His first professional acting experience came at the age of twelve, when he appeared as a member of Fagin's gang in the original production of the musical Oliver, including a stint as the Artful Dodger.
After being part of the Who Dares Wins comedy performers, he came to prominence for his role in the British situation comedy Blackadder as Edmund Blackadder's disgusting man-servant/batman Baldrick. In the first series he was quite intelligent but subsequently his character evolved into that of an intellectually challenged buffoon. His catchphrase in this programme was, "I have a cunning plan."
In the 1980s he also wrote and narrated several Jackanory-style children's programs - although more energetically than the Jackanory house style, with Robinson bounding about the place acting out all the parts. Programs in this style included Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden (continued in Fat Tulip Too), Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All (a retelling of the Illiad and the Odyssey), and Blood and Honey (tales from the Old Testament, filmed on location in Palestine).
In the late eighties he created the comedy TV series Maid Marian and her Merry Men, a loose retelling of the legend of Robin Hood in which he appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Until 2000, he was vice-president of the actors' union Equity. Since leaving, he has been elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.
Selected films
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