Robin Soans

Acting

Robin Soans

Born

1947-01-01 (79)

Place of birth

Northamptonshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

46 titles

obin Soans (born 20 June 1946, Northamptonshire, England) is a British actor and playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary theatre, with a career spanning over five decades. His plays include Talking to Terrorists (2005) and Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage (2015). In theatre he has performed at the National Theatre, Royal Court, RSC, and Shakespeare's Globe, including Justice Shallow in Player Kings (West End, 2024). His film credits include The Queen (2006), Viceroy's House (2017), Victoria & Abdul (2017), Red Joan (2018), and Napoleon (2023). On television he has appeared in Doctor Who, Inspector Morse, Endeavour, Victoria (6 episodes), and Dalgliesh (2023). No major awards are on r…

Known for

Doctor Who poster
7.6

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

Doctor Who

2005

Midsomer Murders poster
7.5

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

Midsomer Murders

1997

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

The Bill poster
6.8

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.

The Bill

1984

Agatha Christie's Marple poster
7.8

The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.

Agatha Christie's Marple

2004

Waking the Dead poster
7.2

A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.

Waking the Dead

2001

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

2010s · 6 titles

2000s · 7 titles

The Queen poster
6.9

The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

The Queen

2006

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman poster
7.1

Following in his father's footsteps, Albert Pierrepoint becomes one of Britain's most prolific executioners, hiding his identity as a grocery deliveryman. But when his ambition to be the best inadvertently exposes his gruesome secret, he becomes a minor celebrity & faces a public outcry against the practice of hanging. Based on true events.

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

2005

AKA poster
5.6

In 1970s Britain, 18-year old Dean feels hampered by his working-class background and his family. In order to make something of himself, he assumes another identity and manages to enter high society. Uses a unique projection technique that displays three side-by-side frames of nearly simultaneous action, giving the impression of simultaneous events, rather than a multi-camera recording. This innovative "three-camera" or triple-image effect was an "almost innovation" for the time, offering a novel cinematic experience alongside the film's compelling story and strong direction.

AKA

2002

Not Only But Always poster
6.5

The story of the working and personal relationship between the comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a hugely popular duo in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing primarily on Cook, the film traces the pair from their first meeting through their career as part of the Beyond the Fringe review, their television series Not Only... But Also and various other projects before their later estrangement as Moore became a successful Hollywood film star and Cook remained in the UK.

Not Only But Always

2004

Sabotage!! poster
5.8

June, 1815. Napoleon Bonaparte, surrounded by enemies, is about to play his definitive part in history. He has spent his whole life creating a mystique, becoming synonymous with determination, strength and mystery. But, that whole super-leader trip is smothering him and he just can't stand it anymore. Meanwhile, one of his aides, le maréchal Hugo Armani, has only one dream: to emulate the man who is his idol, his emperor. Armani picks the battle of Waterloo as the moment for his borderline psychotic attack - the first case of Napoleonic delirium in modern psychiatry. Due to the shortage of maréchals at the moment, Napoleon's got no choice: he has to leave Armani in command. Unbalanced Armani, so unexpectedly promoted, now leads the troops of France.

Sabotage!!

2000

Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image poster
8.8

A documentary exploring Bill Douglas' struggle from childhood poverty to acclaimed filmmaker of Comrades and the Trilogy.

Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image

2006

Method poster
4.8

The line between fantasy and reality blurs when an actress begins behaving like the 19th-century murderer she is playing.

Method

2004

1990s · 3 titles

1980s · 4 titles

Series credits

Doctor Who poster
7.6

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

Doctor Who

2005

Midsomer Murders poster
7.5

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

Midsomer Murders

1997

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

The Bill poster
6.8

The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.

The Bill

1984

Agatha Christie's Marple poster
7.8

The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.

Agatha Christie's Marple

2004

Waking the Dead poster
7.2

A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.

Waking the Dead

2001

Bergerac poster
7.0

Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. While dealing with his own personal demons Bergerac has a knack of finding trouble, and sometimes causing it.

