Robins began performing comedy in 2005, and reached the semi-finals of the ''
So You Think You're Funny'' competition at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2007, he participated in the "Comedy Zone" showcase at the festival. In 2011, Robins performed stand-up on ''
Russell Howard's Good News. On television he has also appeared on Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (twice, plus the unaired pilot), Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, Live from the BBC, Celebrity Deal or No Deal with Sarah Millican and on the 2013 Christmas mash-up of 8 Out of 10 Cats and Deal or No Deal''. Robins appeared on several radio programmes, including
Matt Forde's
Talksport show,
BBC Radio 4's
Word of Mouth, Great Lives where he spoke about Frank Zappa and
BBC Radio Wales's ''What's the Story?'' In February 2014, he started hosting the
Elis James and John Robins show on XFM (now
Radio X) with fellow comedian
Elis James. In August 2014, the show moved to Saturdays, and was broadcast weekly 1-4 pm. It is also a popular podcast with over 12 million downloads as of July 2017. Robins performed in New Zealand for the first time in May 2014 during the
NZ International Comedy Festival, with the show
Where Is My Mind? In the second half of 2016, Robins embarked on a tour show with co-host Elis James called
The Elis James and John Robins Experience. Robins has performed a solo show at the
Edinburgh Festival every year between 2009 and 2015, starting with
Skinny Love. His subsequent shows were
Nomadic Revery (2010),
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2011),
Incredible Scenes (2012),
Where Is My Mind? (2013),
This Tornado Loves You (2014) and
Speakeasy (2015). All shows were also toured around the UK. He has also performed at the
Machynlleth Comedy Festival and the
Leicester Comedy Festival. In August 2017, Robins won (jointly with
Hannah Gadsby) the
Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show that year,
The Darkness of Robins, which focused on the breakdown of his relationship with comedian
Sara Pascoe and his personal life after the break-up. It was the first time he had been nominated for the award. The show was later filmed by the BBC and eventually made available to watch on
Netflix. In June 2018, it was announced that Robins would host a game show for
Dave entitled
Beat the Internet, co-presented with fellow comic
Sunil Patel. The show ran for 20 episodes and was not renewed for a second series. Also that year Robins and James published a book
, The Holy Vible. In February 2019 Robins launched a
YouTube channel called
Bad Golf with friend and fellow comedian
Alex Horne. As of November 2021, they have more than 50,000 subscribers. Following the popularity of the channel, Robins received a kit sponsorship, with Puma's golf brand Cobra providing him with new clubs, bag and clothing. After five years broadcasting on
Radio X (previously XFM), the
Elis James and John Robins show aired its final episode on the station on Saturday 30 March 2019. On 2 April 2019, Robins announced that he and Elis James would be hosting a new show on
BBC Radio 5 Live. The BBC show has been broadcast since 31 May 2019, and all episodes are downloadable as podcasts. Robins returned to Edinburgh in 2019 with the show
Hot Shame. In October 2019 Elis and John launched a new podcast
How Do You Cope?...with Elis and John on BBC Radio 5 Live. It features Elis and John talking to celebrities about mental health issues they have faced. In 2024 the show won the "Radio Times Moment Of The Year" award at the ARIAS for an edition in which John Robins revealed his struggle with alcohol addiction and his journey to recovery. Robins has since 2021 shared his thoughts, feelings and significant moments from his life in the newsletter The John Robins Vibemail. Robins launched a podcast in April 2021,
The Moon Under Water, with fellow comedian and friend Robin Allender. In each episode a guest chats about their dream pub. The pair left the podcast in 2023 and were replaced as "landlord" by Robbie Knox. In 2023 Robins presented his show
Howl at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, performing it and a Work in Progress show daily during the month of the festival. He then toured the show
Howl, constructed of both shows, discussing recent changes in his life and his new sobriety. Robins appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth series of the
Channel 4 show
Taskmaster which launched in March 2024. He won the series. As the winner of his series he competed in the fourth installment of the Taskmaster Champion of Champions, taking on the last four other winners
Andy Zaltzman,
Maisie Adam,
Mathew Baynton and
Sam Campbell. The episode aired on December 22nd 2025. In 2025 Robins and
Elis James staged a tour called
Elis & John: That Feels Significant: Live! alongside their podcast's producer, Dave Masterman. In February 2025, Robins announced that
How Do You Cope? would return, no longer on the BBC and without
Elis James co-hosting. In September, he announced that in 2026 he would be publishing a memoir entitled
Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life, discussing his relationship with alcohol and later battle with alcoholism. == Awards and accolades ==