Profiles

Robert Lindsay is probably Ilkeston Town's most famous supporter - having grown up in the town, the football club is understandably close to his heart.

One of three children in a close-knit family, Robert's father was a veteren of World War II who was on a minesweeper that was one of the first boats to land during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

It was whilst attending school that Robert was introduced to the world of performing arts by an ethusiastic arts teacher who recognised his potential and steered him towards that area.

Lindsay was a huge fan of the poet DH Lawrence who was born in Eastwood - only five miles away from Ilkeston - and he says he was inspired by Lawrence's achievements.

After leaving school, Lindsay enrolled in the drama department of a technical college in Nottingham, with the intention of becoming a drama teacher.

But after making friends at the Nottingham Playhouse, Lindsay was encouraged to apply to study at RADA and he was accepted for the course in 1968 on a government grant.

Upon graduating from RADA, Lindsay's first job was as a dialect coach for a repertory company in Essex, before joining a regional theatre group and then graduating to roles in the West End.

Power to the People!

But in was in 1977 that the breakthrough came when Lindsay was cast as Wolfie Smith in the BBC sit-com Citizen Smith.

...as Wolfie in Citizen Smith

The comedy, about a would-be revolutionary, made Lindsay a household name and even lead to a national catchphrase: power to the people!

Lindsay then appeared in another comedy series 'Seconds Out' in 1981. He played a boxer who fought his way from local bouts to the British Middleweight Champion.

During the eighties, Lindsay appeared in five BBC Shakespeare adaptations: Fabian in Twelfth Night, Lysander in A Midsummer's Night's Dream, Iachimo in Cymbeline, Edmund in King Lear and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing.

He also joined with Paul McGann in the TV series 'Give Us a Break' and played the title role in the movie 'Bert Rigby, You're a Fool.'

In 1991 came another career highlight for Lindsay when he won a BAFTA for his leading role in Alan Bleasdale's dark comedy GBH.

In 1997 he joined an all-star cast including John Cleese, Michael Palin and Jamie Lee Curtis in the comedy film Fierce Creatures and a year later took on a more serious role in Divorcing Jack, a film about the Northern Ireland peace process.

His more recent screen appearances include Sneath in the BBC dramas  Guideon's Daughter and Friends and Crocodiles - and as the hen-pecked Ben, the main character in the BBC sit-com My Family.

Lindsay took on the role of Tony Blair in a couple of feature-length satires for Channel 4.

He was also seen in 2006 as one of the subjects in the BBC's family history series Who Do You Think You Are.

Robert Lindsay and Rosemarie Ford

Lindsay is also noted for his stage appearances and he won both a Tony and Olivier award for his performances in the musical Me and My Girl which travelled from the West End to Broadway in the mid-nineties. He played Fagin in Oliver, again in the West End for which he received an Olivier award for Best Actor.

He now lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, the TV presenter Rosemarie Ford (they married on New Year's Eve 2006), and a son and daughter.