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| caption = Webb in June 2018
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1972|9|29}}
| birth_place = [[Boston, Lincolnshire
| education = [[Robinson College, Cambridge]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|actor|writer}}
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'''Robert Patrick Webb''' (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside [[David Mitchell (comedian)|David Mitchell]] as the comedy duo [[Mitchell and Webb]].
Mitchell and Webb starred in the [[Channel 4]] sitcom ''[[Peep Show (British TV series)|Peep Show]]'', in which Webb plays [[Jeremy (Peep Show)|Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne]]. The two also starred in the sketch show ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', for which they then performed a stage
Webb is also a regular comedy panellist, appearing on shows such as [[The Bubble (game show)|''The Bubble'']], ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', ''[[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]'', ''[[QI]]'', ''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Mastermind]]'', ''[[Argumental]]'', and ''[[Was It Something I Said? (game show)|Was It Something I Said?]]'' He has also hosted and narrated several programmes. His other sitcom appearances include ''[[Blessed (TV series)|Blessed]]'', ''[[The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff]]'', and ''[[Fresh Meat (TV series)|Fresh Meat]]''.
==Early life==
Robert Patrick Webb was born on 29 September 1972 in [[Boston, Lincolnshire]], and grew up in [[Woodhall Spa]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Webb Profile – Robert Webb – Dave Faces – Dave Channel |url=https://dave.uktv.co.uk/dave-faces/robert-webb/article/robert-webb-profile/ |website=dave.uktv.co.uk |access-date=15 November 2017}}</ref>
==Career==
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The two put together their first project, a show about [[World War I]] titled ''Innocent Millions Dead or Dying – A Wry Look at the Post-Apocalyptic Age (With Songs)'', in January 1995.<ref name=theobserver>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Ben |title=Masters of comedy |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1856420,00.html |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |location=London |date=27 August 2006 |access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref><ref name=findarticles>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Sarah |title=David Mitchell & Robert Webb |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20061119/ai_n16858943 |url-status=dead |work=[[The Independent on Sunday]] |date=19 November 2006 |access-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513023506/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20061119/ai_n16858943 |archive-date=13 May 2007}}</ref> Webb later described it as being "fucking terrible".<ref name=theobserver/> From this the duo were given the chance to write for [[Alexander Armstrong]] and [[Ben Miller]], and for series two of ''[[Big Train]]''.<ref name=bbcProfile/> After minor work on ''The Jack Docherty Show'' and ''Comedy Nation'', their first break into television acting was in 2000, on the short-lived BBC sketch show ''[[Bruiser (TV series)|Bruiser]]'', which they primarily wrote, and starred in.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lewisohn |first=Mark |title=Bruiser |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bruiser_66600740.shtml |url-status=dead |access-date=8 December 2014 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214133616/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bruiser_66600740.shtml |archive-date=14 February 2007}}</ref>
In 2001, the duo were commissioned for a sketch show of their own, entitled ''[[The Mitchell and Webb Situation]]'', which ran for six episodes on the now defunct channel [[Play UK]].<ref name=bbcProfile/> Mitchell and Webb's next project came in 2003, with starring roles in the [[Channel 4]] sitcom ''[[Peep Show (British TV series)|Peep Show]]'', as flatmates [[Mark Corrigan (Peep Show)|Mark Corrigan]] and [[Jeremy (Peep Show)|Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne]] respectively.<ref name=peepshow>{{cite web|url=http://www.sitcom.co.uk/peep_show|title=Peep Show|publisher=The British Sitcom Guide|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref> The pair shared the 2007 [[Royal Television Society]] Award for "Comedy Performance",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rts.org.uk/Information_page_+_3_pic_det.asp?id=34996&sec_id=503 |title=Programme Awards 2007: Winners |publisher=Royal Television Society |access-date=8 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328012919/http://www.rts.org.uk/Information_page_%2B_3_pic_det.asp?sec_id=503&id=34996 |archive-date=28 March 2008}}</ref> and were jointly nominated for Best Television Comedy Actor at the 2006 British Comedy Awards.<ref name=bca>{{cite news |title=British Comedy Awards: Nominations |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6147936.stm |
[[File:Webbcropped.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|Webb in 2007]]
After the success of ''Peep Show'', Mitchell and Webb returned to sketch comedy with their [[BBC Radio 4]] [[sketch show]] ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Sound]]'', which ran for five series. The show was adapted for television and became ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]''; producer [[Gareth Edwards (producer)|Gareth Edwards]] described it as "the shortest pitch (he had) ever written".<ref name=theobserver/> Towards the end of 2006 the pair made their first tour, with a show called ''[[The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb]]''. The tour was criticised as just "a succession of largely unrelated scenes" by ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s Brian Logan, who gave it a rating of two stars.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1929726,00.html|title=The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb|access-date=8 December 2014|author=Logan, Brian|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref>
