Full Name Ronald Askwiths Role Film actor Name Robin Askwith | Years active 1968-present Occupation Actor | |
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Books The Confessions Of Robin Askwith Parents Hazel Askwith, Nelson Askwith Movies Confessions of a Window, Confessions of a Driving Instructor, Confessions of a Pop Performer, Horror Hospital, Confessions from a Holiday C Similar People Linda Hayden, Antony Booth, Sheila White, Bill Maynard, Leonie Mellinger | ||
Robin askwith confesses to the gentleman cabbie
Robin Askwith (born Ronald Askwiths, 12 October 1950) is an English film actor, most famous for his role as Timmy Lea in the Confessions sex comedies series. In 1975, at Drury Lane’s New London Theatre, he was voted Most Promising Newcomer – Male at the "Evening Standard British Film Awards". Askwith's most recent television role was that of musician Ritchie de Vries in Coronation Street.
Contents
- Robin askwith confesses to the gentleman cabbie
- Robin Askwith Confessions of a Coronation Street Star
- Early life
- Education
- Confessions
- Stage work
- Television work
- Recent activity
- Television commercials
- Recordings
- Filmography
- References
Robin Askwith - Confessions of a Coronation Street Star
Early life
Askwith was born in Southport, Lancashire, England, the eldest child of Nelson Askwith and Hazel (née Cookson). His father served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and his mother in the Women's Royal Naval Service (popularly and officially known as the Wrens). Askwith is a great-nephew of the comic Robb Wilton.
Education
Askwith was educated at Orley Farm where he made his first stage appearance as the Archangel Gabriel in a Nativity play and appeared in the seniors’ production of The Gondoliers; followed by Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and the University of Bristol reading English and Drama.
Confessions...
Askwith appeared in a number of film and television roles before appearing in Antony Balch's Horror Hospital (1973). It is a hybrid of horror and the mild titillation of the later 'Confessions...' films. Around the same time, Askwith also appeared in a Carry On film, Carry On Girls and the spin-off film version of the Bless This House (both also 1973) television sitcom, both with Sid James. These appearances led film makers Norman Cohen, Greg Smith and Michael Klinger to offer him the starring role in Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974), in the end directed by Val Guest. The part was turned down by several other candidates, Richard Beckinsale, Richard O'Sullivan, Nicky Henson and Dennis Waterman. The success of the film led to three sequels, Confessions of a Pop Performer, Confessions of a Driving Instructor and Confessions from a Holiday Camp.
Although the Confessions series came to an end with Confessions from a Holiday Camp, a fifth and a sixth film, Confessions of a Plumber's Mate and Confessions of a Private Soldier had been planned in 1977. Askwith even expressed a desire to direct Private Soldier, but neither film materialised. Plans to shoot a further made-for-video Confessions film in the 1980s also came to nothing, although by this time he was appearing in the ITV sitcom Bottle Boys.
Stage work
Askwith’s extensive work on stage, includes numerous farces such as Run For Your Wife, Casanova's Last Stand, One For The Road plus the stage Confessions sequel The Further Confessions of a Window Cleaner and Terry Johnson's Dead Funny. From 11 December 2012 – 27 January 2013, he appeared at the Mill at Sonning, Reading, Berkshire in Ray Cooney's farce Caught in the Net.
In pantomimes, Askwith has appeared with the Chuckle Brothers in Dick Whittington, with Frank Bruno and Sooty in a Wolverhampton production of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and in various productions of Aladdin as Abanazar.
More unusual stage roles include the title role in a production of Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and the Child Catcher in a 2006 touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Television work
Early television roles saw him make cameo appearances in Public Eye, The Main Chance, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), as well as comedies such as Father, Dear Father and starring in two series of Bottle Boys. He has also made appearances in the soap operas EastEnders, Doctors, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street where he played a holiday tour guide named Aidan. The episodes of the soap that featured Askwith were filmed in Malta, close to the island of Gozo where he lived for many years. Robin returned to Coronation Street on 11 December 2013 as Ritchie de Vries.
Recent activity
Askwith’s autobiography, The Confessions of Robin Askwith, was published by Ebury Press in 1999. The book documents his early life and acting career, the success of the Confessions films, and his relationship with the actress (and occasional Confessions co-star) Linda Hayden, his common-law wife during the 1970s. He was later married to the actress Leonie Mellinger.
Askwith made a cameo appearance in the film Run For Your Wife, released in the UK on 14 February 2013. He has been in Coronation Street as Ritchie de Vries, joining the cast in December 2013. His role in the TV comedy drama Benidorm was broadcast in January 2016.