Robin Ince is many things. A multi-award-winning comedian, author, broadcaster, bibliomaniac and a populariser of scientific ideas. The Guardian once declared him a “becardiganed polymath” which seems about right. He co-created and co-hosted the Sony Gold Award-winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox, in which he starred from 2009-2025; he resigned from the series in December 2025 over a disagreement with the BBC about voicing some of his political views.
The author of six books, his most recent work Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures In Neurodiversity was inspired by his late ADHD diagnosis, using his own experiences to explore the neurodivergent experience and to ask what the point of being normal really is. Robin’s memoir, I’m A Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity, was named as one of the Evening Standard’s Best Comedy Books of the year. His most recent book, Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s Tour of the Bookshops of Britain, exploring his lifelong love of books and bookstores, was also the basis of his most recent comedy tour, which took him to over a hundred bookshops around the UK. He has also edited and written short stories for two volumes of Dead Funny: Horror Stories by Comedians, and has written and presented documentaries about the history of self-help, comedians and melancholy, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, Schrodinger’s Cat and General Relativity.
He co-created the Cosmic Shambles Network and created the groundbreaking science variety night Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People which has been adapted worldwide and has curated, produced and hosted numerous nights mixing science, music and comedy at the Hammersmith Apollo and across the UK. Recently, he has received Honorary Fellowship of UCL, an honorary doctorate from Royal Holloway College (University of London), and is a fellow of the British Science Association.
Numerous TV and radio appearances include Just a Minute, Mock the Week, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Robin has won three Chortle Awards, including the Time Out Outstanding Achievement Award and was nominated for Best Live Show at the British Comedy Awards.
In the words of Stewart Lee, “Robin is like a piece of a Jenga puzzle – pull him out and a lot of things would collapse. Without Robin, comedy would be a very different shape and a generation is grateful.”
Robin has a Website 
.
