Edward Michael Robbins (born 11 August 1955) is an English comedian, actor, broadcaster, radio DJ, television presenter and radio personality.

Career

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 (TV network), 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 on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

's '' Wood and Walters'' and '' Birds of a Feather'', provided the voiceover in series 10 of ''

Catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

'' from 1994 to 1995 and returned in Roy Walker's penultimate series (series 12) in 1997-98, and the BBC's '' Little Britain''. He also starred in

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

's ''

Phoenix Nights '' Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights'', sometimes shortened to ''Phoenix Nights'', is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton, Greater Manchester. The show is a spin-off from the "In th ...

'' (2001–02) for both series as Den Perry, the main "villain", and also the Governor in '' The Slammer''. His most recent roles were in ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'' in 2012 as Victor St. James as well as '' Hank Zipzer'' in episode 8 playing Bob Bing The Sausage King and Diddy TV playing Larry Weinsteinberger/Bingbongberger. In 2004 he played Don Dibley in series 13 episode 11 of Heartbeat. Mountains and Molehills. He guest starred as Barry Quid in Series 10 of '' Birds of a Feather'' and also in the comedy series ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series 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 lives ...

'' as Tony Cluedo, singer of Crème Brulee. 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 Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

'' books by Christopher Awdry for audio cassette. 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 National League 2 North ...

, where his son, Jack, played as a prop. He is also a supporter of

Wrexham AFC Wrexham Association Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the Oldest football clubs, oldest club in Wales and the Oldest football clubs, third-oldest professional associatio ...

as was his father. Robbins is also the President of Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Robbins is the brother of actresses

Kate Kate 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 author o ...

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; ) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its Wales women's national football team, correspo ...

between 1909 and 1946. Robbins has performed in panto at the Charter Theatre, Preston and in 2014 he performed

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

at the

Plaza Cinema Plaza Cinema may refer to the following cinemas in England: * Plaza Cinema, Chichester (1920–1960) * Plaza Cinema, Skipton (1912–present) *Plaza Cinema, Stockport (1932–present) *Plaza Cinema, Weston-super-Mare (1911–2023) {{disambigua ...

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, 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 cardiac arrest 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 known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Audiobooks

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Ted 1955 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male comedians English male television actors English male voice actors English radio personalities Male actors from Liverpool People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Boys Male actors from Blackburn Comedians from Liverpool Alumni of the University of Liverpool Comedians from Lancashire