Born to kind, but daft parents just outside of London, Franklin was transported at the age of six to Wales after his father stole a paper clip from the civil service. It was here, in the least prestigious of all educational establishments, a Welsh comprehensive school, that Franklin developed a taste for writing and performing and an appreciation of the grotesque and absurd.

These qualities first manifested themselves when Franklin wrote and performed in a school pantomime, a production for which he was threatened with expulsion.

Lacking the confidence to expand on this creative flourish, however, he spent the next three years at a polytechnic, basing this decision on the fact that there was a photo of some people playing indoor soccer in the prospectus. At a complete loss once again, Franklin started doing spots at clubs and pubs in London, initially as an impersonator of people so obscure that no one knew if they were accurate or not.

Returning to his initial inspiration, Franklin recently became a member of the Horrors Writers Association and has had two short horror stories published. His dream of combing sketch comedy and urban fantasy has so met with staunch resistance from TV networks.

His morning satire - Up And At 'Em Australia was nominated for the Stella Award in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 1999, a sign of this comedian's valuable standing in Australia. The following year he co-created and starred in the Australian Writers Guild Award winning - Introducing Gary Petty.

Bob continues to do stand up in Australia, the UK and the USA, writing and performing for stage: Who's That Guy With The Axe? - Slippers - Bob And Marty On Ice.

Television: Jimeoin - Adventures Of Lano And Woodley - Eric - Small Tales And True - The Micallef Programme - The Mick Molloy Show.

Film: The Craic - Guru Wayne - You Can Stop The Murders and currently has a feature film in development with Film Victoria.