Robert Rinder

He approached ITV with a proposal for a remake of the 1970s programme Crown Court, but this was rejected in favour of a British version of Judge Judy, and McLennan offered Rinder the opportunity to front it.

Robert Michael Rinder (born 31 May 1978), sometimes known as Judge Rinder, is a British criminal barrister and television personality.

Rinder was born in London on 31 May 1978 into a Jewish family; his mother is Angela Cohen, chair of the 45 Aid Society.

His maternal grandfather, Morris Malenicky, was a Holocaust survivor and one of the "Windermere children".

He was brought up in Southgate and was educated at Osidge Primary School, Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet and the National Youth Theatre.

Rinder later gave up acting because his peer and later close friend, Benedict Cumberbatch, "was so good".

Rinder studied politics and modern history at the University of Manchester, graduating with first-class honours.

Rinder was called to the bar in 2001, starting his pupillage at 2 Paper Buildings.

He then became a tenant at 2 Hare Court.

He went on to specialise in cases involving international fraud, money laundering and other forms of financial crime.

He was involved in prosecutions following the murders of Leticia Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis in January 2003, and the defence of British servicemen on charges of manslaughter after the deaths of detainees in Iraq.

Since 2010, he has been involved in the investigation and prosecution of alleged bribery, corruption, and fraud in the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

While practising as a barrister Rinder wrote television scripts in his spare time.

Upon attempting to sell one, he met producer Tom McLennan.

In 2014, while still a practising barrister, he began hosting the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder.

From 2014 to 2020 he was the eponymous judge in the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder, where he was referred to as a British Judge Judy.

Shortly after the programme started he criticised Judith Sheindlin, the judge of Judge Judy, for making judgements based on her preconceptions while claiming that he applied the law seriously and made "real legal rulings".

Despite this, he insisted that it be clarified on the programme that he is a practising criminal law barrister and not a civil court judge.

As such, he wears his normal barrister's court dress but without the barrister's wig.

Rinder received praise for his cross-examination abilities and acerbic comments.

His courtroom includes a gavel and flag of the United Kingdom, neither of which is used in British courts but are on display in American courts and televised court programmes, and his show has been criticised as "The Jeremy Kyle Show set in a small-claims court".

In 2015 Rinder released a book called Rinder Rules.

In 2016 he presented a new series, Judge Rinder's Crime Stories, with reconstructions of real crimes.

He also hosted Raising the Bar on BBC Radio 5 Live, which he started with a discussion with former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge.

In 2016 Rinder competed in the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, stating that he was doing so to make his grandmother proud of him.

Rinder was partnered with Ukrainian-born professional dancer Oksana Platero.

Rinder was eliminated in week 11 after scoring 31 points dancing a Samba to "Oh, What a Night".

He ended the competition in fifth place.

In December 2017 Rinder re-launched Crown Court on ITV, newly named Judge Rinder's Crown Court, with a two-part special after a 30-year hiatus.

In an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? broadcast on 13 August 2018, Rinder traced his Jewish family's tragic history and made new discoveries about his grandfather, Morris Malenicky, a survivor of both Schlieben and Theresienstadt concentration camps.

In December 2018 Rinder hosted Good Year Bad Year, a one-off special on Channel 4 where he discussed the topical highs and lows of 2018 along with a number of celebrity guests.

In 2019, he also began hosting the Channel 4 series The Rob Rinder Verdict.

In 2022, Rinder also became a regular host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

In 2019 he began hosting the Channel 4 series The Rob Rinder Verdict.

In July 2020 Rinder appeared on series 2 of Celebrity Gogglebox alongside Susanna Reid.

In November 2020 Rinder released My Family, the Holocaust and Me for BBC One; a documentary which helped Jewish families discover the full truth about what happened to their relatives during the Holocaust.

The documentary received widespread acclaim, and "a vital history lesson".

Rinder presented on Good Morning Britain on ITV in 2022.

On 14 July 2022 Crime & Investigation UK commissioned the 10-part crime series Rob Rinder’s Interrogation Secrets; presented by Rinder, the series premiered on 4 September 2022.

In November 2022 it was announced that Rob Rinder would join chef Monica Galetti as the new co-host of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby.