' and referred to on-air as ''TeamPOG'' or ''TeamPOGradio'') is the incarnation of the Sunday teatime slot on BBC Radio 2 that aired from 5 April 2009 to 14 August 2022, hosted by Paul ...

''.

Filmography

Television

Film

Personal life

In September 2016, Beckett announced on his YouTube channel that he recently had a child. In March 2019, Beckett told his good friend

Ken Bruce Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992. Early life and career Bruce was born a ...

that he has two daughters, during a Radio 2 interview. Beckett is a supporter of

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

and

Bromley F.C. Bromley Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Bromley, Greater London, England. They are currently members of and play at Hayes Lane. History Established in 1892,''Rob Beckett''
(BBC Radio 2) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Rob 1986 births Living people 21st-century English comedians BBC Radio 2 presenters Comedians from London Comic Relief people English male comedians People from Mottingham