Robson Green on his home, his love of Nasa and his thirst for adventure
“I’d love nothing better than to be dumped on an island”
You live in Northumberland – is it as picturesque as Grantchester?
I live in an old ferryman’s cottage that’s 350 years old, and I love it. I’ve got Hadrian’s Wall to the north and there are pheasants and deer in the garden every morning. But in 2015 my house was under seven feet of water, destroyed in a flood. Everything precious and personal in my life, just washed away. It was very painful, I was devastated. Not only were there salmon going down the Tyne that day, my three-piece suite was, too.
Did the flood change your outlook on life?
I thought, “Well, I have my health”. And I felt I’d happily pay 50 per cent tax for the fire and rescue services because, man, they don’t get enough. It was very moving: one came in and she said, “Come on, we’ve got a cup of tea for you.”
Is your cottage so remote so that Robson and Jerome fans can’t hunt you down?
They’re always there anyway! All these women going “It’s him! It’s him!” But guess who was a huge fan of Robson and Jerome? Princess Diana. Fergie told me that she and Diana used to sing along to us. They danced to it on a ski trip to the Alps.
Gosh. What are you a fan of?
My guilty pleasure almost every evening is to watch an episode of Air Crash Investigation. Had I not been an actor it was a toss-up between being a naval architect or a pilot. I wanted to be in the RAF, but I learnt that if the RAF and I were to survive we would have to part. I’m a huge Nasa fan, too, and I have a really good telescope. I sat next to Professor Brian Cox on a plane once – I wanted to ask him if the universe was expanding, but I don’t think he wanted to talk.
Do you have a TV big enough to see Prof Cox in all his glory?
I have a big old bloody massive TV with state-of-the-art surround sound, quadrophonic speakers, the works. Programmes are made to be broadcast like that, not on fuzzy little speakers. People say, yeah, well, at least you can afford it. No, you can get some really great TVs if you look around. My niece Gemma comes round and we sit on big sofas with popcorn. My sister got me a popcorn maker for my birthday.
You like your home comforts, but you’re also a bit of an adventurer, aren’t you?
I have travelled to 132 countries and I do a minimum 12 different countries a year. I have a compass app and there’s also an app you can get if you’re marooned on a desert island. I’ve got the full solar phone charger and everything.
So you’d like to be marooned on a desert island?
I did it for a show where I was on an island in the Philippines alone and it was an utter disaster. Could I survive alone? The answer was then a resounding no. But I’ve since acquired some knowledge and now I’d love nothing better than to be dumped on an island. Right, see you in four years’ time.
Robson Green stars in Grantchester from Sunday 23 April at 9pm on ITV
