Creator / Michael Robbins

"What a lot of rot you do talk!"

Michael Anthony Robbins, (14 November 1930 — 11 December 1992), was a British actor best known for playing Arthur Rudge in On the Buses.

His acting career began with amateur dramatic performances, before making his TV debut as a Cockney soldier in Roll-on Bloomin' Death. His best-remembered role was that of Arthur Rudge in On the Buses. Robbins was absent from the final series due to a desire to do more theatre work and a dislike of the scripts in the later series, however he returned for the third and final spin-off film, Holiday on the Buses.

Aside from playing Arthur, he was a notable character actor who played small roles in George & Mildred, The Good Life, Hi-de-Hi!, The New Statesman, Oh Brother!, One Foot in the Grave, and You Rang, M'Lord?.

He also made non-comedy appearances, notably playing six different characters in a period of 11 years in Z Cars.

He died from prostate cancer at the age of 62.

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Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:

Films

• Children of the Damned (1964) — Soldier (Uncredited Role)
• The Looking Glass War (1970) — Truck Driver
• On the Buses (1971) — Arthur Rudge
• Zeppelin (1971) — Cockney Sergeant
• Mutiny on the Buses (1972) — Arthur Rudge
• Holiday on the Buses (1973) — Arthur Rudge
• The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) — Ainsley Jarvis
• The Great Muppet Caper (1981) — Security Guard
• Victor/Victoria (1982) — Manager of Victoria's Hotel

Series

• The Avengers, 3 episodes:
  • "Dragonsfield" (1961) — Landlord
  • "Mr. Teddy Bear" (1962) — Henry Farrow
  • "Take Me to Your Leader" (1969) — Cavell
• Z Cars, 8 episodes:
  • "Come on the Lads" (1963) — Charlie
  • "One Good Turn" (1965) — Benny Dunn
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Gelignite: Part 1", "Gelignite: Part 2" (1967) — Alf Howard
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Stop Over: Part 1", "Stop Over: Part 2" (1970) — John Glass
  • "Domestic" (1973) — Ben Barton
  • "Dinner Break" (1974) — Len Shipley
• Dixon of Dock Green, 6 episodes:
  • "Missing" (1964) — Wilson
  • "The Root of All Evil" (1964) — Charlie Mills
  • "The Inside Man" (1965) — Thorpe
  • "Nothing to Say" (1966) — Phil Beckett
  • "The Complaint" (1966) — Frank Roberts
  • "The Run" (1967) — Mr. Slater
• Redcap, episode "A Town Called Love" (1964) — Private Pendlebury
• The Saint, 3 episodes:
  • "The Saint Steps In" (1964) — Smith
  • "The Double Take" (1968) — Pat Hurst
  • "The People Importers" (1968) — Harry
• Adam Adamant Lives!, episode "Death Has a Thousand Faces" (1966) — Jeffreys
• Callan, episode "Goodbye, Nobby Clarke" (1967) — Nobby Clarke
• On the Buses, 61 episodes (1969-72) — Arthur Rudge
• Department S, episode "The Man in the Elegant Room" (1969) — Burton
• The Sweeney, episode "Big Brother" (1975) — Kevin Lee
• The Good Life, episode "Whose Fleas Are These?" (1976) — Mr. Bulstrode
• Return of the Saint, episode "Collision Course: The Brave Goose" (1979) — Beeky
• George & Mildred, episode "The Last Straw" (1979) — Alf
• Play for Today, episode "Murder Rap" (1980) — Detective Sergeant Praed
• Minder, episode "All Mod Cons" (1980) — McQueen
• Doctor Who, 4-episode story "The Visitation" (1982) — Richard Mace
• Dempsey and Makepeace, episode "Jericho Scam" (1986) — Simmons
• Rumpole of the Bailey, episode "Rumpole's Last Case" (1987) — Cyril Timson
• Hi-de-Hi!, episode "Wedding Bells" (1988) — Roger
• The Bill, 2 episodes^{show list} "The Strong Survive", "Something Personal" (1989-91) — Tobin
• EastEnders, 2 episodes (1989) — Councillor
• One Foot in the Grave, 2 episodes:
  • "In Luton Airport No-One Can Hear You Scream" (1990) — Irate Neighbour
  • "The Man in the Long Black Coat" (1991) — Mr. Killick
• You Rang, M'Lord?, episode "Stranger in the Night" (1990) — Twelvetrees Senior
• The New Statesman, episode "Let Them Sniff Cake" (1991) — Mad Eddie
• Screen One, episode "Adam Bede" (1992) — Thias Bede

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