Ricky Tomlinson

Early life

Eric Tomlinson was born at Burleigh House in the Bispham area of Blackpool on 26 September 1939, the son of parents from Liverpool. His father was a baker. He was born in Bispham because his mother was evacuated there during World War II over concerns that Liverpool would be bombed, which it eventually was. The family settled back in Liverpool following the war, and he has lived there since. He attended Walton Technical College in the Walton area of Liverpool, after passing an exam when he was 13. His favourite subject was English literature.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Tomlinson played the banjo in three bands: the Guitanjos, Hobo Rick & the City Slickers, and Hobo Rick & the Hi-Free Three. The band's pianist was John Lowe, a former member of the Quarrymen, which would later become the Beatles. A plasterer by trade, Tomlinson worked on various building sites for many years.

Career

Television

Tomlinson played Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside from the show's inception in 1982 until being written out in 1988, followed by DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and Jim Royle in the BBC sitcom The Royle Family in 1998.

In 2001, 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. He featured heavily in series two of Paul Abbott's series Clocking Off, in a BAFTA-nominated episode written by Danny Brocklehurst.

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 2017, he provided a voiceover for an advert for McCain Foods.

On 19 June 2006, Tomlinson made his début as the guest celebrity in Dictionary Corner on the long-running UK Channel 4 game show Countdown. In December 2006, he presented a programme in Channel Five's Disappearing Britain series entitled "When Coal Was King". 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 March 2011, Tomlinson appeared in an advertising campaign for UK retail chain The Range. The BBC broadcast a programme in its Who Do You Think You Are? series 13 on Tomlinson's ancestors, which traced his family back through a number of carters working around Liverpool at a time when the city was a bustling port. In 2020, Tomlinson and his Royle Family co-star Ralf Little presented a travel series called Ricky & Ralf's Very Northern Road Trip for Gold.

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Liverpool, with the UK replacing the planned host country Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; Tomlinson appeared and recited a poem dedicated to the Beatles, then reprised his role as Brookside character Bobby Grant, who was seen putting up Ukrainian-themed bunting outside the Grant home on Brookside Close.

In September 2025, it was confirmed that Tomlinson would again reprise the role of Bobby Grant in a special crossover episode of Brookside to mark the 30th anniversary of Hollyoaks.

Film

Tomlinson has starred in films such as Mike Bassett: England Manager, Raining Stones, and Hillsborough. In 2017, he starred in the LGBT-themed short film Tellin' Dad as the father of the main character who comes out to him. (2017)

Music

Tomlinson is a keen banjo and harmonica player, and has played the instruments in several 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 Shane MacGowan and The Popes' "Are You Lookin' at Me?" that reached No. 28 in the UK Singles Chart in 2001. A CD album entitled Music My Arse was released the same year, peaking at No. 127 in the UK Albums Chart. He released a single at Christmas 2006 entitled "Christmas My A*se" which reached No. 25.

Theatre

In 2006, Tomlinson toured to theatres across the UK with his show An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson where he was interviewed about his life by Elton Welsby.

During 2008 and 2009, Tomlinson took his Laughter Show theatrical revue on a UK tour with fellow comedians Tony Barton, Duncan Norvelle and Pauline Daniels.

In 2009, he took a lead role as the Head Judge in the "VMH Club Star Talent Trail", a local talent-based competition held at the VMH Club in Garston. 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 The Green Room, his own cabaret club on Duke Street in Liverpool.

Personal life

Tomlinson was married to Marlene Clifton from 1962 until their divorce in 1986. They had three children together. He has been married to Rita Cumiskey since 2003. He has lived in Liverpool since his childhood and said in a May 2014 interview, "I will never, ever move away from Liverpool. I love it here."

In 2003, Tomlinson published his autobiography Ricky, which spent five weeks at the top of the UK best-selling new books chart. In the book, Tomlinson admitted to having extramarital affairs and graphically described his time in prison.

On 19 October 2007, Tomlinson underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.

Tomlinson suffers from the rare skin condition nodular prurigo, which was the subject of an interview in the Daily Mirror in October 2013.

Politics

In his late 20s, Tomlinson was attracted to right-wing politics and was a member of the National Front for a period after Enoch Powell's April 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech. In the early 1970s, his political views shifted radically to the left; he was affected by the book The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, which was given to him by the governor of the prison in which he was being held at the time.

In 1972, Tomlinson joined the flying pickets in a building workers' dispute in Shrewsbury. Following allegations of violence during this protest, Tomlinson was charged with "conspiracy to intimidate" as one of the Shrewsbury Two in 1973. Despite pleading his innocence at Shrewsbury Crown Court, he was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison, alongside fellow picket Des Warren. After his release in 1975, he disrupted the TUC conference by shouting from the wings after he had been prevented from speaking on the stage. In 2012, Tomlinson and others sought to have the convictions overturned by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). In 2013, a paper petition was launched alongside the existing online petition for an Early Day Motion by MP John McDonnell to be brought. In July, at the Durham Miners' Gala, he again campaigned against the convictions. In May 2020, it was announced that the CCRC had referred a number of convictions relating to the Shrewsbury dispute, including Tomlinson's, to the Court of Appeal.{{Cite web |access-date=26 May 2020 |access-date=23 March 2021

Tomlinson is a close friend of Arthur Scargill and often appears on party political broadcasts for Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, most recently for the 2009 European Parliament elections. He is a long-time member of the Socialist Labour Party and has been the party's most prominent celebrity supporter since its formation in 1996. He has also expressed support for the Campaign for a New Workers' Party. A public meeting was hosted by the CNWP in Liverpool on 12 February 2007, featuring Tomlinson alongside Tommy Sheridan and Tony Mulhearn. During the meeting, Tomlinson used the slogan "New Labour My Arse".

