Paul McCartney bought my parents a house, Ted Robbins says

Ted Robbins, the Liverpool-born comedian and actor known for Phoenix Nights, Ackley Bridge and The Slammer, says his family’s finances were dramatically shaped by a gift from his famous cousin: Paul McCartney bought his parents a house on the Wirral when The Beatles were rising. Robbins, now 70, describes growing up with a father who warned that money is a bridge between better and worse outcomes, and he notes that the gesture helped his family stay steady as doors opened in the entertainment world.

Robbins explains that his parents faced tight finances even as his relatives connected to the music scene began to rise. The story of the house in Bebington on the Wirral sits alongside a larger sketch of a childhood where opportunity and uncertainty lived side by side. The family’s ties to Paul McCartney and the broader McCartney-Lennon circle have long colored Robbins’ sense of luck and responsibility in a career that would span television, theatre and beyond.

Robbins’ own career began modestly. At 17 he took a job as a compere, presenter and trainer of a performing dolphin show in Porthcawl, earning around £40 a week. He recalls spending most of that income on the kinds of pleasures that come with a young entertainer’s early success, a pattern he says he later learned to temper. Financial struggle followed him through the early years of his television work, including a period when he and his wife, Judy, found themselves in overdraft and lean times before steady work arrived. His wife’s accountant helped stabilize their finances as they built a family together in Lancashire.

As his career progressed Robbins’ earnings grew but so did the complexity of managing money in a world of inconsistent television work. He recalls a warm-up gig for Des O’Connor at Thames TV that paid about £200 a night, and a later weekend in Ascot that, on the surface, seemed modest but turned into a far larger payday when a recruiter proposed £7,000 for a weekend, including travel, golf and other expenses. A notable milestone came in 2004, when he began receiving residuals from the Phoenix Nights DVD box set, a reminder that work already completed could continue to pay dividends years later. Peter Kay, a close friend, would often visit Judy’s family, underscoring Robbins’ sense of being part of a larger entertainment community.

Robbins has long valued the security of property. The couple bought their first house, a tiny end-terrace in Stacksteads, for around £40,000, a price they could manage at the time. Ownership, free of mortgage, offered a sense of stability that Robbins says was transformative. Today he lives in a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Rawtenstall, with a unit for Judy’s mother, Dorothy, who is in her nineties and lives with them. Property remains his preferred form of financial security, and he emphasizes the importance of having something to fall back on—whether through a pension or other savings.

One of Robbins’ defining money lessons came from a big impulse purchase that went awry. In his early 50s he was ready to upgrade his family car and, after his daughter Molly urged him to buy a navy-blue BMW 7 Series with ivory leather seats, he did. Three months after purchase, the warranty expired and the car began making a troubling noise. A trusted mechanic bluntly told him the car’s fate, and the experience taught him a practical lesson: sometimes it pays to rely on his wife’s judgment and avoid overreaching on luxury buys. The family subsequently shifted to a more sensible Nissan.

Robbins’ financial philosophy centers on balancing present enjoyment with long-term security. He highlights his ongoing pension arrangements—one small personal plan in addition to a state pension—and stresses the value of having money set aside for the future and for his children and Judy. He notes that appearances can be deceiving for those in the public eye, and that the character of money in a show business career is less about flashing wealth than about building a reliable foundation for loved ones.

Beyond personal finance, Robbins has reflected on the broader responsibility that comes with being part of a famous family. He describes a sense of duty toward his family and toward causes that matter, such as animal welfare, a topic he has engaged with through his work in entertainment and through personal advocacy in later years. Robbins also shares a candid view of his time in the industry, recognizing that fame can be fleeting while the need to plan for health and family remains constant.

A watershed moment in Robbins’ life came in January 2015, when he suffered a cardiac arrest during the opening night of the Phoenix Nights Live tour at Manchester Arena. His life was saved by two trained professionals in the audience, and he later thanked the staff at Wythenshawe Hospital for their care. The episode reinforced his belief that health is the true cornerstone of any financial plan, a sentiment echoed in his reflections on money’s limits when weighed against life and family. Peter Kay, who supported Robbins during his recovery, underscored the close-knit nature of the comedy world and its mutual support networks.

As for the future, Robbins has a pragmatic view of economics in public life. If he ever held the reins of policy, he would encourage large corporations to contribute more, with a particular focus on supporting the National Health Service. He recalls meeting the former Labour Chancellor Denis Healey at Westminster, a memory that informs his belief in the balance between prosperity and social responsibility. He remains grateful for the people who helped him through his darkest times and emphasizes that, after all the public attention, the most enduring measure of success is the well-being of his family and the health that sustains it.