# Kate Robbins
**Kate Robbins** (born 1958 in Margate, Kent) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist, singer, and songwriter who first came to public attention as a singer in the early 1980s and became best known as a voice artist on the satirical puppet show *Spitting Image*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/) Her later screen work includes recurring roles in *After Life*, *Unforgotten*, and *The Couple Next Door*.[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Margate, Kent, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) |
| Professions | Actress, comedian, impressionist, singer, songwriter[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) |
| Eurovision | Represented the United Kingdom in 1980 with the group Prima Donna; "Love Enough for Two" finished third[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) |
| Chart hit | "More Than in Love" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart while she appeared in the soap opera *Crossroads*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) |
| *Spitting Image* | Voice artist from 1986 to 1996, credited with about 90 episodes as lead female voice artist[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/) |
| Own show | *The Kate Robbins Show*, a six-episode ITV sketch show first broadcast in 1988[5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_kate_robbins_show/) |
| Family | Mother of actress and comedian Emily Atack; sister of Ted, Amy, Jane, and Emma Robbins[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) |
One database gives her birth year as 1962 rather than 1958.[6](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/kate_robbins)
## Music career
Robbins grew up on the [Wirral Peninsula](https://www.edgepedia.org/wirral-peninsula) and first made her name in music. Her 1978 debut recording was "Tomorrow", from the musical *Annie*.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) In 1980, as a member of the group Prima Donna, she competed for the United Kingdom at the [Eurovision Song Contest](https://www.edgepedia.org/eurovision-song-contest), where "Love Enough for Two" placed third.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) She then joined the soap opera *Crossroads*, and the tie-in song "More Than in Love" reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/)
Her songwriting extended to other performers: she wrote the first theme tune to the [Cilla Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/cilla-black) series *Surprise, Surprise*. In a later interview she recalled singing the demo "slightly in her voice", after the producers asked for a song similar to Black's earlier theme "Step Inside Love" so that Black could walk toward the camera singing.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [7](https://www.groupleisureandtravel.com/features/interview-kate-robbins-on-her-part-in-the-new-club-tropicana-musical/7685.article)
## Spitting Image and impressionism
Robbins rose to prominence as an impressionist on the original *Spitting Image* series, supplying female voices from 1986 to 1996.[8](https://www.hobsons-international.com/voices/kate-robbins) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/) Her agency CV credits her with about 90 episodes as lead female voice artist on the ITV show.[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/) Her British Comedy Guide credit list runs from series 3 in 1986 through series 20 in 1996, including specials such as *The Ronnie and Nancy Show* and *Bumbledown: The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan*.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/) She also voiced characters in the film *Bullseye!* (1990) with [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine).[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kate-robbins/)
Her voice and impression work carried into other comedy. She played Cilla Black in *Harry Enfield's Television Programme*, supplied all the voices in *The Caribou Kitchen*, and took part in the original [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4) series of *Dead Ringers* in 2000.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) Her voice agency lists accents including Birmingham, Geordie, Northern and Southern Irish, Mancunian, RP, Scouse, Welsh, and [West Country](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-country).[8](https://www.hobsons-international.com/voices/kate-robbins)
## Television sketch shows and acting
Granada [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) featured Robbins and her family in the 1986 sketch show *Kate & Ted's Show*, with her brother [Ted Robbins](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-robbins) and her sisters Amy, Jane, and Emma Robbins; Granada then commissioned *The Kate Robbins Show*, broadcast on ITV in 1988 in six episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [5](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_kate_robbins_show/)
Her acting credits span comedy and drama. She played Babs, a friend of Petula Gordino ([Julie Walters](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-walters)), in two episodes of [Victoria Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-wood)'s *dinnerladies* in 1998 and 1999, and later appeared with Wood in the special *Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings* (2000).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/) Film roles include Joan in *Sex Lives of the Potato Men* (2004) and Clarisse, a brothel madam, in *Flyboys* (2006) with [James Franco](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-franco) and Jean Reno.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins) For *Fated* she won a Best Supporting Actress award at the Monaco International Film Festival in 2006.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins)
**Recent television work** has been steady and varied. She played fortune-telling author Penny Spencer-Wright in series 3 of Netflix's *After Life* (2021), Jean in [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s *The Couple Next Door* (2023), and the series regular role of Kate in *Unforgotten* from series 5 onward.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/) Her CV also lists *Midsomer Murders*, *Silent Witness*, *Death in Paradise*, *Brassic*, and *Rivals* series 2 for Disney+.[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/) Alongside her daughter [Emily Atack](https://www.edgepedia.org/emily-atack) she appeared in *The Emily Atack Show* and has been a regular contributor on Channel 4's *Steph's Packed Lunch*.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/)
## Stage work
Robbins toured in the *Grumpy Old Women* live shows, appearing in tours in 2013, 2014, and 2015 with comedian [Jenny Eclair](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-eclair) and actress [Susie Blake](https://www.edgepedia.org/susie-blake).[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) In 2018 she toured the United Kingdom in the 1980s jukebox musical *Club Tropicana* as Consuela, the Spanish hotel chambermaid, a part that let her use her impressions; she described the approach as "a sort of Mrs Overall meets Manuel from Fawlty Towers".[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) • [7](https://www.groupleisureandtravel.com/features/interview-kate-robbins-on-her-part-in-the-new-club-tropicana-musical/7685.article) Her stage credits also include the one-woman show *Songs from the Pool*.[3](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/)
## Personal life
Robbins married the musician Keith Atack in February 1987; the couple separated in 2006 after 19 years of marriage and the divorce was finalized in 2009.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) Their three children are the actress and comedian Emily Atack (born 1989), Martha Atack (born 1991), and George Atack (born 1992).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) She is a first cousin once removed of Paul McCartney, through her mother, and attended Wirral Grammar School for Girls in Bebington, Cheshire.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/) In 2007 the University of Bedfordshire awarded her an honorary Bachelor of Arts degree for her lifetime contribution to the performing arts.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/)
## References
1. [Kate Robbins – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0730394/bio/)
2. [Kate Robbins – British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/kate_robbins/)
3. [Kate Robbins – CV, Conway Van Gelder Grant](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/kate-robbins/)
4. [Kate Robbins Movies on Netflix – NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/s/actor/kate-robbins)
5. [The Kate Robbins Show – British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_kate_robbins_show/)
6. [Biography of Kate Robbins – Biographies.net](https://www.biographies.net/people/en/kate_robbins)
7. [Interview: Kate Robbins on her part in the new Club Tropicana musical – Group Leisure and Travel](https://www.groupleisureandtravel.com/features/interview-kate-robbins-on-her-part-in-the-new-club-tropicana-musical/7685.article)
8. [Kate Robbins – Hobsons Voiceover Agency](https://www.hobsons-international.com/voices/kate-robbins)
9. [Kate Robbins – TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kate-robbins/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames N to R*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license