Ricky Tomlinson

Ricky Tomlinson
Tomlinson in 2008.
Born	Eric Tomlinson Bispham, Blackpool, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, Comedian singer
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Marlene Tomlinson (1962–?) (divorced) Rita Cumiskey (2003–present)

Eric Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939), known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family.

Early life

Tomlinson was born Eric Tomlinson in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, but has lived in Liverpool for nearly all his life. Tomlinson was born in Bispham because his mother, Peggy, was evacuated there due to the Liverpool Blitz in World War II. On 22 March 1962 he married his first wife Marlene, and they had three children.

A trained and qualified plasterer by trade, he worked on various building sites for many years, becoming actively involved in politics (firstly with the far-right, then more predomenantly with the far-left). In 1968 he joined the National Front in support of less immigration after Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech. His views gradually changed over time, and in 1972, he joined the flying pickets in a building workers' dispute in Shrewsbury. In 1973 Tomlinson was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served two, after being found guilty of 'conspiracy to intimidate' as one of the so-called Shrewsbury Two, and after his release in 1975, he disrupted the TUC conference by shouting from the wings after he had been prevented from speaking from the stage. It was revealed in 2002 that MI5 had monitored him during the 1970s.

In his 2003 autobiography, he admitted that between 1968 and 1972, prior to his involvement with trade union politics, he was a member of the National Front, which he now bitterly regrets and which he puts down to being "politically naive and poorly educated".

Career and business

As an actor he has found considerable success, appearing as Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside between 1982 and 1988, as DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and as Jim Royle in the sitcom The Royle Family. He also made a song called We're Gonna Win With Capello

In 2002 Tomlinson starred in the BBC TV Series Nice Guy Eddie playing a Liverpool private investigator. Using down-to-earth cases - actually based upon real life cases by 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.

He has also starred in several films, notably Mike Bassett: England Manager, Raining Stones and Hillsborough, a made-for-TV film about the families' of the victims of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster, in which he portrayed John Glover - the father of victim Ian Glover.

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

Tomlinson is also a keen banjo and harpsichord player, and has played the instruments in many 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 The Pogues' "Are You Lookin' At Me?". A CD album entitled Music My Arse was released the same year, it managed to peak at Number 127 in the UK Albums Chart. He released a single at Christmas 2006 entitled Christmas My Arse which reached #25 in the UK Singles Chart.

On 19 June 2006 Tomlinson made his debut as the guest celebrity in Dictionary Corner on the popular and long-running UK Channel 4 game show Countdown. In the summer of 2006, Tomlinson toured at theatres across the UK with his show An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson where he was interviewed about his life by Elton Welsby. In December 2006 he presented a programme in Five's Disappearing Britain series entitled When Coal was King, in which he made controversial comments about Margaret Thatcher's potential death.

In March 2007, Tomlinson presented BBC's One Life: Guilty My Arse[1], 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 June 2007, Tomlinson Liverpool-based Royle Motors garage joined Good Garage Scheme (Forte), an online Forte Libricants association requiring its member garages to adhere to strict customer service guidelines. On 19 October 2007 Tomlinson had a major heart operation and underwent a quadruple heart bypass at Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre. Consultant cardiac surgeon Aung Oo said: "The operation went according to plan and he is now recovering within the hospital's critical care unit."

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

In 2009 he had a leading role as the Head Judge in the "VMH Club Star Talent Trail", a local talent-based competition held at the VMH Club in Garston, Liverpool. 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 his own cabaret club in Liverpool, The Green Room. The comic has teamed up with brothers Richard and Simon Wallace, from Liverpool production company Red Hot Media, to open the 250-seater cabaret lounge on Duke Street, Liverpool.

In March 2011 Tomlinson acted in an advertising campaign for furniture and furnishing store, The Range.

Politics

Tomlinson is a personal friend of Arthur Scargill and often appears on party election broadcasts for Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, most recently for the 2009 European Parliament elections, being its most prominent celebrity supporter. He has also shown his support for the Campaign for a New Workers' Party. A public meeting was hosted by the CNWP in Liverpool on Monday 12 February 2007 which was addressed by Ricky Tomlinson alongside Tommy Sheridan and Tony Mulhearn in which he used the slogan "New Labour my arse".

He is mentioned in the Chumbawamba song, "I'm not sorry, I was having fun", in reference to his support for the Socialist Labour Party.

On 5 February 2010, Tomlinson revealed his plan to stand as the Socialist Labour Party's 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. However, 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". Mr Tomlinson added: "I am disappointed not to be able to stand. But I am pleased to give the chosen candidate my wholehearted support."

Charitable works

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 is quoted as saying: "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 donated £1,500,000 to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool two years previously.

Filmography

• Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
• Brookside (TV series) (1982-1988)
• Riff-Raff (1990)
• Raining Stones (1993)
• Roughnecks (TV series) (1994-1995)
• Cracker (TV series) (1994-1996)
• Butterfly Kiss (1995)
• Bob's Weekend (1996)
• Hillsborough (1996)
• Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (1997)
• Preaching to the Perverted (1997)
• Mojo (1997)
• Playing The Field (TV series) (1998-2002)
• The Royle Family (TV series) (1998-2010)
• Dockers (TV drama) (1999)
• The Greatest Store in the World (1999)
• Nasty Neighbours (2000)
• Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)
• The 51st State (2001)
• Derek (2001)
• Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
• Al's Lads (2002)
• The Virgin of Liverpool (2003)
• Mike Bassett: Manager (TV series) (2005)
• Stepdad (2007)
• Nativity! (2009)
• Football My Arse (DVD 2007)
• Laughter Show- Live (DVD 2008)
• Flutter (2010)

External links

• BBC profile, retrieved December 14, 2007
• "Ricky Tomlinson: Royle Rebel", BBC, 28 September 2001
• Ricky Tomlinson at IMDb
• Detailed account of Ricky Tomlins
• [2] The Green Room caberet club in Liverpool