| A new book will be published in June 2003 to accompany the TV programmes “Fact or Fiction” that Tony has been doing for Channel 4. The book is called “In search of British Heroes” |
| Tony has completed a four part series on the Roman Caesars for Channel 4 which will be transmitted in June 2003.
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| Tony performed a rap called “kingfisher rap” at the Children's Book Group conference in Brighton in about 1985, the rap was originally written for a TV show for Central about the enviroment. |
The Boys and Mrs B: BBC comedy special/1x30mins/1977. Comedy. Mrs B has trouble controlling the boys are the youth club she runs.
Mrs.B: Thora Hird, Mark: Tony Robinson. This was a pilot for a comedy series but it never got further than the first episode |
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Pastoral Care: CH4/Regent “ Tickets for the Titanic” 1x60mins/Wednesday 24 February 1988 10.30pm. Comedy Drama. Written by Andy Hamilton. A vicar is targeted by the secret service after visiting campaigners at a nuclear missile base. Tony played the Rev. Timothy White a liberal vicar who was being blackmailed.
And I had an email sent to me by Karen who remembers the programme well and passed on the following to me: Many Thanks Karen.
As you may have gathered from the title, the "Tickets for the Titanic" series were comedy-dramas with an overtone of black humour, even at times despair, and this one was a classic example. "Pastoral Care" was a drama dealing with the public's creeping paranoia about government surveillance during the Cold War.
Tony played a mild-mannered small-town vicar whose only vice is a couple of rounds of darts in the local pub of an evening. Unfortunately, one of his friends is involved with the local protests against nuclear weapons. Tony visits a protest in the friend's company and immediately comes under investigation by the government, who set up a tap on his telephone line to see the extent of his involvement in left-wing politics. A misunderstanding ensues: through no fault of his own, the vicar is made to look like a major player in the anti-nuclear protests and this leads to the government deciding to discredit him publicly. Soon the vicar's life becomes a nightmare, with doctored photos and fake scandalous articles placed in the tabloid press to blacken his reputation. It works, and the vicar is deserted by his friends and family. Eventually, the pressure gets too much and this leads to a complete mental breakdown. Picking up a baseball bat, he goes down to the tent at the end of the street which houses the "British Telecom" workers:
VICAR: *pulling back tent flap: calm voice* Hello. Are you working on the telephone lines here?
1ST BT WORKER: Oh, hello. Yes we are. Why, anything wrong with yours?
VICAR: *equally calmly* Yes. You're bugging it.
2ND BT WORKER: *cringing* Oh my God, Fred, he knows...
1ST BT WORKER: *shrinking away* Now look mate, don't get angry now...
But the vicar is angry. Very angry. After screaming at the pair of them that they've ruined his life, he lifts high the baseball bat and brings it down on them. The programme didn't show the violence, but it did show the government official musing thoughtfully over a report about the damage inflicted on the two unfortunates: "My word. Whoever would have thought a vicar would be so handy with a baseball bat? Well, you'd better find him..." The programme ends with the vicar in a silent white cell which could equally be that of a prison or an asylum. In a final shot which will stay with me forever, the vicar stares at the blank wall in front of him: he lifts his hand, thumb and middle fingers almost touching, and pushes it forward as if propelling an invisible dart through the air. "One hundred and eighty!" he exclaims in satisfaction before his eyes slide across and he gives the camera a small smile.
*shudder*
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| Knight School: This was a children’s series for Central TV written by Mark Billingham, who was one of the guards in Maid Marian and is now a very successful crime writer. Tony was script editor and played a crazed madman in one episode. |
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Sam on Boff’s island (72-73): This was a reading series for BBC schools in the early 70’s involving puppets called the Boff’s and their enemies the Hairy Gurglers. Tony played Sam.
www.tv.cream.org
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| Beat the Bully video: Teachers and parents are given advice on how to tackle bullying both in and out of school in a revised guidance pack from the Department for Education and Employment. The pack includes a video featuring actor Tony Robinson, who was himself bullied at school |
CD-ROM narrated by Tony on the Tolpuddle Martyrs:
An interactive story of the Dorchester Labourers who were convicted and sentenced to seven years transportation after forming a trade union. Over 500 pages and 3 hours narration |
| Tony has narrated several Food Safety videos: FOOD SAFETY STRIKES BACK.