''That Mitchell and Webb Look'' won them the [[BAFTA]] for "Best Comedy Programme or Series" at the 2007 awards,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6670797.stm|title=Victoria Wood scoops Bafta double|access-date=8 December 2014|
They filmed ''Playing Shop'', a comedy television pilot for [[BBC2]] about two men who operate a business out of their shed, which they also wrote.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thornton |first=Michael |title=Mitchell and Webb reveal new sitcom |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a137869/mitchell--webb-reveal-new-sitcom.html |
The duo fronted the campaign of the UK version of [[Apple Inc.]]'s [[Get a Mac]] adverts, with Mitchell playing a PC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macobserver.com/article/2007/01/29.2.shtml|title=Apple UK Get a Mac Ads Debut|author=Gamet, Jeff|access-date=8 December 2014|publisher=Mac Observer.com}}</ref> The adverts proved controversial. Writing in ''The Guardian'', [[Charlie Brooker]] claimed that the use of Mitchell and Webb in the adverts was a curious choice. He compared the characters of PC and Mac in the adverts to those of Mark and Jeremy in ''Peep Show'', stating that "when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.'"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/story/0,,2006031,00.html|title=I hate Macs|date=5 February 2007|author=Brooker, Charlie|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 December 2014|location=London}}</ref> The British Sitcom Guide criticised the pair for "selling their souls".<ref name="BSA">{{cite web|url=http://www.sitcom.co.uk/features/awards2006.php|title=The British Sitcom Guide Awards 200|access-date=8 December 2014|publisher=The British Sitcom Guide}}</ref> One journalist called the adverts "worse than not funny", and accused Mitchell and Webb of "an act of grave betrayal" for taking corporate work.<ref name=who>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/04/07/btmitch107.xml&page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201045143/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2007%2F04%2F07%2Fbtmitch107.xml&page=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 December 2008|title=Who are those guys?|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=7 April 2007|access-date=8 December 2014|location=London|first=Andrew|last=Pettie}}</ref> In an interview with ''The Telegraph'', Webb responded to the critics of the Apple adverts, stating that "when someone asks, 'Do you want to do some funny ads for not many days in the year and be paid more than you would be for an entire series of ''Peep Show''?' the answer, obviously, is, 'Yeah, that's fine'".<ref name="who"/> In the same interview, Mitchell also said "I don't see what is morally inconsistent with a comedian doing an advert. It's alright to sell computers, isn't it? Unless you think that capitalism is evil – which I don't. It's not like we're helping to flog a baby-killing machine".<ref name="who"/>
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He and [[Olivia Colman]] also featured as a [[naturist]] couple in ''[[Confetti (2006 film)|Confetti]]'', a 2006 film about a competition for the most original wedding. Webb has since said that he believed that his genitals would be pixellated out but only discovered at the screening of the film that they were not.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Graham Norton Show Episode 2|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n9mdw|work=BBC One|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Alexis"/> Also in 2008, Webb made his West End stage debut in the UK premiere of [[Neil LaBute]]'s ''[[Fat Pig]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20820/fat-pig|title=The Stage Review of Fat Pig|access-date=8 December 2014|newspaper=The Stage}}</ref>
Webb won the 2009 series ''[[Let's Dance for Comic Relief|Let's Dance]]'' for the charity [[Comic Relief]], parodying the audition sequence from the film ''[[Flashdance]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Webb dances to Comic Relief title |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7944395.stm |
He has appeared on several panel shows, including ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', ''[[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]'' and ''[[QI]]''. In January 2011, Webb appeared on a celebrity version of BBC quiz ''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Mastermind]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Webb |first=Robert |title='Celebrity Mastermind' seemed like a good idea – but now I wish I'd passed|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8113812/Celebrity-Mastermind-seemed-like-a-good-idea-but-now-I-wish-Id-passed.html|access-date=28 April 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=5 November 2010}}</ref> answering nine questions correctly on his specialist subject (the novels of [[Ian McEwan]]) and 11 correctly on the general knowledge round.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sleb Mastermind – Show 6|url=http://lifeaftermastermind.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/sleb-mastermind-show-6.html|date=4 January 2011|publisher=lifeaftermastermind.blogspot.co.uk|access-date=28 April 2017}}</ref> In 2011 Webb played Dan, a geology lecturer, in the Channel 4 series ''[[Fresh Meat (TV series)|Fresh Meat]]''. Later that year, he was cast in the [[Costume drama|costume comedy]] ''[[The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff]]'', a parody of [[Charles Dickens]]' works. Since 2011, Webb has replaced [[Rufus Hound]] as team captain on the BBC comedy panel show ''[[Argumental]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jeffery |first=Morgan |title='Argumental' to relaunch with Sean Lock, Robert Webb |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a337004/argumental-to-relaunch-with-sean-lock-robert-webb/ |