On 5 February 2010, Tomlinson revealed his plan to stand as the Socialist Labour Party candidate for the Liverpool Wavertree constituency at the 2010 general election in protest at the selection of Luciana Berger, a 28-year-old Londoner, as the Labour Party candidate. Kim Singleton was ultimately selected for the seat; in a statement, the SLP said that he could not contest the election due to "personal and contractual commitments". Tomlinson added, "I am disappointed not to be able to stand. But I am pleased to give the chosen candidate my wholehearted support." He also said that "people say 'you could be letting the Tories in' but there is no difference between the Conservatives and New Labour". Singleton ultimately finished sixth out of seven candidates, with Berger winning the seat.

While discussing the forthcoming Labour Party leadership election during a guest appearance on an episode of Loose Women on 17 August 2015, Tomlinson said, "I know both of [the candidates] and I know Andy quite well, and he was my choice right up until I went to listen to Jeremy Corbyn and I went to the Adelphi Hotel where there was 3,000 people there, the room holds 800 and [they] were out into the streets, they couldn't get in. And everything he said with I agreed with, you know, leave the National Health Service alone, get rid of Trident, stuff like that, so it doesn't matter to me who gets the Labour leadership, it really doesn't matter. But whatever happens both of them will be in the Shadow Cabinet."

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, Tomlinson endorsed Keir Starmer, having worked with Starmer during the Shrewsbury 24 justice campaign.

Richard Whiteley claims

In March 2017, Tomlinson claimed during an interview that the late television host Richard Whiteley had been an undercover agent for MI5 and had assisted them in securing his 1973 imprisonment by co-presenting a television documentary called Red Under the Bed, which was critical of his political and trade union activities and had swayed the jury. The CCRC cited the documentary and its possible influence on the jury when announcing its decision to refer the cases of Tomlinson and others to the Court of Appeal.

Charity work

In 2008, Tomlinson donated £200,000 as patron of the Human Milk Bank of Cheshire and North Wales. The charity provides babies on Special Care Baby Units with milk from donor mothers, significantly improving their chances of survival and long-term development. He said: "Due to my own recent experiences with my health, I know how much hospitals and appeals appreciate help and assistance. This is such an important service which can help so many families and I'm very honoured to be the patron."

In November 2010, it was reported that Tomlinson had donated £1 million to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool two years previously.

Honours

In October 2014, Tomlinson was awarded the Freedom of Liverpool.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

References

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3. (24 January 2004). "Ricky Tomlinson Interview". Socialist Worker.
4. (15 April 2008). "Ricky Tomlinson: The day my Pope joke led me into a deadly situation". Liverpool Echo.
5. (30 June 2014). "The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four [2 volumes]: Everything Fab Four". ABC-CLIO.
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8. (12 March 2007). "The Life of Wylie » Blog Archive » Ricky Tomlinson: Guilty My ****". Blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
9. (28 March 2011). "The Range launches first national TV ad campaign".
10. (18 June 2020). "Ricky Tomlinson". Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.
11. (21 August 2024). "Ricky & Ralf's Very Northern Road Trip". Comedy.co.uk.
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13. (28 April 2023). "Eurovision 2023 – ''Royle Family'' star Ricky Tomlinson relives ''Brookside'' Bobby Grant role to welcome the world to Liverpool".
14. (4 September 2025). "Johnston and Tomlinson reunite in Brookside special". BBC News.
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16. (22 July 2017). "Ricky Tomlinson in new film where boy comes out to dad – with surprising results".
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21. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7053221.stm "Actor Tomlinson has heart surgery"], ''BBC News'', 19 October 2007
22. (17 October 2013). "Ricky Tomlinson: How I learned to live with rare condition ...".
23. Tomlinson, Ricky. (2008). "Ricky". Hachette Digital.
24. (23 September 2014). "Ricky Tomlinson battles to overturn 1970s prison term". BBC News.
25. (3 April 2012). "Union pickets seek to quash 40-year-old convictions". The Guardian.
26. Campbell, Duncan. (3 April 2012). "Union pickets seek to quash 40-year-old convictions". The Guardian.
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33. Moore, Matthew. (5 February 2010). "Ricky Tomlinson 'to stand for parliament against Labour candidate'". The Daily Telegraph.
34. (17 January 2020). "Ricky Tomlinson slams 'Boris the buffoon' as he backs Keir Starmer for Labour leader".
35. (17 January 2020). "Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson backs Keir Starmer in Labour leadership race".
36. Oppenheim, Maya. (1 March 2017). "Former Countdown presenter Richard Whiteley was an MI5 spy, claims Ricky Tomlinson".
37. [http://chestermilkbank.org.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/rickytomlinson.pdf "Ricky Tomlinson donates £200,000 as Patron for 2008"]{{dead link. (December 2017)
38. (3 November 2010). "Tomlinson donates £1m to Liverpool children's charity". BBC News.
39. (6 October 2014). "Ricky Tomlinson granted Freedom of Liverpool". BBC News.
40. "Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston reunite for More4 travel series Ricky, Sue & a Trip or Two".
41. "DNA Journey With Ancestry".