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| Oxford video: The story of Oxford and its people is being told in a new video which has been produced by the Museum of Oxford. The video, which is narrated by Actor Tony Robinson, of Black Adder and The Time Team, takes viewers of on journey back in time to the dawn of civilisation before the City of Oxford was born. It goes on to chart the progress of the City from prehistoric times to the 21st Century |
| Tales from the Madhouse : eight 14-minute video programmes. The characters are people who were eyewitnesses of Jesus and his death. The setting is a crumbling Victorian asylum or madhouse: a dark and uncertain place, where people live out and are haunted by their regrets, dreams and memories. Tony takes part in one of the programmes |
| Radio Broadcast : "Badger by Owl Light" (1976) - this is a thriller/murder mystery in which Tony's character comes to a rather gruesome end. Thankfully, you don't hear this happening. His body is discovered by the narrator.
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Radio Broadcast : "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (1995ish) - this is based on the fairy tale by ETA Hoffman. Tony plays the nutcracker soldier as well as one or two other characters. In case you were wondering this is the story on which the ballet "The Nutcracker" is based.
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| In 1988 Tony produced a historical/musical story about the Celtic warrior queen Boudicca, with Toyah Wilcox singing. This was broadcast on Children’s BBC around Christmas time. |
Again in 1988 Tony presented a TV competition for amateur filmmakers called "Showreel 88"
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In 1990 Tony did narration and voices for the ITV cartoon "Nelly the Elephant".
With Lulu as the voice for Nelly.
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| In 1981 Tony had a regular role in "Big Jim and The Figaro Club". This was a situation comedy about the exploits of a group of builders in the 1950's, and their quarrels with Clerk of Works. Unsurprisingly, Tony played a character called "Titch". According to the Daily Mirror, it's this performance that led to Tony getting the part of "Baldrick".
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In 1991 Tony played a school headmaster in "Diary of A Teenage Health Freak". He was a snooty character with a slight "Northern" accent. The programme was a tamer version of "Adrian Mole".
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Also in 1991, Tony played a congenital liar in "Virtual Murder". His character kept confessing to various outlandish crimes and pretended to be an expert in forensic science. He was then captured by some real criminals. Luckily, the hero and heroine (a psychologist and his assistant) rescued him. "Virtual Murder" was a rather weird series, a bit like "The Avengers" and culminated in the hero confronting a murderer in a "virtual" landscape.
www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/tv/vmurder.htm
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In about 1994 he did voices for another ITV cartoon called "Toucan Tecs".
Around the same time he narrated the story "The TobyMan" on Radio 5. This was a story about a young would-be highwayman written by Dick King-Smith (creator of "Babe" aka "The Sheep Pig".)
www.toonhound.com/toucantecs.htm
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| Appeared in School Promotional Science video “ Science Stinks – Are you curieous” with Kate Lonergan who played Maid Marian in Maid Marian and her Merry Men. It was produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and Chemical Industries Association.1990 |
| First notable TV appearance was as the cerebral palsied Ernie Roberts in Horizons’ award winning documentary “Joey”. |
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Stage: Follow the star: Westminster Theatre December 1975
(Chichester festival theatre).
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A presenter on the children’s programme Playaway:
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Storyworld: an ITV schools programme in which Tony used the magic word qwertyuiop to bring story’s to life.
