While No. 73's Rob was a builder who was later revealed to be an actor, the real life Robert Debenham was an actor who later... well, actually he didn't become a builder, he went off to work in publishing. But still.

Rob is, according to friend Dan Silver, "a West Ham fan and generally funny bloke." He made only a few appearances in the last series of 73, but impressed viewers with his understated performance and talent for physical comedy. Sadly, both Rob's TV and comedy careers failed to take off, following which he "had to sell his soul in the murky world of advertising."

At Dennis Publishing, Rob was Ad Manager for the magazines Hi Fi Choice and Home Entertainment. In January 2000 Dennis sold these titles to Future Publishing. It is believed that Rob has been promoted to Group Ad Manager, or something.

[In this picture, Rob is top left.]