Bobby Davro
Encyclopedia
Bobby Davro is a British
actor
and comedian
. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist
. He made his TV debut in 1981, but it wasn't until 1983 that he made his television breakthrough at Live from Her Majesty's
followed by appearances on the television
show, Who Do You Do?.
, throughout the 80s and 90s. Davro's popularity was at its highest during the mid 80s with his own Saturday night ITV
shows; Bobby Davro on the Box and Bobby Davro's TV Annual. He also made appearances on the popular comedy impressions sketch show Copy Cats. Davro went on to make two more shows with ITV; Davro's Sketch Pad and Davro in 1990, but by this time, the comedian's brand of humour was proving to be less popular with audiences as ratings for his shows declined.
The 90s saw Davro switching channels to the BBC
, appearing on TV shows such as Public Enemy Number One and the talent show The Heat Is On.
Davro made another attempt at the comedy sketch show format which proved successful for him in the 80s, on the short lived show Rock with Laughter. He also made appearances on Run the Risk
, which featured on Saturday mornings kids' show Live & Kicking
. Davro returned to UK TV screens in May 1997, as host of Yorkshire Television
's Winner Takes All
for 65 episodes which was produced for Challenge TV.
In 2005, he appeared in Birmingham
, as an act for Jasper Carrott's Rock With Laughter, alongside performers such as, Bill Bailey
, Jasper Carrott
, Lenny Henry
, Bonnie Tyler
, Tammy Palmer and the Lord of the Dance
troupe. In 2006, Davro made a special guest appearance as a judge on Channel 5's All Star Talent Show. In 2005-2006, he performed on stage in Aladdin
with Melinda Messenger
and John Rhys Davies in Woking
, Surrey
.
He appeared in a Comic Relief television advertisement
in 2007 in the UK which was later followed by an appearance in the video for Peter Kay
and Matt Lucas
's charity single I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
for the same charity.
In August 2007, Davro joined the cast of soap opera EastEnders
, playing Vinnie Monks
, a love interest for Shirley Carter. The character first appeared on screen in October. He left in Autumn 2008 to "pursue other avenues".
In the 2008/09 Pantomime Season, Bobby Davro appeared as Buttons in the Bristol Hippodrome Production of Cinderella
In late 2008, Davro was a guest at the Urban Music Awards
, appearing in character as "Snoop Doggy Doo Doo".
He also appeared as part of Team Dec on Ant & Dec
's Saturday Night Takeaway
on ITV1
from 14 February to 21 March 2009.
On 20 September, 2009 Davro appeared in a new series of the Channel 4
programme Come Dine with Me
. This was a celebrity episode in which he appeared with EastEnders
actress Laila Morse
who plays the part of Big Mo, DJ Dane Bowers
and former The Word (TV series)
presenter Dani Behr
. Davro came second with first prize (£1,000 given to charity) being awarded to Bowers.
In January 2010, he took part in the ITV show Dancing on Ice
and was paired with newcomer Molly Moenkhoff. He began the show as an outsider at 66/1 to be the outright winner and made his first and only competitive appearance along with the other male celebrities in week 2. Following a poor performance he was the first male celebrity to be eliminated after a dance-off against actor Gary Lucy.
, was a British national mile and 1500m champion, world record holder and represented Great Britain
in two Olympic Games
. In 2003, Davro was one of the contestants in the Channel 4 reality TV show The Games, in which 10 celebrities competed against each other, by doing Olympic style events.
Davro is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur and made regular appearances on the pitch during the 1980s.
Until 2003 Davro was married to Page 3 model Trudi Jameson, but they then separated and were divorced.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
. He made his TV debut in 1981, but it wasn't until 1983 that he made his television breakthrough at Live from Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's was a Sunday night live variety show which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network and ran from 1982 to 1988...
followed by appearances on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show, Who Do You Do?.
Career
Davro appeared on a variety of television shows, mostly with ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, throughout the 80s and 90s. Davro's popularity was at its highest during the mid 80s with his own Saturday night ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
shows; Bobby Davro on the Box and Bobby Davro's TV Annual. He also made appearances on the popular comedy impressions sketch show Copy Cats. Davro went on to make two more shows with ITV; Davro's Sketch Pad and Davro in 1990, but by this time, the comedian's brand of humour was proving to be less popular with audiences as ratings for his shows declined.
The 90s saw Davro switching channels to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, appearing on TV shows such as Public Enemy Number One and the talent show The Heat Is On.
