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"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the master of mayhem, Craig Charles!"
Stuart McDonald's standard introduction of Craig Charles from Extreme 1 onwards

Craig Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, and radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. He hosted Robot Wars from Series 2 until Series 7, including both series of Robot Wars Extreme. He also co-presented one episode of German Robot Wars. In 2016, Charles' hosting position was given to Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon.

Robot Wars[]

"...the first recording with Craig Charles, who completely "got" the series..."
— Robot Wars executive producer Tom Gutteridge on one of many Robot Wars highlights[1]
CraigCharlesS4Balcony

Craig Charles in Series 4

CraigCharles

Craig Charles in Series 5 and Extreme

CraigCharlesqualifiers

Craig Charles at the Series 5 qualifiers

Craig and Philippa

Craig Charles with Philippa Forrester and Sir Killalot in Series 6

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 received far better by the audience than Clarkson. 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 significant battles, and got along well with the roboteers, most notably Joe and Ellie Watts from Team Big Brother and Amy Franklin from Team 101, 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' or, in the case of series one of Robot Wars Extreme, ending with 'extreme' with the second stanza rhyming with the same word.

Charles' presenting style had a notable change between his first few years as presenter and in the second half up to the end. In Series 2-4 after already being an established comedian, comedy actor and poet, Charles presented with a dry, deadpan sense of humour, this often being reflected in his opening monologues where he cracked jokes in relation to whatever topic he was talking about. Said topics that Charles talked about in his monologues usually did not have any connection to Robot Wars at face value, but Charles would always manage to tie them to the show in one way or another. However, following a shift in tone for the show from the first series of Extreme until the end of its original run, Charles' deadpan comedy was phased out in favour of him becoming a more hyperactive and hammy presenter. His opening monologues now only consisted solely of him talking about Robot Wars and he would speak much louder and shout a lot in an attempt to get the audience warmed up.

"We don't like losers. We don't like draws. We're winners here, on Robot Wars"
— Craig Charles
Series 7 Craig Charles Jayne Middlemiss Mr Psycho

Craig Charles appears with Jayne Middlemiss and Mr. Psycho in a promotional shot for Series 7

Craig Charles

Headshot of Craig Charles in Series 7

Charles addressed taking the Robot Wars job as a gamble for his career, but was extremely pleased when the show became successful, and enjoyed being a part of it.

"It's a difficult thing to take on really, one it's really self-affirming, look what I'm a part of! But in another, it really screws with your mind... you don't feel deserving of it, and you don't really understand what's going on!"
— Craig Charles about Robot Wars on Celebrity Home Secrets
CraigFoxKidsAd

Craig Charles in a television advertisement for Robot Wars on Fox Kids

Craig Charles expressed interest in presenting the new Series 8 of Robot Wars on Twitter, using the hashtag #lovetodoit.[2] However, the role was ultimately given to Dara Ó Briain. Jonathan Pearce revealed in a radio interview the following day that if a hypothetical Robot Wars: The Eighth Wars happened in 2004-2005, Charles would not have been available.[3]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Craig-charles

Charles as Dave Lister in Red Dwarf

Charles' 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, appearing in the original BBC run until 1999, and reprising the role in 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2020 when Red Dwarf was recommissioned by British TV channel Dave. He has therefore appeared in every episode of the series, achieving cult status amongst the show's fans. He has also worked with Challenge TV from 2002-2004 with Takeshi's Castle and the second series of Sushi TV where he served as the English-language voice-over presenter. Charles also presented a bonus video which was included with copies of Super Mario All-Stars (1993) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, highlighting Mario's backstory and promoting other major titles for the console at the time.[4] In the early 2000s, Charles provided voice-overs in advertisements for products such as Nestlé cereals,[5][6] Skips crisps[7] and Colgate toothpaste.[8][9]

Coronation Street Craig Charles

Craig Charles as Lloyd Mullaney in Coronation Street

Since then Charles has had various other acting roles, most notably as cab driver Lloyd Mullaney in the British soap opera Coronation Street, a role which Charles played until 2015, ten years after his debut. He ultimately left to pursue other projects.[10] Charles has also presented various television shows and since 2003 has presented his own radio shows BBC 6 Music called The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show. He later also hosted the BBC Radio 2 show Craig Charles' House Party until it was axed in June 2022.

Charles appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2014, but had to leave the show after four days upon learning of his brother Dean's death. He has also appeared on celebrity versions of several quiz shows, including University Challenge (1998), The Weakest Link (2004), The Chase (2012) and Pointless (2013).

Craig Charles made mention of Robot Wars in his 2014 guest appearance on Through the Keyhole, after presenter Keith Lemon said that he liked the show. Charles said that he would "love it if Robot Wars came back", when he was asked if the show would make a return, but also said that "the show got a bit dangerous towards the end", and that "Sir Killalot was living on his front garden".

Craig Charles Jackets

Charles with his Robot Wars jacket in 2016

In 2016, Craig Charles appeared on ITV's Celebrity Home Secrets. On the show, he talked about his time as presenter of Robot Wars, and revealed that he still owns the jacket he wore in Series 6 and 7, also playing various clips of Craig Charles during Series 6 on the programme.

In March 2017, Craig Charles became the host of The Gadget Show on Channel 5, giving Charles a welcome return to technology-based television. After five years, he quit the show in August 2022 in order to pursue other ventures.[11]

On 17 September 2021, Charles took to Twitter to confirm he had contracted COVID-19, and may be out of action temporarily. Five days later, however, he tweeted again to confirm he was out of isolation and had returned to work.[12][13]

Craig Charles presenting Moneybags

Craig Charles presenting Moneybags

Craig Charles became the host of Channel 4 quiz show Moneybags in November 2021. A second series of the show was commissioned in August 2022, featuring various celebrity specials, but was axed in June 2023 despite impressive viewing figures. He also hosts Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies for Sky History alongside astrophysicist Sarah Cruddas. This ten-part documentary series aired in early 2022.[14]

CraigCharlesRWshirt

Charles wearing a Robot Wars shirt in November 2021

On 19 November 2021, Charles made a post on his Twitter profile tweeting the BBC Radio 6 Music page with the hashtag #tshirtday. In the post, Charles wore a Robot Wars shirt among other designs.[15] He featured on a celebrity special of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which aired later that same day, ironically hosted by fellow former Robot Wars presenter Jeremy Clarkson. The pair joked about Charles "taking his job" as presenter of the show after the first series, and he ultimately won £1,000 for his charity.

Craig Charles Would I Lie To You? 2024

Craig Charles on Would I Lie To You?

Charles starred in an episode of the February 2024 episode of the comedy gameshow Would I Lie To You?, teamed up with David Mitchell and Shazia Mirza. The episode ultimately ended in a draw, with both teams earning two points across the course of the show.

He is scheduled to make a guest appearance at Liverpool Comic Con across the weekend of 4-5 May, 2024.

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