John Robins

John Robins: Award-Winning Comic, Radio Host, and Mental Health Advocate

John Robins is one of the most critically acclaimed stand-up comics of his generation, now best known for his radio and podcast partnership with BBC Radio 5.

Having completed numerous sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and picking up the Chortle Awards for Best Compere, one for Best Radio, and A Three Weeks Editors Choice Award, in 2017 he scooped the big one, winning The Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show The Darkness of Robins. A 68-date UK tour followed, culminating in a sold-out show at London’s Hammersmith Eventim Apollo.

John is a familiar face on TV having appeared on Live At The Apollo (BBC), Mock The Week (BBC), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave), Live At The Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and Stand-Up Central (Comedy Central). In 2018 he took a year off from The Edinburgh Fringe and hosted Beat The Internet, a quiz show created by Vice Studios and broadcast on Dave.

He is known for his radio and podcast partnership with Elis James. In 2014 they began presenting a show for XFM in the slot which had previously hosted Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Adam and Joe and Danny Wallace. The podcast of The Elis James and John Robins Show was a runaway success, receiving in excess of half a million downloads a month. They stayed at the station following the rebrand to Radio X, moving to the regular slot of Saturday afternoons 1-4 whilst also regularly filling in for Johnny Vaughan on his daily drive time show. In 2019, after five years at the station, they announced a move to BBC Radio 5Live for a two-hour Friday afternoon slot in between Adrian Chiles and Kermode and Mayo.

Throughout their time on radio, Elis and John have gained a reputation for their humorous, candid and sensitive discussion of mental health, which has led to a number of partnerships with charities such as Mind and CALM. The show spawned two national tours and a book, The Holy Vible, published by Trapeze (an imprint of Orion).

Elsewhere on radio, John has appeared on The News Quiz, The Now Show, Dilemma and Word Of Mouth, all for Radio 4. He regularly guests on numerous podcasts including The Adam Buxton Podcast, Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, Do The Right Thing, Isy Suttie’s The Things We Do For Love, The Comedian’s Comedian and Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown.

In 2019 John launched YouTube channel Bad Golf with friend and comedian Alex Horne. Capturing both the glory and the frustration of their regular rounds together, the channel shows that the sport is for everyone, regardless of ability.

John also publishes a regular column for The Metro, and is a versatile voiceover actor, working on campaigns for major companies like Ford, BT Sport, The BBC, Audible, Talk Talk, Jamesons, and The Economist.

John regularly speaks to corporate audiences regarding his challenges with mental health and embarked on a 48-date sell-out tour in 2023 with his much-anticipated show Howl.