Eric Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939), known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor, comedian and activist best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and Jim Royle in The Royle Family..
Tomlinson was born Eric Tomlinson in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, but has lived in Liverpool nearly all his life. Tomlinson was born in Bispham because his mother, Peggy, was evacuated there due to the Liverpool Blitz in World War II. On 22 March 1962 he married first wife Marlene; they had three children.
A qualified plasterer by trade, he worked on various building sites for many years becoming actively involved in politics (firstly with the far-right, then more predominantly with the far-left). In 1972 he joined the flying pickets in a building workers’ dispute in Shrewsbury.
As an actor he has found considerable success, appearing as Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside from show’s inception in 1982 until being written out in 1988, followed by DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and as Jim Royle in the sitcom The Royle Family.
In 2002 Tomlinson starred in the BBC Series Nice Guy Eddie playing a Liverpool private investigator. Using down-to-earth cases – actually based upon real-life ones from Liverpool private investigator Tony Smith – the show also starred Tom Ellis and John Henshaw.
Tomlinson featured heavily in series two of Paul Abbott’s series Clocking Off, in a BAFTA-nominated episode written by Danny Brocklehurst.
Tomlinson has also starred in several films, notably Mike Bassett: England Manager,
Raining Stones and Hillsborough, a made-for-TV film about the families of the victims of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster, in which he portrayed John Glover – the father of victim Ian.Tomlinson has fronted a series of television adverts for the utility company British Gas. In January 2010 he began to appear in a series of advertisements for the frozen food chain Farmfoods.
In 2003 he published an autobiography, entitled Ricky, which spent five weeks at the top of the UK best-selling new books chart. In the book, Tomlinson admitted to having a number of affairs as well as describing in detail his time in prison.
Tomlinson is also a keen banjo and harpsichord player, and has played the instruments in many episodes of The Royle Family. In 2001 he teamed up with fellow Brookside actor Michael Starke and other friends for his own rendition of well-known folk songs including “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary” and a cover of The Pogues’ “Are You Lookin’ At Me?”. A CD album entitled Music My Arse was released the same year, it managed to peak at Number 127 in the UK Albums Chart. He released a single at Christmas 2006 entitled Christmas My Arse which reached #25 in the UK Singles Chart.
On 19 June 2006 Tomlinson made his debut as the guest celebrity in Dictionary Corner on the long-running UK Channel 4 game show Countdown. In the summer of 2006, Tomlinson toured at theatres across the UK with his show An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson where he was interviewed about his life by Elton Welsby. In December 2006 he presented a programme in Five’s Disappearing Britain series entitled When Coal was King, in which he made controversial comments about Margaret Thatcher’s potential death.
In March 2007, Tomlinson presented BBC’s One Life: Guilty My Arse, detailing his version of the Shrewsbury Two case, in which he compared his political activism as a trade unionist to the work of the suffragettes. In June 2007, Tomlinson[clarification needed] Liverpool-based Royle Motors garage joined Good Garage Scheme (Forte), an online Forte Libricants association requiring its member garages to adhere to strict customer service guidelines. On 19 October 2007 Tomlinson had a major heart operation and underwent a quadruple heart bypass at Liverpool’s Cardiothoracic Centre. Consultant cardiac surgeon Aung Oo said: “The operation went according to plan and he is now recovering within the hospital’s critical care unit.”
During 2008 and 2009 Tomlinson took his Laughter Show theatrical/arena revue on tour of the United Kingdom with fellow comedians Tony Barton, Duncan Norvelle and Pauline Daniels.
In 2009 he had a leading role as the Head Judge in the “VMH Club Star Talent Trail”, a local talent-based competition held at the VMH Club in Garston, Liverpool. A large number of North-West based performers entered the competition which was ultimately won by 14 year old Shaun Walsh from Liverpool.
In May 2010 Tomlinson opened his own cabaret club in Liverpool, The Green Room. The comic has teamed up with brothers Richard and Simon Wallace, from Liverpool production company Red Hot Media, to open the 250-seater cabaret lounge on Duke Street, Liverpool.
In March 2011 Tomlinson acted in an advertising campaign for furniture and furnishing store, The Range.
Copyright Peter Mowbray Live in Blackpool Ltd
