Robson Green admits he gets starstruck around footballers: ‘Talking to Les Ferdinand my voice went up an octave’-Sue Crawford-Entertainment – Metro

Robson Green shares why he would love to do space travel (Picture: Rex/Metro)

Actor Robson Green, 58, on how the great outdoors helped with his drink and drug problems and why work isn’t everything.

What’s the thinking behind your new series, Weekend Escapes?

We’d go away every weekend when
I was a boy but now people don’t seem to have time for that. We over-schedule our lives and we have brain overload and we sometimes get stuck and forget to stop and take a break. For me, weekends are precious. They’re bookends to a different sort of life, away from the working week.

What do you get up to in the opening episode?

I’ve grown up watching Newcastle United and I’ve always had problems talking to footballers. I’m at ease with people from TV, film and Hollywood, but when I’m talking to a footballer I fall apart. In the first episode I go paddle-boarding in the North Sea with former Newcastle striker Les Ferdinand and initially my voice went up an octave! I went, ‘Are you all right Les, how’s it going, lovely to meet you!’ He was an England striker, he’s charismatic, he’s got this wonderful deep voice and he’s a unit! Slowly, I calmed down!

It sounds like you’re a big fan of the great outdoors…

The actor goes paddle boarding with Les Ferdinand in his new series of Weekend Escapes (Picture: Ian Tuttle/REX/Shutterstock)

From the age of seven to 26 I was always cold-water swimming, walking, cycling, running and fishing. I only got into problems with my mental stability when I didn’t have time for that. After I appeared in Soldier Soldier, I was on this journey of relentless work and I didn’t make time for the things I’d enjoyed before.

How did that affect you?

I had struggles with substance abuse and alcohol for a small period of time – I drank too much and I was taking drugs. It was a destructive pathway but luckily I went to see a very good therapist. He told me that I talked a lot about fishing, walking, swimming and being with my dad.

Very quickly I realised that if I was to carry on down that self-destructive path, I wouldn’t be here today. The therapist gave great advice and I started fishing and walking again – those things give me a sense of contentment and wellbeing and an escape from work. You don’t need to pay a lot of money to get peace of mind.

You’ve had an incredibly busy and successful career…

Once Soldier Soldier and the singing thing kicked in [Robson had a successful music career in the 1990s with fellow Soldier Soldier actor Jerome Flynn], then came Reckless, Touching Evil, Grafters and Wire In The Blood. They were all series that did really well, but they were controlling how I was thinking. I’d say, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do another series now and the viewing figures have got to be better than the last one.’

But really, in the end, what was that going to achieve for me, other than another TV series? Acting and presenting isn’t everything, but fishing and being in the outdoors with friends and family is everything to me.

What else do you get up to in Weekend Escapes?

Robson stars alongside Tom Brittney (right) in Granchester (Picture: ITV)

The series is a love letter to the north-east and to my friends and family, because that sense of identity, belonging and place is important. We take the roads less travelled and I do it with friends, family and some familiar faces from TV.

In one episode I go to Durham, with Tom Brittney, who is in Grantchester with me, and we go dragon boat racing, foraging and have high tea in a Victorian carriage on the oldest railway.

There’s a new series of Grantchester soon – why have you been with the show so long?

It’s fun and when you’re in the last third of your life that’s important. I’ve worked on acting jobs that have been quite stressful and I’ve been in series where certain members of the cast are quite destructive and it hasn’t been fun. Grantchester has been nine fun years.

More: Sixty Seconds

If you’d had an another career, what would it have been?

I’m a real space nut, so it would have been something to do with space travel or propulsion. I’m really interested in the science behind it and in orbital mechanics. Before acting, I worked in a shipyard as a naval architect.

You’re a bit of a musician too…

The actor is a big fan of Sam Fender (left) and even starred in one of his music videos (Picture: JMEnternational/Getty)

I like playing the guitar. The Eagles are fantastic – I love playing covers of their songs – and I’m a fan of Sam Fender. Not many people know this but I’m in one of Fender’s music videos – Howdon Aldi Death Queue. Tom Brittney is in it too. We went fishing with Sam and he really enjoyed it and he asked us if we wanted to be in one of his videos. I play bass guitar in it and Sam lead guitar.

You’ve just turned 58. How does it feel?

When I was seven and I looked at someone in their 59th year, I’d think, ‘How are you still alive?’ But here I am. You’re only as old as you feel. Inside I still feel seven.

What’s the secret to staying young?

An occupied mind is a really happy one. And I think living a healthy life, without processed sugars and alcohol, and immersing oneself in the outdoors is a great way forward.

Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes starts on January 23 at 6.30pm on BBC2

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