Davro made another attempt at the comedy sketch show format which proved successful for him in the 80s, on the short lived show Rock with Laughter. He also made appearances on Run the Risk
Run the Risk
Run the Risk was a BBC1 children's show, which aired from the latter half of 1992 until the beginning of 1998. It was aired on Saturday mornings during Going Live, and later Live & Kicking, and was later repeated as its own individual show. It was presented by Peter Simon for the entire run...
, which featured on Saturday mornings kids' show Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking
Live & Kicking was a BBC Saturday morning children's magazine programme, running from 1993 to 2001. The fourth in a succession of Saturday morning shows, it was the replacement for Going Live!, and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, comedy, competitions and the showing of...
. Davro returned to UK TV screens in May 1997, as host of Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
's Winner Takes All
Winner Takes All (game show)
Winner Takes All was a popular game show that was produced by Yorkshire Television and ran for 13 years on the ITV network from 1975 until 1988 but returned in 1997 on the cable and satellite channel Challenge....
for 65 episodes which was produced for Challenge TV.
In 2005, he appeared in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, as an act for Jasper Carrott's Rock With Laughter, alongside performers such as, Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
, Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
, Tammy Palmer and the Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance (musical)
Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role...
troupe. In 2006, Davro made a special guest appearance as a judge on Channel 5's All Star Talent Show. In 2005-2006, he performed on stage in Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
with Melinda Messenger
Melinda Messenger
Melinda Jayne Messenger is an English ex-glamour model, Page 3 Girl and a former presenter on the magazine programme Live from Studio Five. She is currently co-broadcaster of the reality show Cowboy Builders.-Biography:...
and John Rhys Davies in Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
He appeared in a Comic Relief television advertisement
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
in 2007 in the UK which was later followed by an appearance in the video for Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
and Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
's charity single I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
"I'm Gonna Be " is a song written and performed by The Proclaimers. It was released on their 1988 Sunshine on Leith album, and subsequently as a single. It has become one of their most popular songs, reaching No. 11 in the UK charts and No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in 1989, plus, five years...
for the same charity.
In August 2007, Davro joined the cast of soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, playing Vinnie Monks
Vinnie Monks
Vince "Vinnie" Monks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by comedian Bobby Davro. He made his first appearance on 8 October 2007. It was announced on 19 July 2008 that Davro quit the show to do other projects...
, a love interest for Shirley Carter. The character first appeared on screen in October. He left in Autumn 2008 to "pursue other avenues".
In the 2008/09 Pantomime Season, Bobby Davro appeared as Buttons in the Bristol Hippodrome Production of Cinderella
In late 2008, Davro was a guest at the Urban Music Awards
Urban Music Awards
The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually...
, appearing in character as "Snoop Doggy Doo Doo".
He also appeared as part of Team Dec on Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly , known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England...
's Saturday Night Takeaway
Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, is a variety show created by LWT and shown in the UK on Saturday evenings on ITV, presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
from 14 February to 21 March 2009.
On 20 September, 2009 Davro appeared in a new series of the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme Come Dine with Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
. This was a celebrity episode in which he appeared with EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
actress Laila Morse
Laila Morse
Laila Morse is an English actress, best known for playing Mo Harris in BBC series EastEnders and Janet in the 1997 movie Nil by Mouth ."Laila Morse" is an anagram of an Italian phrase for "my sister" - a name she...
who plays the part of Big Mo, DJ Dane Bowers
Dane Bowers
Dane Bowers is an English R&B singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. He was a part of R&B boyband Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles...
and former The Word (TV series)
The Word (TV series)
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:Its presenters included Mancunian radio presenter Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and "Huffty"...
presenter Dani Behr
Dani Behr
Dani Behr is an English singer, actress and television presenter.-Early life:Behr was born in Mill Hill London, of South African Jewish descent. Her father is a partner in London estate agents Behr & Butchoff...
. Davro came second with first prize (£1,000 given to charity) being awarded to Bowers.
In January 2010, he took part in the ITV show Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice (UK)
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
and was paired with newcomer Molly Moenkhoff. He began the show as an outsider at 66/1 to be the outright winner and made his first and only competitive appearance along with the other male celebrities in week 2. Following a poor performance he was the first male celebrity to be eliminated after a dance-off against actor Gary Lucy.
Personal life
Davro's father, Bill NankevilleBill Nankeville
Bill Nankeville is a British national champion mile runner and won the AAA mile title four times in five years between 1948 and 1952, his best recorded time was 4:08.8 set in 1949...
, was a British national mile and 1500m champion, world record holder and represented Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. In 2003, Davro was one of the contestants in the Channel 4 reality TV show The Games, in which 10 celebrities competed against each other, by doing Olympic style events.
Davro is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur and made regular appearances on the pitch during the 1980s.
Until 2003 Davro was married to Page 3 model Trudi Jameson, but they then separated and were divorced.