Robson Green

Robson Green
Born Robson Golightly Green
18 December 1964
Hexham, Northumberland, England
Occupation Actor, singer and presenter
Years active 1989–present
Spouse(s) Alison Ogilvie (m. 1991-1999)
Vanya Seager (m. 2001-2011)
Children 1

Robson Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, singer and television presenter.

Green is best known for playing the role of Fusilier Dave Tucker in Soldier Soldier from 1991 until 1995 and Dr. Tony Hill in Wire in the Blood from 2002 until 2008. More recently he has presented Extreme Fishing, Extreme Fishing Challenge and Tales from Northumberland.

Early life

Green was born in Hexham, Northumberland,[1][2] and baptised in Bethel Chapel, (Ford View, Dudley), and named in Northeast tradition as first son after family surnames: Robson is his grandmother's maiden surname, while Golightly is after the surname of his maternal grandmother, Cissie Golightly (*born 1906 in Seghill, Northumberland), daughter of William Golightly, born 1874 in Felling, a miner and a famous trade union leader in the 1920s.

Green grew up in Dudley, a small mining village a few miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. His father worked down the coal mining pits. After being inspired by over-flying jets, he decided he wanted to join the Royal Air Force. After starting at Dudley Middle Comprehensive School, he joined the Air Training Corps,[3] and also picked up a guitar for the first time, later forming his first band, