A biography for Bernard Cribbinshasn’t been written yet.
“The thing about dogs is they give you unconditional love - and they don't have teenage years!”
“I made novelty records generally, and novelties tend to wear off after a while.”
“I used to have favourite walks in the North of England. We'd take a minibus out of Oldham to the West Riding and walk over those great hills.”
“My parents didn't read to me. My dad was a jobbing labourer, my mother was in the cotton mills.”
“That's what kids' TV is all about. It entertains; it stimulates; it educates, and maybe, in some cases, it unlocks a bit of potential in a child, which they've all got, haven't they? That sounds rather pompous, but it's what I feel.”
“I'd like to have appeared in an old-fashioned western. Perhaps I could play Clint Eastwood's dad, although he is only a few years younger than me, so probably not.”
“For 50 years I've been growing little trees and giving them to friends. One pal's garden has a Cribbins Copse, containing birch, oak, ash and walnut trees.”
“January 4, 1943, is when I became a professional actor-cum-thespian.”
“For three weeks in the 1960s I was nearly a pop star.”
“I don't think Right Said Fred had permission to use the title. But they were quite a good group. Quite camp! I met them and did a song for Comic Relief with them, 'Stick It Out.'”
“When you have to rehearse with some gorgeous lady and have to kiss her, there has to be temptation.”
“I did think of becoming a ballet dancer at one point. I had a girlfriend who was teaching in the ballet school. I was 16, 17, very fit, but it was too much like hard work.”
“I've grown accustomed to my fame.”
“Because I'm a non-singer, to suddenly find myself in the charts was fabulous.”
“The origins of my recording career go back to a revue show in 1961 or 62, something like that, called 'And Another Thing.'”
“I wouldn't have been right for James Bond. I would have been a good sidekick.”
“I'm not knocking CGI. I think it is fantastic and what it does with stunt work - that is absolutely brilliant - but it seems to have been used unnecessarily a lot of the time.”
“After filming 'The Country Wife' with Helen Mirren in 1977, my wife Gillian and I went off to Sri Lanka for a month, which was totally brilliant.”
“What I like about 'Old Jack's Boat' is that it's just like 'Jackanory' - me telling a tale straight to camera with my lovely dog.”
“Do your best and be grateful for every single job.”