Bergerac

1981

Victoria poster
7.4

The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.

Victoria

2016

Jonathan Creek poster
7.6

Working from his home in a converted windmill, Jonathan Creek is a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles. He soon puts this ability to the use of solving impossible crimes and mysterious murders.

Jonathan Creek

1997

Lovejoy poster
7.4

The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.

Lovejoy

1986

Silk poster
7.5

Passionate defence barrister Martha Costello faces challenging cases and surprising clients, which test her faith in the criminal justice system. Gifted colleague Clive Reader is called to the bar with her. They work hard with pupils, Nick Slade and Niamh Cranitch, but ultimately only one can eventually be taken on as a member of chambers.

Silk

2011

Dalgliesh poster
6.7

A recent widower and acclaimed poet, enigmatic Inspector Adam Dalgliesh employs his exceptional empathy and insight to plumb the darker depths of the human psyche while investigating complex crimes in 1970s England.

Dalgliesh

2021

The Last Place on Earth poster
7.4

The Last Place on Earth is a 1985 Central Television seven part serial, written by Trevor Griffiths based on the book Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford. The book is an exploration of the expeditions of Captain Robert F. Scott and his Norwegian rival in polar exploration, Roald Amundsen in their attempts to reach the South Pole. The series ran for seven episodes and starred a wide range of UK and Norwegian character actors as well as featuring some famous names, such as Max von Sydow, Richard Wilson, Sylvester McCoy and Pat Roach. It also featured performances early in their careers by Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant. Subsequently Huntford's book was republished under the same name. The book put forth the point of view that Amundsen's success in reaching the South Pole was abetted by much superior planning, whereas errors by Scott ultimately resulted in the death of him and his companions.

The Last Place on Earth

1985

So Haunt Me poster
6.6

So Haunt Me is a British television sitcom about a family that moves into a home occupied by the ghost of its previous resident, a middle-aged Jewish mother. The show was produced by Cinema Verity for the BBC and originally aired from 1992 to 1994. Peter Rokeby loses his job as advertising copywriter, and resolves to become a freelance writer. Owing to this change in circumstances, he and his wife Sally move with their children into a more modest home in Meadow Road, Willesden. The family soon finds that the ghost of a previous owner, Yetta Feldman, still occupies the residence, and has been scaring occupants away for years. Yetta is a stereotypical interfering, middle-aged Jewish mother who died suddenly after choking on a chicken bone. While Sally can both see and speak to their ghost, Peter — much to his frustration — initially cannot. The family agrees to help Yetta find her grown-up daughter Carole. So Haunt Me aired on BBC1 as 18 half-hour episodes in three series and one special from 1992 to 1994. The show was created by Paul Mendelson. The Rokeby children David and Tammy were played by Jeremy Green and Laura Howard respectively. Neighbour Mr Bloom was played by David Graham.

So Haunt Me

1992

Dickens poster
7.0

Dickens is a 2002 three-part docudrama presented by Peter Ackroyd, on whose biography of Dickens it was based. An unorthodox style is taken: actors play various individuals in Dickens' life (as well as Dickens himself), interviewed as if appearing in a contemporary documentary. Their words are from actual letters and journals of the individuals involved, and serve to illuminate the hardships and successes in Dickens' life, and the way his experiences found their way into his works.

Dickens

2002

The Russian Bride poster
9.0

Christopher, a middle-aged man who is obsessed with repairing old radios, marries the Russian bride Natasha. She comes to live with him and his mother Dora in his London house. Dora instigated the marriage in order to have someone look after her son when she dies. Natasha is bored as Christopher takes no sexual interest in her, and she is treated as a servant. Eddie, an out-of-work actor, stirs up the household when he befriends Christopher and Dora, in order to seduce Natasha.

The Russian Bride

2001

No artwork available
NR

Eric, the owner of a night-club in Nottingham, is obsessed by the film Casablanca (1942) and dreams of being Rick Blaine.

Tales of Sherwood Forest

1989

Behind the camera