Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions. Making his film debut as Keating in the film if.... (1968), a role he would reprise in Britannia Hospital (1982), Askwith went on to appear in many films including Otley (1969), Alfred the Great (1969), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and The Canterbury Tales (1972), the horror films Tower of Evil (1972), The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) and Horror Hospital (1973) and the comedy films Bless This House (1972), Carry On Girls (1973) and No Sex Please, We're British (1973). However it was his role as Timothy Lea in the Confessions film series that would make him a household name. He has appeared on television as Fred Pickering in Beryl's Lot (1973–1975), Dave Deacon in Bottle Boys (1984–1985) and Ritchie de Vries in Coronation Street (2013–2014). In 1975, at Drury Lane's New London Theatre, he was voted Most Promising Newcomer – Male at the "Evening Standard British Film Awards". Askwith's most recent television roles include Emmerdale, Benidorm and a main role in The Madame Blanc Mysteries. Early life Askwith was born in Southport, Lancashire, England, the eldest child of Nelson and Hazel Askwith (née Cookson). His father was an accountant but served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and his mother in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENs). Unbeknown to Askwith, still a young child, he swam in a pool contaminated with insects; later that day Askwith's mother found him fully submerged underwater in the bath. Taken to hospital in an ambulance, Askwith was found to have contracted polio and had to spend nine months in an isolation ward at Southport Infirmary and had to learn how to walk again. Shortly after this, the family moved from Southport to Eastcote, London where Askwith was educated at Orley Farm in nearby Harrow. Particularly sporty at school, Askwith represented the school at football, rugby and cricket and after joining the Ruislip and Northwood Swimming Club, he represented the South Counties at backstroke. Askwith began an interest in acting because his neighbour was the floor manager at Pinewood Studios where he and his neighbour's son would watch movies being filmed, including The Servant (1963) and Cleopatra (1963). The next-door neighbour of a friend was Carry On actor Kenneth Connor, and so Askwith began attending a