Comedian Robert Webb is back on our radar again after it was announced that he’s set to appear in a new sketch show alongside David Mitchell.
The funnyman famously starred alongside David in Peep Show, as well as That Michell and Webb Look between 2006 and 2010.
They are now set to appear in a six-part Channel 4 series airing later this year and will be joined by writer-performers Krystal Evans, Stevie Martin, Lara Ricote and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Reflecting on their latest project, David and Robert said: “When Channel 4 asked us to do another sketch show we were startled, bemused and available. It’s a perilous time for the industry and so it’s our hope that relaunching the trickiest genre of comedy is a brilliant piece of counterintuitive commissioning.”
© Getty ImagesThey continued: “And we’re confident that unlike Roger Moore with his shoe on the bonnet of a car teetering on the edge of a cliff in For Your Eyes Only [REPLACE WITH 21ST CENTURY REFERENCE?] we’re not about to give British TV comedy a final lethal nudge into the abyss.”
Ahead of the show’s launch, join HELLO! as we take a closer look at Robert Webb’s family life, including his famous wife, Abigail Burdess…
© ShutterstockRobert and Abigail’s love story
Robert and Abigail met in 2003 while working together on a radio sketch show called Concrete Cow. They later embarked on a whirlwind romance and tied the knot in 2006, with David acting as Robert’s best man.
They welcomed two children together and are raising their brood in Kilburn, London.
In a piece for The Times, Robert said of their early romance: “We were only going out for two weeks before I knew I was in love. She wrote me a poem saying the same and it got exciting quite quickly.”
© Getty ImagesReflecting on married life, Robert candidly told Lifestyle Daily: “Like any other couple, we fight but probably using slightly more stupid voices. We’re not really competitive with each other.
“There’s a disparity between who’s had a break when. I had a massive break with Peep Show in 2003, but it hasn’t really happened for Abi in quite the same way. She’s very successful compared with most actors and writers in that she makes a living, but she hasn’t had the ludicrous good fortune that I have.”
Abigail, meanwhile, told The Times: “We’re very honest with each other, which can be a good and bad thing, but overall, it’s good. I’m very aware of what an absolute nincompoop I can be and he is a goofy guy but he’s also pure-hearted and innocent.
“Being married is like having a Zen master teaching you lessons over and over, but I think I got lucky with Rob.”
© Getty ImagesWho is Abigail Burdess?
Abigail is no stranger to the spotlight and moves in the same circles as Robert. She worked with her husband on The Bleak Old Shop and has also written for television, radio and stage. Her TV credits include Tracy Ullman’s Show on BBC1, Watson and Oliver, the BAFTA-nominated Sorry I’ve Got No Head and That Michell & Webb Look.
Beyond this, she’s also starred in the likes of Cuckoo, Fresh Meat and Before They Were Famous (BBC Radio 4).
She’s also an author and has written a comic book called Mother’s Day which was published in March 2023.
© ShutterstockRobert’s rare comments on fatherhood
While the comedian tends to keep his private life under wraps, he has occasionally spoken out about his role as a father.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2015, he said of his daughters: “I hope I’m empathetic with the trials of their future lives. In my teens, I realised that I was funny and that people were laughing and responding to that. It was my thing, and I do feel lucky to have had that revelation so young.
“My other teenage preoccupation – with getting a girlfriend and trying not to mind when I got dumped – should mean I’ll know what they’re going through when their hearts get broken.”
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