Tony Robinson

Torn on this one…I spent much of this listen being intensely annoyed by Robinson’s arrogance and entitlement and the tedious detail of endless theatre and union adventures. But the back third or so saved it for me, with some deeply personal and moving accounts of his parent’s struggles with dementia, the loss of people close to him, and insights into his many years with Time Team. Given his clear facility for remembering the minutest of details about obscure events from decades ago, it is disappointing that he chose to devote so little time and detail to his Blackadder days - arguably his most recognisable role and the one which would have prompted many to buy this autobiography (Robinson has happily capitalised on his most famous catchphrase for the title, after all). Perhaps he’d rather distance himself, anxious to avoid being defined predominantly for his role as Baldrick. It’s understandable that he’d want to show there’s more to him and share his passion for radical politics and disrupting the status quo. Those are undoubtedly interesting parts of the whole but the balance was out of whack, resulting in large chunks which just felt bloated and self-indulgent. The odd bits that bobbed up around this, however, were sublime.… (more)