Craig Charles

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the man who thought a kamikaze was a Japanese toilet. Craig Charles!"

- The Robot Wars Announcer

Craig Charles (born July 11, 1964) is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter and former professional footballer, best-known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. He hosted Robot Wars from Series 2 until its conclusion in Series 7.

Robot Wars
Taking over the show from Jeremy Clarkson, Charles was a lively host and had a good rapport with most of the contestants on the show, and was presented to the audience and home viewers by the announcer with a joke. He opened the first battle of every show with the words "let the wars begin!". Charles was very enthusiastic about his role, warming up the audience with a monologue before handing over to Jonathan Pearce or one of the pit reporters. Charles would also speak to teams after the battle during significant battles, and got along well with Joe and Ellie Watts and Amy Franklin, who read a poem about him on one occasion. Charles would also announce the results of a judges' decision, and called out remarks about the end of a battle (he was particularly fond of saying "[Robot Name] goes marching on!"). At the conclusion of an episode, Charles usually recited a four line poem ending in the words "Robot Wars", with the second line rhyming with 'wars'.

"We don't like losers. We don't like draws. We're winners here, on Robot Wars"

- Craig Charles

Career outside of Robot Wars
Before his career in entertainment, Charles played professional football, most notably for Tranmere Rovers. His entertainment career began as a poet on the British cabaret circuit, before moving into television and radio presenting in the late 1980s. In 1988 he was cast in the role of Dave Lister on the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf. He has since appeared in every episode of the series, achieving cult status amongst the show's fans.

Since then Charles has had various other acting roles, most notably cab driver Lloyd Mulvaney in the British soap opera Coronation Street. He has also presented various television shows and since 2003 has presented his own radio show on BBC 6 Music called The Craig Charles Funk Show.