Russ Abbot, who was once one of the BBC’s biggest stars, has opened up about leaving showbiz behind – saying his brand of comedy fell out of fashion when “alternative” comics and “political correctness came in”.
The retired comedian, 78, first rose to fame as a singer and drummer in British comedy show band, the Black Abbots, before he moved into TV presenting, hosting Russ Abbot’s Madhouse and The Russ Abbot Show for the BBC in the Eighties.
His last TV role was in BBC comedy Boomers with Alison Steadman, Philip Jackson, and June Whitfield. When the show was cancelled after two seasons in 2016, he officially retired and moved to Portugal.
open image in gallerySpeaking about leaving show business, Abbot – who was born Russell Allan Roberts – told The Guardian that while he was disappointed when Boomers was cancelled, it isn’t true that he was embittered by the comedy landscape changing and that he wasn’t being offered any “straight roles”. He actually chose to leave the industry as his manager was retiring and he “thought it was a good time to call it quits and spend more time with [wife] Trish”, according to the publication.
“I’ve seen something on YouTube saying ‘The tragedy of Russ Abbot’ and ‘He’s run away to Portugal’,” he said. “I’ve had a wonderful career. Wonderful!”
Although he did note that his brand of sketch comedy fell by the wayside in the Nineties when “new wave” comedy came in.
“Alternative comedy. I thought, alternative comedy? What’s it alternative to? If the thing’s funny, it’s funny,” he said. “Political correctness came in, and you can’t laugh at each other and you can’t laugh at yourself.
“At the same time, a lot of comedy started going blue and I think: I’m not going down that road.”
Abbot now splits his time between Barbados and the Algarve with his wife Patricia, whom he married in 1967. The couple share four children.
open image in gallery
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Abbot joined the cast of BBC One’s Last of the Summer Wine in 2008, taking on the role of Luther “Hobbo” Hobdyke in the last few series before its cancellation in 2010. He also appeared in Hotel Babylon, Casualty, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and The Last Detective.
In the Eighties, Abbot briefly launched a pop career, releasing the single “Atmosphere” in 1987. The track made it to number seven in the British music charts and in 2020, a campaign was launched by two university students to make it Christmas number one, with the song getting airtime on BBC Radio Nottingham.