Rufus Hound in No Return? Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. The comedian makes a surprising appearance in episode three of the Sheridan Smith drama.
Rufus plays a private investigator/dirt digger called Al Milner who is called upon to help prove Noah’s innocence, with the teen locked up after being accused of sexually assaulting another boy.
If you missed Rufus, don’t beat yourselves up – he’s sporting a shaved head and a hoity-toity accent.
He appears in the penultimate episode, furnishing Sheridan’s character Kathy with some ‘smoking gun’ information about Milo, the boy who accused her son of abuse.
What is Rufus Hound most famous for?
Rufus is a comedian, actor and presenter but many of us know him best from his time on wacky game show Celebrity Juice.
He appeared on the hilarious panel alongside Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton.
However after four years on the show he suddenly quit.
Asked about a potential return to the panel, he teased: “Frankly that’s unlikely. Celebrity Juice is the Keith Lemon show isn’t it, and so long as Keith’s there most people are getting everything they want from it. So onwards and upwards for them.”
Read more: No Return viewers threaten to switch off
It later emerged that he left because producers failed to back him up when he and Kim Woodburn had an argument on set.
He also won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special in 2013 and proved he could ice skate on Dancing on Ice.
Read more: Why do audiences like Sheridan Smith so much?
What is Rufus’ real name?
Rufus’s real name is Robert James Blair Simpson.
When he was encouraged to launch himself as a comedian by his mate Russell Brand, he decided to change his name after discovering that the RobSimpson.com domain was no longer available.
At one point, he considered calling himself Jiminy Biscuit, but in the end opted for Rufus Hound.
“I had shaggy hair, and an unkempt blond beard,” he told The Independent. “I looked kinda doggy with a touch of sienna in my face fur. Rufus Hound it was.”
Has Rufus acted before?
While we know him best from entertainment shows such as Celebrity Juice Rufus has been an actor for years, appearing in films like Big Fat Gypsy Gangster and The Wedding Video.
He’s also appeared on stage in One Man, Two Guvnors, Neville’s Island, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Don Quixote, The Wind In The Willows, What The Butler Saw, Dusty – The Dusty Springfield Musical, The Boy In The Dress and was about to West End production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie until Covid hit.
Was Rufus Hound on Dancing On Ice?
In 2021, Rufus appeared on Dancing On Ice and impressed the judges so much that they sent him automatically through to week three with the show’s first-ever “golden ticket”.
However, Rufus wasn’t shy in admitting that he only did the show because Covid had left him unemployed.
“I’m doing the show for money because I haven’t been able to earn any money and I have a mortgage and a family,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to it and it doesn’t mean I don’t want it to go well.
“I might be the one person in the mix who is like ‘no I am unemployed, I don’t want to do this, I am doing it because I have to try and find a way of earning money’.
Sadly, Rufus’ time on DOI was cut short when he was forced to withdraw from the competition after testing positive for coronavirus.
Is Rufus Hound married?
He was. Rufus met Beth Johnson at Reading Festival in 2006 before going on to tie the knot at Las Vegas’ Little Wedding Chapel just a year later.
Rufus and Beth share two children – Alby and Hilda.
Sadly in October 2020, Rufus announced he had split from his wife after 13 years of marriage.
He explained that he and Beth had made the difficult decision to part ways in April during the height of lockdown.
— Rufus Hound (@RufusHound) October 2, 2020
“In April, Beth and I made the sad decision to end our marriage,” he began.
“We will always have much love and respect for each other.
“Even though we are separated we will always remain best friends.
“And, as always, our family will remain our number one priority.”
No Return concludes on Monday, February 28 from 9pm on ITV.
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