Biography
Ricky Tomlinson is an English actor. Born Eric Tomlinson on 26 September 1939 in Bispham, Blackpool, he trained as a plasterer and worked in the building trade before entering acting in the early 1980s.
He is best known for playing Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside (1982–1988), DCI Charlie Wise in the series Cracker (1993–2006) and Jim Royle in the BBC sitcom The Royle Family (1998–2012). Tomlinson has also appeared in films including Riff-Raff (1991), Raining Stones (1993), Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001) and The 51st State (2001).
Earlier in his life he was active as a trade unionist and was imprisoned following the 1972 Shrewsbury building workers' dispute.
