Robson Green has revealed details about his battle with drugs and alcohol after struggling with his rise to fame.
The Grantchester star, 56, confessed he found himself in a “very dark place” and went into therapy after his worried dad intervened.
It comes after the star opened up for the first time about the nightmare battle he went through whilst he starred in 1990s ITV drama Soldier Soldier, reports The Mirror.
The Geordie Keating actor, who now shuns celebrity life, explained how his love of fishing saved him during Robson and Jim’s Icelandic Fishing Adventure which airs Monday on ITV.
(Image: Getty Images)
He says: “I was just 26 years old when real fame came knocking at my door with a drama called Soldier Soldier watched by 21million people.
“I was enjoying fame. I was enjoying recognition, I was enjoying 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.
“But, and I wish this was a more original story, my relationships were a car crash.
“And I was losing touch with what mattered in life.
“I grew up in a close-knit mining community in the North East of England where my dad worked down the pit. I started having real problems with fame and alcohol and drugs.”
(Image: Joe Maher/WireImage)
Robson says it was his Dad, also called Robson, who rescued him as he urged him to get therapy amid his deep mental health struggles.
He continued: “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.
“I was a people pleaser, always desperate for recognition, reassurance and I needed help. So I went to see a therapist. He said to me, ‘So tell me who Robson Green is’. I said ‘I am this guy who acts’. He said, ‘No, that’s your career. Who are you?’ I didn’t have a clue.”
(Image: ITV)
After realising Robson’s love of fishing, Robson’s therapist suggested he put more time into the sport to help him.
“Getting back into fishing was a turning point for me. It has been and still is my road to Damascus. If I had the chance to go to that therapist again, I would say go fishing with me and you will see that’s who Robson Green is.
“I needed something in life that made sense and, for me, fishing makes sense. I’ve learnt so much from fishing and found an inner peace that was missing.”
During the show, Robson and his fellow actor James Murray, a close friend also known as Jim, go fishing together in Iceland where the two discuss grief and mental health.
Jim says fishing helped him cope following the passing of his eight-month-old baby Ella-Jayne who he shared with his Cutting It co-star Sarah Parish.
Jim explains: “Fishing dug me out of a deep, dark hole and has been an integral part of my life ever since.”
Robson, who played Dave Tucker in Soldier Soldier and was one half of singing duo Robson & Jerome with Game of Thrones star Jerome Flynn, bagged a number one single called Unchained Melody.
Robson shares a 20-year-old son called Taylor with his second wife Vanya Seager who he split from in 2011, and he now lives happily in Northumberland with his partner Zoila Short.
Robson and Jim’s Icelandic Fishing Adventure airs on ITV on Monday at 10:45pm.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
