Thursday,
17th January 2003
Robert Lindsay |
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| Robert
Lindsay |
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BAFTA
award-winning actor Robert Lindsay has always been proud of his Derbyshire
roots. |
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Robert
Lindsay is probably Ilkeston Town's most famous supporter - having
grown up in the town, the football club is understandably close to
his heart.
One
of three children in a close-knit family, Robert's father was a veteren
of World War II who was on a minesweeper that was one of the first
boats to land during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
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Desert
Island Discs
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These
were Robert's choices when he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert
Island Discs:
Sparky's Magic Echo (Radio 2 Children's
CD
Round the Horne (BBC Comedy with Kenneth Williams)
Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
Beatles - In My Life
Dream Academy - Life In a Northern Town
Puccini - La Boheme
Strauss - 2001: A Space Odysee
Elgar - Enigma Variations |
It was
whilst attending school that Robert was introduced to the world of
performing arts by an ethusiastic arts teacher who recognised his
potential and steered him towards that area.
Lindsay
was a huge fan of the poet DH Lawrence who was born in Eastwood -
only five miles away from Ilkeston - and he says he was inspired by
Lawrence's achievements.
After leaving school, Lindsay enrolled in the drama department of
a technical college in Nottingham, with the intention of becoming
a drama teacher.
But
after making friends at the Nottingham Playhouse, Lindsay was encouraged
to apply to study at RADA and he was accepted for the course in 1968
on a government grant.
Upon graduating from RADA, Lindsay's first job was as a dialect coach
for a repertory company in Essex, before joining a regional theatre
group and then graduating to roles in the West End.
But in was in 1977 that the breakthrough came when Lindsay was cast
as Wolfie Smith in the BBC sit-com Citizen Smith.
The
comedy, about a would-be revolutionary, made Lindsay a household name
and even lead to a national catchphrase: power to the people!
Lindsay then appeared in another comedy series 'Seconds Out' in 1981.
He played a boxer who fought his way from local bouts to the British
Middleweight Champion.
During
the eighties, Lindsay appeared in five BBC Shakespeare adaptations:
Fabian in Twelfth Night, Lysander in A Midsummer's Night's Dream,
Iachimo in Cymbeline, Edmund in King Lear and Benedick in Much Ado
About Nothing.
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| Robert
stars as Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith |
He also
joined with Paul McGann in the TV series 'Give Us a Break' and played
the title role in the movie 'Bert Rigby, You're a Fool.'
In 1991 came another career highlight for Lindsay when he won a BAFTA
for his leading role in Alan Bleasdale's dark comedy GBH.
In 1997 he joined an all-star cast including John Cleese, Michael
Palin and Jamie Lee Curtis in the comedy film Fierce Creatures and
a year later took on a more serious role in Divorcing Jack, a film
about the Northern Ireland peace process.
Robert's most recent screen appearnces include Fagin in Alan Bleasdale's
ITV adaptation of Oliver Twist and as Ben, the main character in the
BBC sit-com My Family.
Lindsay is also noted for his stage appearances and he won both a
Tony and Olivier award for his performances in the musical Me and
My Girl which travelled from the West End to Broadway in the mid-nineties.
Robert now lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, the TV presenter
Rosemarie Ford, and a son and daughter. |
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| Contact
Us |
BBC Derby
PO Box 104.5
Derby
DE1 3HL
(+44) 01332 361111
derby@bbc.co.uk |
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