ROBSON GREEN ON WILD SWIMMING, EXTREME FISHING AND HOW HE RELAXES WHEN HOME IN SURREY.
One of our best-loved TV stars, Robson Green has barely been off our screens of late. Here, the West Clandon resident chats to Emma Roberts about everything from wild swimming and extreme fishing to how he relaxes when hes back at home in Surrey.
He may have swum in the freezing waters of the Tyne, caught tiger fish under the treacherous rapids of Victoria Falls and even eaten the potentially fatal delicacy Anori Fugu in Japan, but for intrepid adventurer Robson Green, nothing beats getting back home to the peace and quiet of West Clandon.
While it might not be good for his tough guy image, away from all the drama of his two latest TV series, ITV1s Wild Swimming and Channel 5s Extreme Fishing, he admits that he cant wait to get back to the quiet life of rural Surrey.
I just love the serenity, the tranquillity and the pace of life here, says the 45-year-old, who lives in West Clandon with his wife Vanya and their son, Taylor, nine. It has such a great vibe, and I feel very content and happy in this area. I love the architecture, too. Theres just something quintessentially English about the village.
Going with the flow
Its certainly a world away from the places he visited during his recent two-part documentary, Wild Swimming, in which he braved some of the most dangerous, coldest waters in Britain.
It was tough and I really had to prepare, he admits. I had to train very hard last year for the series. I would have been in serious trouble if I hadnt! Im absolutely indebted actually to my personal trainer, Jon Ashwood, at David Lloyd in Weybridge. I couldnt have done it without him.
Among the most dangerous places he swam were the storm-battered River Cam in Cambridge, the famous Llynn Lladraw Lake in Snowdonia and even the daunting Corryvreckan whirlpool in Scotland.
However, it was the loss of his beloved father a year ago that inspired him to attempt the ultimate challenge a three-mile swim to Holy Island, through the crashing icy waves off the Northumberland coast, where his father used to swim. It was then that a simple travelogue became not only a physical and mental journey but a deeply emotional one, too.
It didnt start out as an emotional journey, far from it, but it became one, he says. The memory of my father kept me going during a lot of the extreme swims and suddenly the whole series became something else to me. It became a very personal experience, and I wasnt expecting that at all.
My father used to swim a lot a total contrast to his job as a coal-miner !
I guess it was the freedom of being in the water that he liked, and he instilled that love of swimming in me.
Ive always loved water, and wild swimming is an incredible experience, not least because you get to see the landscape and coastlines from a totally different perspective.
After weeks of filming in the freezing waters of the UK, its hardly surprising that warmer climes were beckoning and following on from the success of his first two series of Extreme Fishing, he then embarked on an epic journey around the globe for Extreme Fishing The World Tour.
During the four-month expedition, Robson not only managed to land some of the most incredible fish in the world, but to experience some of the most remarkable places on earth from Kenya, Cuba and China to Japan, Brazil and America.
I've had so much fun doing the Extreme Fishing series, says Robson. My uncle taught me to fish, and Im sure hes looking down now and saying, you jammy Geordie git !
The series is very much a document of the way people live, the way cultures behave and the way people depend on fishing for their survival.
At the end of the day, its just a bloke knocking about the world going fishing, really, but it kind of works !
Unchained melody
Born in North Tyneside, Robson grew up a long way from Surrey, in the small mining village of Dudley, and began his career as a draughtsman for the Swan Hunter shipyard. But a love for acting and singing led him back to his local drama centre one night a week, and it was while performing in a play there that he was spotted by a casting agent.
This led to a role in the BBC drama series Casualty, and Robson went on to gain national prominence in the early Nineties playing Fusilier Dave Tucker in ITVs Soldier Soldier opposite Jerome Flynn. Unbeknown to him, however, fate was about to take a rather unexpected turn. In one episode, the script called for Robson and his co-star to sing Unchained Melody and, within hours, ITV was inundated with calls from viewers looking to buy the song.
When a little known music promoter called Simon Cowell then persuaded them to release it as a single, it went on to sell more than 1.9 million copies, getting to No 1 for seven weeks and becoming the best-selling single of the year. Robson & Jerome, as they were now known, went on to have two more chart-topping singles and a N° 1 album.
It was a very surreal experience, remembers Robson. It was like living in a Jacques Tati movie! But I loved every minute of it.
These events were to continue to change his life when he met Simon Cowells then assistant, Vanya, who is now his wife. They married at Cliveden House in Berkshire in 2001 after having their son, Taylor, a year before. Robson is also stepfather to Vanyas daughter, Larushka, 23, from a previous relationship.
But what was it that brought them to the quiet village of West Clandon ?
Well, years ago, an actor friend of mine, Gavin Kitchen, lived in Bisley, explains Robson. Anyway, I came down to visit and went for a drink in the Onslow Arms in Clandon.
Then, years later, Vanya and I were looking at a house in the village, when I saw the pub and said, I've been here before ! I called him there and then and, unbelievably, he was living in the village as well, just up the road from the pub ! So, that was it. West Clandon for us ! And we've been here now for ten years !
Star of the screen
Certainly one of the areas best-known residents, Robson has barely been away from our TV screens over the last few years, with memorable roles such as George Stevenson in Rocket Man (2005), the moving story of a mans attempts to build a rocket to take his late wifes ashes to the stars, and Colin Armstrong in the acclaimed Northern Lights (2006) and subsequent spin-offs City Lights (2007) and Christmas Lights (2009).
Along with co-producer and business partner Sandra Jobling, he has also produced his own TV shows, including six series of the acclaimed Wire in the Blood (2007/08) in which he played Dr Tony Hill.
Acting is my first love, my passion... he says. Although I had a great time doing Wild Swimming and Extreme Fishing, Im not a presenter and, to be honest, Im not really that good at it ! Fortunately, Ive got some really great acting roles coming up, and its all very exciting.
First, Im doing a one-off film for TV called Joe Maddisons War, written by the wonderful playwright Alan Plater, and then Im starting on a production about the inventor of the steam locomotive, George Stephenson. So it's back to my drama roots !
But dont be fooled into thinking his adventures are all over just yet because he still has one burning ambition.
Definitely space travel, he says. Id like to travel Virgin Galactic one day ! I really dont think its that far off, and its something I would love to do.
So, no settling down with his pipe and slippers in Surrey just yet then.
My Favourite Surrey
Restaurant: I really like The Anchor in Ripley. They have a great Thai restaurant. Im always there having lunch! I also love The Talbot Inn in Ripley.
Shop: Im always in the local garden centre, too, at Clandon Park, so that would definitely be up there among my favourites!
View: I love going walking at Newlands Corner, in the Surrey Hills, so it would have to be the spectacular view across the countryside from there.
Place to chill: I enjoy fishing on the lakes at Clandon, and thats definitely very relaxing. Certainly compared with my Extreme Fishing series, anyway!
Place to visit: I really enjoy going to Clandon Park, a stunning Palladian mansion open to the public and run by the National Trust, and I also love cycling the North Downs route down to Brighton.