26 Facts About Ricky Tomlinson

Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson was born on 26 September 1939 and is an English actor.

Ricky Tomlinson is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and Jim Royle in The Royle Family and playing the titular character in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager.

Eric Tomlinson was born on 26 September 1939 at Burleigh House in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, and has lived in Liverpool nearly all his life.

Ricky Tomlinson's father was a baker and he was born in Bispham, near Blackpool, because, just after the outbreak of World War II, his mother Peggy was evacuated there over concerns that Liverpool would be bombed.

Ricky Tomlinson attended Walton Technical College in Walton, after passing an exam when he was 13.

In 2002 Ricky Tomlinson starred in the BBC Series Nice Guy Eddie playing a Liverpool private investigator.

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

Ricky Tomlinson has fronted a series of television adverts for the utility company British Gas.

On 19 June 2006, Ricky Tomlinson made his debut as the guest celebrity in Dictionary Corner on the long-running UK Channel 4 game show Countdown.

In March 2007, Ricky 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 2023, Ricky Tomlinson appeared at Eurovision 2023 reciting a poem dedicated to the Beatles.

In 2017, Ricky Tomlinson starred in the LGBT short film Tellin' Dad which was the first LGBT project he has been involved in and followed the journey of his son building up courage to come out to him.

Ricky Tomlinson is a keen banjo and harmonica player, and has played the instruments in many episodes of The Royle Family.

Ricky Tomlinson released a single at Christmas 2006 entitled "Christmas My Arse" which reached No 25.

In May 2010, Ricky Tomlinson opened his own cabaret club the Green Room, in Liverpool, teaming up with brothers Richard and Simon Wallace, from Liverpool production company Red Hot Media, to open the 250-seater cabaret lounge on Duke Street.

In March 2011 Ricky Tomlinson appeared in an advertising campaign for UK retail chain The Range.

In 2003, he published an autobiography, entitled Ricky Tomlinson, which spent five weeks at the top of the UK best-selling new books chart.

On 19 October 2007, Ricky Tomlinson had quadruple heart bypass surgery at Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre.

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

Ricky Tomlinson 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.

Ricky 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.

Ricky Tomlinson is a long-time member of the Socialist Labour Party, and is the party's most prominent celebrity supporter since its formation in 1996.

Ricky Tomlinson has expressed support for the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.

On 5 February 2010, Ricky 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.

In March 2017, Ricky Tomlinson claimed during an interview that the late journalist, broadcaster and game show host Richard Whiteley had been an undercover agent for the British security services 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.

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