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| Tony appeared in film clips made for the observation round for the Krypton factor, the clips were made into mini-serials, a two-minute section would be played each week. |
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An episode of Bergerac: Episode 2 series 8 “ My name is Sergeant Bergerac” Broadcast 21 Jan 1990
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| Ecotoons- Tony presents a collection of 30 short films from young animators around the globe on the environmental problems. |
Big Bad world: appeared in two episodes:
www.epguides.com/BigBadWorld/guide.shtml
www.ardalohanlon.co.uk/bbw.htm
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Film: Neverending story III : played Engywook:
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| Who Dares Wins: comedy programme on Channel 4, Tony took his clothes off a lot!! I was too young to have been allowed to watch it. Damn!!!!
[Picture taken around the time of Who Dares Wins stage tour 1987ish.]
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Great Journeys of the world: for BBC 2: Tony went to the Caribbean.
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Presenter of The good book guide: Tony travels through the Biblical landscape and focus on aspects and attitudes that surface as he reflects.
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| Did a sketch for The Good Sex Guide!!! Season 1 episode 2. |
| Presented Stay tooned: a BBC series for younger viewers through much of the '80s featuring cartoons. |
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Fat Tulips garden: Tony wrote 30 episodes of this for Central TV.
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Local History search: Channel 4 schools programme: 4x20minute programmes broadcast jan/feb 2002.
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Macbeth, William Wallace programmes to be followed by programmes on Robin Hood, Boudicea, Richard the Lionheart.
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The good health guide to drugs (1995): Channel 4 schools programme 3x15 minute sections aimed at 9-12 year olds.
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Odysseus: the greatest hero of them all: a 13 part TV series for BBC based on Homers lliad and Odyssey.
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Blood and Honey: written 26 episodes of his Old testament series.
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Points of view
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| Hospital Watch |
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Airline: A fly on the wall documentary about the staff of EasyJet narrated by Tony.
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| The Jesus files: With the help of historical and archaeological evidence Tony uncovers background material on Jesus' life in Galilee and finds out more about his life and times. Using the concept that what if modern computerized "files" had been kept on Jesus by the authorities as he went through his life. |
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Wrote and performed a monologue about Judas Iscariot for the BBC in Easter Tales: shown: Monday 17 April 2001
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Young Indiana jones chronicles: Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal: 3/4/92: Tony played the French photographer Pierre,complete with fake beard and French accent.
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The young ones: Tony appeared in one episode : Bambi :
www.epiguides.com
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HOLED (1/97): A TV Movie about a foursome who has golfed together every weekend for 10 years. But all the old rivalries and secrets come to a head one day with fatal results. Tony is one of the group, a hypochondriac who rides his bike to the course (one of the others arrives in his personal helicopter).
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Trigger Happy TV: Interview in an episode of series two.
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| Adverts: Tony did voice over for British Gas advert(2000) and appeared in an advert for Royal Mail Stamps(1999)
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| Presented a series of short programmes called Christmas Reflections (Dec 1999)
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| Took part on Call My Bluff
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| Tony appeared in an episode of BBC programme “Doctors” with his hand stuck up a cow!!!! “It shouldn’t happen to a doctor” 2002 |
| “The Wonderful World of Dung” 50 mins. Natural world series. Tony has a humourous look at our attitude to recycling compared with the way used by plants and animals.
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| The story of the 8-pointed Cross, a 40 minute video, presented by Tony Robinson, An introduction to the history of St Johns Ambulance. |
| Quote: Tony Robinson:"I left school at sixteen, believing that learning was a sort of punishment that you avoided at all costs. It was only in my mid-twenties that I began to understand what a profoundly satisfying experience learning can be; not only that but it can be great fun too. This perception has transformed my adult life and made me hungry to learn all I can about myself and the world about me."
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| Provided voice for Chillyfish in a Power Rangers episode (8.11): Silent Sleep |
| Once upon a time: First produced at the Duke of York's Theatre, St. Martin's Lane, London on December 21st, 1972, (26 matinée performances) presented by David Frost. It starred Tim Curry, Tony Robinson and Kerry Gardner. |
