Edward Michael Robbins (born 11 August 1955) is an English comic, actor, television presenter and radio broadcaster. He has performed as a warm-up artist for numerous pre-recorded comedy shows that have been filmed before live studio audiences including

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

's ''

Wood and Walters ''Wood and Walters'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of seven shows in 1982. ...

'' and ''

Birds of a Feather ''Birds of a Feather'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC One from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998, then revived on ITV from 2 January 2014 to 24 December 2020. The series stars Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, with Lesley Jos ...

'', provided the voiceover in ''

Catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recogni ...

'' from 1994 to 1996 and returned in Roy Walker's penultimate series in 1998 and 1999, and the BBC's '' Little Britain''. He also starred in Peter Kay's '' Phoenix Nights'' (2001–02) for both series as Den Perry, the main "villain", and also the Governor in ''

The Slammer ''The Slammer'' (also known as ''The Slammer Returns'' for its final two series) is a children's talent show sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One and CBBC from 22 September 2006 until 26 July 2014. Set in a fictional prison called HM Slamme ...

''. His most recent roles were in ''

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

'' in 2012 as Victor St. James as well as ''

Hank Zipzer The ''Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever'Hank Zipzer: The Mostly True Confessions of the World's Best Underachiever'' in Books 1–3 and ''Hank Zipzer: The World's Best Underachiever'' in Book 4. series of American children's books ...

'' in episode 8 playing Bob Bing The Sausage King and

Diddy TV ''Diddy TV'' is a British children's sketch comedy series on CBBC. It stars Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood ( Dick and Dom). It is a sequel series to the '' Diddy Dick and Dom'' sketches on '' Dick & Dom in da Bungalow'' and ''Diddy Movies ...

playing Larry Weinsteinberger/Bingbongberger. He guest starred as Barry Quid in Series 10 of ''

'' and also in the comedy series ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...

'' as Tony Cluedo, singer of Crème Brulee. In 2020 Robbins appeared on the rebooted version of Crackerjack! as one of the "Crackerjack Players.

Personal life

Robbins is a supporter of

Rossendale RUFC Rossendale Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire. The club runs three senior sides, a colts team, and eleven junior sides. The first XV currently play in the Regional 1 North West. Ho ...

, where his son, Jack, plays as a prop. Robbins is also the President of Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

. Robbins is the brother of actresses

Kate Kate name may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American aut ...

and Amy Robbins and a first cousin once removed of Paul McCartney. His grandfather, also named Ted, served as secretary of the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

between 1909 and 1946. Robbins has performed in panto at the Charter Theatre,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

and in 2014 he performed

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

at the

Stockport Plaza The Plaza Super Cinema and Variety Theatre cinema in Stockport, England () opened in 1932 and is now a Grade II* listed building. After being a bingo hall for many years, it has now been restored as a cinema and theatre, showing classic films a ...

, returning to play Widow Twanky in Aladdin in 2017. He also performed in Cinderella at the Liverpool Empire in 2008. On 31 January 2015, Robbins suffered a heart attack and collapsed on stage, clutching his chest, during his solo sketch at the opening night of the ''Phoenix Nights Live'' tour at the

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has th ...

. His health has improved since then and he has lost two stone.

Filmography

Film

Television

He also narrated

the Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. T ...

books by

Christopher Awdry Christopher Vere Awdry (born 2 July 1940) is an English author. He is best known for his contributions to '' The Railway Series'' of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his late father, Wilbert Awdry (1911–1997). He ...

for audio cassette.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Ted 1955 births English radio personalities Living people Male actors from Liverpool People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Boys People from Blackburn 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors