Robinson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.[2] His first professional appearance came in his home city in 1929, at the Liverpool Playhouse.[2] He appeared in a variety of stage productions in London throughout the 1930s. These included Black Limelight by Gordon Sherry at the Q Theatre in 1937, where his role as Peter Charrington was described by The Times newspaper's critic as "a skilful, reticent sketch".[3] In 1939, he played Fortinbras in John Gielgud's production of Hamlet, the final play to be performed at the Lyceum Theatre before its closure.[4]
He made his film debut in 1936 in The Scarab Murder Case, and during the 1930s he also began appearing on radio and in the newer medium of television.[2] In the Second World War he took part in the D-Day landings in 1944, as a member of the Reconnaissance Corps.[2] He returned to acting in 1949, as John Beresford in the TV production of Elizabeth of Ladymead, appearing in several films and increasingly on television again.[2] One of his best film roles (with higher billing than usual) was as the villain with redeeming qualities in Hammer the Toff (1952).
In August 1955, the actor Reginald Tate died the month before he was due to start work on Quatermass II, having played the part of the Professor in the first instalment of the series, The Quatermass Experiment.[5] With only a short amount of time to cast a replacement, director Rudolph Cartier offered Robinson the role, as the only suitable actor available.[5] Robinson had some difficulty with the technical dialogue he was required to learn, and was also uneasy about taking over a role that had been established by Tate.[2]
Robinson was not available to reprise the part for the third serial, Quatermass and the Pit, in 1958, and André Morell took over the role.[6] In the 1960s, Robinson starred in another science-fiction series, R3, which had some similarities to Quatermass.[6]
