Rob Beckett
Beckett at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012
Born
Robert Anthony Beckett

(1986-01-02) 2 January 1986 (age 38)[1]
Mottingham, London, England
Occupation(s)Comedian, narrator, presenter
Television
Spouse
Louise Watts
​
(m. 2015)​
Children2
Websiterobbeckettcomedy.com

Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, narrator, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 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 and the narrator of the reality series Celebs Go Dating. He presents BBC One entertainment series Wedding Day Winners and All Together Now.

Early life

Beckett was born on 2 January 1986 in Mottingham, London.[2] His father (nicknamed "Super Dave") was a driver of, throughout his career, vans, lorries, oil tankers, and cabs.[3][4] He calls his mother, who was a homemaker throughout his childhood and later worked in a shop, "Big Suze."[5] He has four brothers.

He went to Edgebury Primary School and then Coopers School in Chislehurst.

He attended Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent from 2004 to 2007, where he studied Tourism Management.

Career

Beckett started performing stand-up in 2009.[6] His performances led to a third place in So You Think You're Funny,[7] and winning the Amused Moose Laugh-Off which earned him an invitation to perform at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia.[8] In Adelaide, Beckett was nominated for the best newcomer award in 2011.[9] He made his debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2012 with his solo show "Rob Beckett's Summer Holiday".[10] In 2011, Beckett made a guest appearance as Mike in the Channel 4 series Fresh Meat.[11]

From 2012 until 2014, Beckett co-hosted I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!, the ITV2 spin-off from the main show. He presented the show with Laura Whitmore and Joe Swash.[12] He announced his departure from the show in October 2015, to concentrate on his tour. He was replaced by David Morgan.[13]

Beckett also presented the Rock'N'Roll Football Sunday show on Absolute Radio from August 2014 until 2018.[14]

Alongside fellow comedian Ian Smith and former footballer Jimmy Bullard, Beckett hosts UK television channel Dave's comedy-football podcast The Magic Sponge; an irreverent look at the lives of professional footballers.[15] Beckett narrated the 2016 E4 series Celebs Go Dating.[16] 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 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats.

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,[17] and All Together Now, with Geri Halliwell, both Saturday-night entertainment series for BBC One.[18] The following year, in 2019, Beckett started presenting a Sky TV series Rob & Romesh vs... where he and fellow comic and presenter Romesh Ranganathan 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. The pair frequently interview celebrities regarding the difficulties of parenting during the Coronavirus lockdown. On 20 February 2022, Beckett started his new 5-7pm Sunday Show on BBC Radio 2, a timeslot he shared throughout the year with Paul O'Grady on the Wireless.[19][20][21][22]

Personal life

Beckett married Louise "Lou" Watts, a teacher, in 2015.[23][24] The couple has two daughters.[25]

Beckett is a supporter of Arsenal.[26]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Fresh Meat Mike
2012–2014 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! Co-presenter 3 Series
2013–present 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Panelist 13 episodes
2013–2016 Mock the Week Recurring Panellist 5 Series (20 episodes)
2016–present Celebs Go Dating Narrator 8 Series (182 episodes) to date
8 Out of 10 Cats Team captain 4 series (from Series 19 onwards)
2016–2017 Taskmaster Contestant Series 3 winner & Champion of Champions special
2017 Comic Relief Co-presenter 1 episode
The One Show Guest presenter/himself 8 episodes
Comedy Playhouse: Static Rob
Anthony Joshua vs Rob & Romesh[27] Co-presenter with Romesh Ranganathan
2018 Wedding Day Winners Co-presenter with Lorraine Kelly 1 Series (6 Episodes)
2018–2019 All Together Now Presenter 2 series & 1 special
2018 Rob Beckett's Playing for Time Presenter
2019–present Rob & Romesh Vs...[28] Co-presenter with Romesh Ranganathan
2019 Knock Knock[29][30][31] Presenter Pilot Episode
2019 Head Hunters Presenter 1 Series (30 episodes)
2021–present Paul Sinha's TV Showdown[32] Team captain 1 Series (6 episodes)
2021 The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up to Cancer Contestant Series 4, episode 1
2021 Rob Beckett's Undeniable Presenter
2022 Unbreakable[33] Host
2022 Queens for the Night Judge
2022 DNA Journey Guest TV documentary
2023 British Academy Television Awards[34] Co-host With Romesh Ranganathan

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Cinderella Thomas Cecil
2023 Epic Tails[35] Poseidon, Apollo (voice) UK dub

References

  1. ^ "Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell". Spotify. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ Palmer, Jim (5 September 2013). "Mottingham comedian Rob Beckett chats to Vibe ahead of UK tour". News Shopper. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Rob Beckett: 'You have to suppress your working-class rage to operate in comedy'". the Guardian. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. ^ "'For women, it's behind enemy lines!' Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe on their parenting podcast". the Guardian. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Rob Beckett: 'You have to suppress your working-class rage to operate in comedy'". the Guardian. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Rob Beckett". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Finalists & Runners up". So You Think You're Funny?. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Amused Moose Laugh Off 2010". AmusedMoose. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Beckett and Smith". Edinburgh Festival. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ^ Cameron, Jamie (3 August 2012). "Rob Beckett's Summer Holiday". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The List. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Who is Rob Beckett? Everything you need to know about the All Together Now presenter". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. ^ Sperling, Daniel (7 November 2012). "'I'm a Celeb' Q&A: 'BoJo would be great'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. ^ "David Morgan for I'm a Celeb ITV2 spinoff". Digital Spy. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Rob Beckett on Absolute Radio". Absolute Radio. Bauer Radio. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  15. ^ "The Magic Sponge with Jimmy Bullard, Rob Beckett and Ian Smith". iTunes. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  16. ^ Donaldson, Laura (24 February 2017). "Celebs Go Dating: Viewers go wild for 'hilarious' narrator Rob Beckett as they brand him 'funnier than the actual show'". OK!. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Lorraine Kelly and Rob Beckett say 'I do' to BBC One's Wedding Day Winners". BBC. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Rob Beckett joins in with All Together Now on BBC One". BBC. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Radio 2 Paul O'Grady replacement named as fans vow to switch off". 18 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Here's how Spring 2022 looks on the BBC Radio 2 schedule - RadioToday". February 2022.
  21. ^ "Radio 2 - Schedules, Sunday 20 February 2022".
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Rob Beckett, 20/02/2022".
  23. ^ "'For women, it's behind enemy lines!' Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe on their parenting podcast". theguardian.com. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Rob Beckett: 'You have to suppress your working-class rage to operate in comedy'". theguardian.com. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Rob Beckett: 'You have to suppress your working-class rage to operate in comedy'". theguardian.com. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  26. ^ Beckett, Rob [@robbeckettcomic] (14 January 2018). "I wish I didn't support Arsenal so I could enjoy Arsenal Fan TV as much as everyone else. #arsenal" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Anthony Joshua vs Rob & Romesh, retrieved 4 March 2019
  28. ^ Rob & Romesh Vs, retrieved 4 March 2019
  29. ^ Knock Knock: Format
  30. ^ Waiting List for KNOCK KNOCK hosted by ROB BECKETT from SRO Audiences
  31. ^ Rob Beckett on Twitter: "Who’s coming?… "
  32. ^ "Paul Sinha's TV Showdown". itv.com. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Comedian Rob Beckett has today been named as the host of Unbreakable, the brand new competition format set to entertain audiences on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this autumn". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  34. ^ "British Academy Television Awards". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett play Greek gods in new movie". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

External links

Absolute Radio
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