...did he leave to do theatre work as some have claimed -or was there a dispute and he got fired?
Hey Witchdoctor, give us the magic words.
ooh ee ooh ah ah, ting tang wallawallabingba
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He worked on other films & shows during his run as Arthur. He lived for another 20 years after the show ended and worked until he died.
He probably got sick of the series.
I read some time ago that Michael Robbins became disenchanted by the quality of the scripts, and as a consequence, he left as soon as his contract allowed. He did agree to come back to play Arthur in the final film, as the cast, crew, and production company already had the third film in the pipeline. The series was never the same without him in my opinion, regardless of billing, Robbins was as much the star as Varney, Grant, or Lewis. He was a gifted actor, and just as effective in serious drama as he was at comedy.
shareIn 2009 I spoke to his widow Hal Dyer and she assured me he left to take up a stage role too good to turn down called 'Time and Time Again' written by the great Alan Ayckbourn. It was a big part and stage was his first love and this was too good a chance to turn down. No big bust ups as some claim or else why come back for another film or talk about coming back for Back On The Buses?