Webb was the narrator of [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]'s anti-nostalgia series ''10 Things I Hate About'', which began on 16 April 2012. In each episode, Webb presented his opinion on the awful aspects of a particular year (1995, 1990, 1987, and 1999).<ref name="Alexis">{{cite news|title=Robert Webb: a peep into the future|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/may/31/robert-webb-after-peep-show|access-date=8 December 2014|author=Alexis Petridis|newspaper=The Guardian|date=31 May 2013}}</ref>
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From December 2012 Webb featured in adverts for [[comparethemarket.com]], as its founder Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom.<ref>{{cite web|title=Introducing Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom, CEO and Founder of comparethemarket.com|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRk3Ju6UQ0| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129030443/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRk3Ju6UQ0| archive-date=29 January 2014 | url-status=dead|via=YouTube|publisher=Google Inc.|author=comparethemarket.com|format=Video upload|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref>
From September 2021 Webb was a contestant in the [[Strictly Come Dancing (series 19)|nineteenth series]] of ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'', partnered with professional dancer [[Dianne Buswell]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000zwz3/strictly-come-dancing-series-19-launch-show |title=Strictly Come Dancing - Series 19: Launch Show |
Webb was the invited guest on the [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] long running series ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', hosted by [[Lauren Laverne]] in March 2023.
==Writing==
Together with Mitchell, Webb published his first comedy book ''[[This Mitchell and Webb Book]]'', which was released in the UK and the US in 2009 by HarperCollins imprint [[Fourth Estate (imprint)#Imprints|Fourth Estate]].<ref>{{cite web|title=This Mitchell and Webb Book|url=http://www.noisetosignal.org/2009/09/this-mitchell-and-webb-book.html|publisher=Noise to Signal|author=Tanya Jones|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=This Mitchell and Webb Book |url=http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/42132 |work=HarperCollins |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |access-date=8 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111073445/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/42132 |archive-date=11 November 2013 }}</ref> An abridged edition of highlights from ''This Mitchell and Webb Book'', entitled ''How to Cope with Mitchell and Webb'', was released only in the UK on 1 October 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=How to Cope with Mitchell and Webb|url=http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/48194/how-to-cope-with-mitchell-and-webb-abridged-edition-david-mitchell-robert-webb-9780007317158|work=HarperCollins|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|access-date=8 December 2014|archive-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111073448/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/48194/how-to-cope-with-mitchell-and-webb-abridged-edition-david-mitchell-robert-webb-9780007317158|url-status=dead}}</ref> The pair signed a two-book deal with Fourth Estate but, as of November 2013, a second book remained unpublished.<ref>{{cite web |last=Button |first=Katie |title=Mitchell and Webb to write comedy books |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a87257/mitchell-and-webb-to-write-comedy-books.html |
Webb wrote articles for the comments pages of the ''[[The Daily Telegraph|Telegraph]]'' newspaper between 2009 and 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Webb|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/robert-webb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714051517/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/robert-webb/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2010|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=8 December 2014|author=Robert Webb}}</ref> He criticised those who commented on the online versions of his articles in a ''[[New Statesman]]'' piece.<ref>[http://journalisted.com/robert-webb?allarticles=yes Robert Webb on Journalisted]. Retrieved 8 December 2014.</ref><ref name="Statesman">{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/comedy/2011/08/column-telegraph-writing-knew|title=Who needs S&M when you can write for the Telegraph?|work=New Statesman|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref> In a 2013 interview, Webb explained his experience with the publication:
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| Nick
|-
|2023
|''A Rare Find''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/a-rare-find|title=A Rare Find | Smiley Charity Film Awards}}</ref>
|Narrator
|}
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|-
| 1997
| ''[[The Jack Docherty Show]]''
| Various characters
| Writer
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Comedy Nation]]''
| Various characters
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2000
| ''Meaningful Sex''
|
|
|-
| ''[[Bruiser (TV series)|Bruiser]]''
| Various characters
| Writer
|-
| ''[[Urban Gothic (TV series)|Urban Gothic]]''
| Bentley Kaye
| Episode 1.7: "The One Where..."
