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What would your pub be like?

“I know I’d be a very friendly landlord but I’m much more about the social nature than being a hard-nosed businessman,” Robbie says. “I once worked at a coffee shop and got sacked for talking too much.

“I also don’t think I’d be very good at throwing people out if anything kicked off!”

What are the three elements that make a good pub?

“It has to be suitable for all seasons,” he suggests. “A good roaring log fire for cold winter nights and then a beer garden for glorious summer evenings.”

He sets a high bar on the quality of personnel he’d employ, crucial for anyone creating their dream establishment.

“I like an attentive bar staff who acknowledge you as a regular,” he says. “There was a pub I went to when I was at university and the landlord would greet us with, ‘The usual, lads?’

“That was quite exciting, thinking we were being accepted into adulthood as regulars in a pub.”

And the drinks?

“As long as they are varied,” he says. “I like something that has a local offering. I don’t mind picking a general lager on occasion but I do like sampling a local ale or craft beer.”

What’s your go-to snack?

Food is always on the agenda but Robbie is not going out of his way to bring gastro vibes to his pub.

“I like a pub with sausage rolls available but also all the traditional foods, like bacon fries,” he says.

“Oh and my son really likes having hot nuts at the bar. Maybe I shouldn’t be encouraging my nine-year-old when he says, ‘Can we go to the pub today, Dad?’”

What entertainment do you like?

“I don’t mind entertainment as long as I know it’s coming,” laughs Robbie. “I don’t like it when you go in, get a drink and suddenly a pub quiz starts.

“Anything unexpected is not good. I am partial to a comedy night or similar but I like to know before I order my drink exactly what I’m getting myself into.”

What makes a bad pub?

Everybody can relate to Robbie’s, “Anywhere you feel someone could glass you” answer, but our new host is insightful as to why some traditional public houses have closed across the country.

“Any pub that has not moved on,” he said. “Some of them have not made the effort over the past 20 years to change and provide what people want.”

Are any conversation topics off the table?

“Fantasy Premier League teams!” he replies without hesitation. “There are only ever two conversations, either I took someone out and they played well or put someone in my team and they did badly.

“These are just repeated endlessly with different cast members each week. It all gets a bit much.”

We hear you, Robbie.

What’s the most surprising thing you have seen?

“There was a pub not far where I used to live in Kent where there was a suit of armour in the corner,” he reveals.

“I once took my friend with me there and he went to the bar and bought a table lamp!

“I like a pub that is a bit more diverse in its offer – so if you want to sell home materials, then so be it.”

What would your pub be called?

“We have recently recorded an episode with John Niven and he said a pub near him was named after the woman who ran it,” says Robbie.

“I reckon I’ll just copy that and call mine ‘Robbie Knox’ with a picture of myself on the sign.”

And the best pub you have been to?

Robbie is currently based in Norwich, a city that once claimed to have a pub for every day of the year, – apparently these two facts are unrelated – but instead his answer to this question is thousands of miles away in Canada.

“I was working at a ski resort in Whistler and there was a bar at the bottom where you could literally ski up to the door,” he says. “All my friends would go there and there was always someone I knew inside.

“Back in the days before camera phones, it did get quite raucous. There was naked limbo and all sorts. It was terrific!”

Finally, who would you like to interview on Moon Under Water?

“Plenty of unrealistic people,” laughs Robbie. “I’d love to get Snoop Dogg – is he a regular pub goer? – but I can’t envisage a situation where that happens!

“Martin Compston from Line of Duty would be great. I worked with him recently and he would be terrific on it. A good drinker and a really interesting guy.”

Listen to Robbie and the brand new episodes of Moon Under Water on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sounds