Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer, and one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell.

Biographie

Webb married fellow comedy performer Abigail Burdess in 2007, after meeting her on the set of a radio sketch show—Mitchell was the best man at the wedding ceremony. They live in Kilburn, London, and the couple are parents to two daughters. Webb commented in 2008 that his wife's beauty is not the reason that he married her, but rather because he feels 'dizzy' when he is around her.

Webb has stated that he is a supporter of the Labour Party, and rejoined the political party in 2013, in protest at Russell Brand's interview on Newsnight, in which he suggested people shouldn't vote as a form of protest. In August 2014, Webb was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

In a 2008 Independent piece, Webb explained that he was a "swaggering atheist" prior to the death of his mother, as the loss led to the commencement of his praying. However, upon reflection, Webb states that the temporary departure from atheism was a coping mechanism for the loss, and after he learned to "co-exist" with his mother's death, he returned to atheism: "... I've returned to total non-belief. I don't know how long it'll last, but God, it's good to be back!"

Following the "sell-out" criticism both Webb and Mitchell received for appearing in an advertisement for Apple Inc., Webb refuted the comments by saying that the "sell-out" label was only applicable if the pair held particular beliefs before they agreed to appear in the advertisement. Webb stated in 2008:



I'm not a sell-out ... The problem is that that presupposes a set of principles we don't actually hold. We never said comedians shouldn't do ads, or that we somehow operate outside the mixed market economy ... really we're just doing a job.