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2001
| ''[[Fun at the Funeral Parlour]]''
| Packham
| Episode 1.4: "The Mountains of Doom"
|-
| ''[[The Mitchell and Webb Situation]]''
| Various characters
| Writer
|-
| ''[[People Like Us (mockumentary)|People Like Us]]''
| Tom Wolfson
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| 17 episodes
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2005
| ''[[Twisted Tales (British TV series)|Twisted Tales]]''
| Colin
| Writer<br />Episode 1.9: "Nothing to Fear"
|-
| ''Britain's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches''
| Host
|
|-
| ''[[Blessed (TV series)|Blessed]]''
| Bill Hathaway
| 8 episodes
|-
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2006 || ''[[Friday Night with Jonathan Ross]]'' || Himself ||
|-
|-
| ''[[Imagine (TV series)|Imagine]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
|-
| 2006–2010
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| Writer<br />[[BAFTA]] for Best Comedy Programme or Series<br />[[British Comedy Award]] nominations
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2007 || ''[[The Graham Norton Show]]'' || Himself ||
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2008 || ''[[The Law of the Playground]]'' || Himself || 8 episodes
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2009 || ''[[Friday Night with Jonathan Ross]]'' || Himself ||
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
| 2009–2011 || ''[[Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum]]'' || Host ||
|-
| rowspan="19" | 2010 || ''[[This Morning (TV series)|This Morning]]'' || Himself ||
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="13" | 2011 || ''[[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]'' || Contestant || Comic Relief special
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
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| 2011–2012
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|-
| rowspan="5" | 2012 || ''[[The One Show]]'' || Himself ||
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2013 || ''Great Movie Mistakes – IV: May the Fourth Be with You Cutdowns'' || Host ||
|-
|-
|-
|-
| ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple]]'' || Tim Kendall || Season 6, Episode 1 "A Caribbean Mystery"
|-
|
|-
| 2015 || ''[[Lego Dimensions]]'' || Laval, Robot 2 (Archive audio) || Video game
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2016 || ''[[Horrible Histories (2015 TV series)|Horrible Histories]]'' || [[Christopher Wren]] ||episode; grisly great fire of London
|-
|-
| 2017–2021 || ''[[Back (TV series)|Back]]'' || Andrew || Also executive producer
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| 2021 || ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'' || Himself || Contestant
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2022 || ''[[Rick and Morty]]'' || Red-bearded knight || Season 6, Episode 9 "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort"
|-
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| 2023 || ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]'' || Justin West || 2 episodes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Robert}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]▼
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]▼
[[Category:20th-century English writers]]
▲[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century English writers]]
[[Category:Actors from Boston, Lincolnshire]]▼
[[Category:Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Apple Inc. advertising]]
[[Category:English bisexual male actors]]▼
[[Category:Bisexual comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
▲[[Category:English bisexual male actors]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English sketch comedians]]
[[Category:English television producers]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) people]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:English LGBT writers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Lincolnshire]]
▲[[Category:Male feminists]]
[[Category:People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle]]
[[Category:People from Woodhall Spa]]
[[Category:Television personalities from Lincolnshire]]
▲[[Category:Actors from Boston, Lincolnshire]]
▲[[Category:British male television writers]]
▲[[Category:English sketch comedians]]
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