John Robins

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Biography

John Michael David Robins (born on 4 May 1982) is an English stand-up comedian and radio presenter.

After graduating from Oxford University, Robins returned to his hometown of Bristol, where he shared a flat with fellow comedians Jon Richardson, Russell Howard, and Mark Olver, in 2006.

He began performing comedy in 2005, and reached the semi-finals of the So You Think You're Funny competition at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2007, he participated in the Comedy Zone showcase at the festival. He performed a solo show at the Edinburgh Festival every year between 2009 and 2015, including Skinny Love (2009), Nomadic Revery (2010), Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2011), Incredible Scenes (2012), Where Is My Mind? (2013), This Tornado Loves You (2014), and Speakeasy (2015). All these shows were toured around the UK, and he has also performed at the Machynlleth Comedy Festival and the Leicester Comedy Festival.

Between 2007 and 2010, he appeared both as guest and as co-presenter on The Russell Howard Show and The Jon Richardson Show on BBC 6 Music. In 2011, he performed stand-up on Russell Howard's Good News.

In 2014, he started hosting the Elis James and John Robins Show on XFM (now Radio X) with fellow comedian Elis James.

He performed in New Zealand for the first time in 2014, during the NZ International Comedy Festival, with his show Where Is My Mind?.

In 2016, he embarked on a tour show with co-host Elis James called The Elis James and John Robins Experience.

In 2017, he jointly won (along with Hannah Gadsby) the Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show The Darkness of Robins, which focused on the breakdown of his relationship with the comedian Sara Pascoe. The show was later filmed by the BBC and eventually made available to watch on Netflix.

In 2018, it was announced that he would host a new game show for Dave entitled Beat the Internet. The show ran for 20 episodes and was not renewed for a second series. Also in 2018, he and Elis James published the book The Holy Vible.

In 2019, he launched the Bad Golf YouTube channel with friend and fellow comedian Alex Horne.

The Elis James and John Robins Show aired its final episode on Radio X (previously XFM), after five years on the air, in 2019. The pair have since co-hosted a new show together on BBC Radio 5 Live, with all episodes available for download as podcasts.

He returned to Edinburgh in 2019 with the show Hot Shame. The same year, he and Elis James launched the podcast How Do You Cope?... with Elis and John on BBC Radio 5 Live, which featured the pair talking to celebrities about mental health issues.

In 2021, he launched the podcast The Moon Under Water with his friend and fellow comedian Robin Allender, in which the pair talk to a guest about their dream pub. The pair left the podcast in 2023 and were replaced as 'landlord' by Robbie Knox.

In 2023, he presented his new show Howl at the Edinburgh Festival, alongside a new work in progress show. He then toured the show Howl, incorporating material from both shows, including discussion of recent changes in his life, and his new sobriety.

His TV appearances include Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, Live from the BBC, Celebrity Deal or No Deal (with Sarah Millican), and on the 2013 Christmas mash-up of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Deal or No Deal.

He has also appeared on several radio programmes, including Matt Forde's Talksport show, BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth and BBC Radio Wales's What's the Story?.