Michael Robbins

Michael Robbins was born in Croydon, Surrey, to Percival W. Robbins (1899–1956) and Bertha May née Sindall (1900–1997), who outlived him. From 1939 to 1944 Robbins was a pupil at St Michael's College, a Catholic school for boys, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He then went on to work as a bank clerk and later became an actor after appearing in amateur dramatic performances also in Hitchin, where he and his family lived at the time.

Robbins made his television debut as the cockney soldier in Roll-on Bloomin' Death. Primarily a comedy actor, he is best remembered for the role of Arthur Rudge, the persistently sarcastic husband of Olive (Anna Karen), in the popular sitcom On the Buses (1969–73). Robbins and Karen provided the secondary comic storyline to Reg Varney's comedy capers at the bus depot. Robbins appeared in the first six series but left before what would become the final season because he wanted to return to theatre work. He appeared in the series film spin-offs, On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses, and Holiday on the Buses (which came out after he had left the series in 1973).

His other comedy credits include non-recurring roles in Man About the House, Oh Brother!, The Good Life, One Foot in the Grave, The New Statesman, George and Mildred, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?. He appeared as a rather humorously portrayed police sergeant in the TV adaptation of Brendon Chase.

As well as these comic roles, he assumed various straight roles in some of the major British television shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including that of the hard-drinking old sea dog Harry Baxter in The Saint episode The People Importers. He made appearances in Minder, The Sweeney, Z-Cars, Return of the Saint, Murder Most English, Rumpole Of The Bailey, The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Bill and the 1982 Doctor Who story "The Visitation".

Robbins' film credits included The Whisperers, Up The Junction, Till Death Us Do Part, The Looking Glass War, Zeppelin, The Great Muppet Caper and Blake Edwards' films The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Victor/Victoria. He also had an extensive career as a radio actor, including a role in the soap opera Waggoners' Walk.

In the mid-1970s he directed a film, How Are You?

He appeared as a councillor in EastEnders in June 1989.