This fast-moving six-part Granada Television series featured the lovely and talented Liverpudlian singer, comedy impressionist and actress Kate Robbins and her tubby brother Ted in a mixture of quick sketches and musical routines
The musical numbers (most of them written by Kate) were superb – “Checkout Cinderella” featured a supermarket girl who wanted to be a Hollywood star, and Kate duetted as Tina Turner and Cilla Black in a cod version of Anything You Can Do with Cilla boasting she could do anything “berra than you”.
Viewers also saw Kate as Victoria Wood, Doris Day, Julie Andrews, Edwina Currie, Sarah Brightman and Shirley Temple (singing and dancing with Adolf Hitler), and – in a special dance and rap number – Mavis Riley from Coronation Street.
Kate’s impression of Fergie – whether luxuriating in a bubble bath, dancing with Buckingham Palace footmen or ‘yomping’ with the Royal Marines – was bang on.
Comedy sketches included a spoof soap in Brewksyde; a send-up of Cagney and Lacey; a 1960s-style northern kitchen sink drama called Thursday Night Tuesday Morning; a folk duo named ‘Triangle’; theatrical ‘luvvie’ Danny Devine; Lifestyles of the Thick and Untalented and a spectacularly choreographed parody of the West End song-and-dance routine in every cockney musical.
Kate and Ted were joined in the comedy sketches by Michael Fenton-Stevens and Ainslie Foster.
The Robbins returned with a one-off Christmas special (Christmas Robbins) on Boxing Day 1987. Kate returned the following year in The Kate Robbins Show, also from Granada.
Viewers also saw Kate as Victoria Wood, Doris Day, Julie Andrews, Edwina Currie, Sarah Brightman and Shirley Temple (singing and dancing with Adolf Hitler), and – in a special dance and rap number – Mavis Riley from Coronation Street.
