# Eric Robson

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**Eric Bell Robson** (born 31 December 1946) is a Scottish television broadcaster, author and documentary film maker who has lived for most of his life in [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria), where he has a [sheep farm](/source/Sheep_husbandry). For many years he was the main presenter of [*Brass Tacks*](/source/Brass_Tacks_(British_TV_programme)).

## Early life

Robson was born in [Scotland](/source/Scotland) and attended [Carlisle Grammar School](/source/Trinity_School_(Carlisle)) in [Carlisle](/source/Carlisle,_Cumbria), [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland).

## Career

Robson started at [Border Television](/source/Border_Television) (based in [Carlisle](/source/Carlisle,_Cumbria)) in 1966. In the 1980s and 90s he was also a reporter on the BBC Scotland *[Landward](/source/Landward)* show. He has been a sheep farmer since 1987. On 20 February 1994 he became the principal chairman of [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)'s *[Gardeners' Question Time](/source/Gardeners'_Question_Time)* programme,[1] but announced on 20 March 2019 that he would be handing over his chair to [Kathy Clugston](/source/Kathy_Clugston), a BBC newsreader and continuity announcer, on 3 May 2019.[2]

Robson had earlier contributed to various regional TV series about [Alfred Wainwright](/source/Alfred_Wainwright)'s walking guides.[3] In 1980 he presented the final episode of the first series of *[Great Railway Journeys of the World](/source/Great_Railway_Journeys_of_the_World)*, produced by the BBC.

In 2011, he was accused of a conflict of interest by anti-nuclear protesters opposed to a second generation of nuclear power plants and the possible siting of a high-level waste dump in the Lake District.[4] Robson is the chairman of the Cumbria Tourism organisation, but at the same time is a part owner of Osprey Communications, a PR firm that is advisor to the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Cumbria.[5]

Robson was appointed [Officer of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Officer_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) (OBE) in the [2021 New Year Honours](/source/2021_New_Year_Honours) for services to tourism as honorary president of Cumbria Tourism.[6]

## Personal life

He was chairman of the Wainwright Society until 2024, and made a series of TV programmes with [Alfred Wainwright](/source/Alfred_Wainwright) in the mid-1980s that looked back over the reclusive writer's life. He lives in [Wasdale](/source/Wasdale), where he farms at Crag House Farm and (with his wife) runs a mail order company named after [Striding Edge](/source/Striding_Edge), specialising in [DVDs](/source/DVD), [maps](/source/Map) and [books](/source/Book) about the countryside, particularly that of Cumbria.

He married Mary Armstrong in 1976, but they divorced in 1984. They have a son and daughter. He married Annette Steinhilber in 1988. They have a son and two daughters, one grandson and three granddaughters.

## Books

- Co-author, *Great Railway Journeys of the World* (BBC)
- Editor, *The Allotment Handbook* (Arena Press)
- Author, *Outside Broadcaster* (autobiography), 2007 (Frances Lincoln Ltd)

## References

1. ["Interview: Eric Robson, farmer and Gardeners' Question Time chairman"](https://www.hortweek.com/interview-eric-robson-farmer-gardeners-question-time-chairman/retail/article/982972). *www.hortweek.com*. Retrieved 2022-06-23.

1. [Kathy Clugston to replace Eric Robson as the chair of Gardeners’ Question Time](https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/kathy-clugston-gardeners-question-time)

1. [Frances Lincoln – Eric Robson](http://www.franceslincoln.com/en/Contributor/57/Eric_Robson.html)

1. [Gardeners' Question Time chairman accused of conflict of interests](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/sep/23/gardeners-question-time-conflict-interests), [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian), 23 September 2011

1. ["Five Eden notables among new deputy lieutenants"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200214162231/https://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/five-eden-notables-among-new-deputy-lieutenants.241052.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/five-eden-notables-among-new-deputy-lieutenants.241052.html) on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

1. No. 63218. 31 December 2020. p. N14.

## External links

- [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/genres/factual/homesandgardens)
- [Wainwright](https://web.archive.org/web/20080808135115/http://www.wainwright.org.uk/article/030202_robson.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eric Robson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Robson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Robson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.