TV star Robson Green has spoken of the ‘love’ that saved him from the clutches of drink and drug addiction.
The Grantchester actor spoke about his battle in an interview with The Mirror earlier this year.
Fans were shocked as he opened up about being in a very dark place and that it was only an intervention by his dad that pulled him out.
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He confessed that finding fame at just 26, after starring in ITV show Soldier, Soldier, messed with his head.
Robson, who also launched a singing career with Soldier, Soldier co-star Jerome Flynn, had never spoken publicly about his struggles.
Pitfalls of fame
He said: “I was just 26 years old when real fame came knocking at my door with a drama called Soldier Soldier watched by 21 million people. I was enjoying fame… recognition… all the approval. I was enjoying the awards, I was enjoying the parties, I was enjoying the drinking and everything else that went with fame.”
It’s a familiar story for young stars suddenly thrust into the limelight, of course.
Robson confessed to his relationships being a ‘car-crash’ at the time and admits of losing sight of the important things.
He said that fame, drink and drugs quickly became a huge issue in his life.
Dad to the rescue
But he credits his father, also Robson and a pit worker from the north-east, for stepping in and sorting him out.
The Geordie, whose fishing show Robson Green: Coastal Fishing is a hit for Channel 5, revealed: “Dad turned up, he’d worked hard all his life and he looks at his son who he has given everything to, blood, sweat and tears, and he goes ‘Are you happy?’, and I went ‘Yeah,’ but deep down I knew I wasn’t and I realised I didn’t have anything. Because all I was doing in my life was acting.”
Fishing is life
He went on to say that Robson Sr’s intervention prompted a visit to a therapist who made him question who his real self was.
He says the therapist made him consider who he was away from his career as an actor and this reignited his love of fishing.
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Robson, who had three number one singles as part of Robson & Jerome in the 90s, says that fishing saved him and calls it his ‘road to Damascus.’
He’s since fronted fishing shows on both ITV and Channel 5, introducing his hobby to a new generation.
He said: “Fishing dug me out of a deep, dark hole and has been an integral part of my life ever since.”
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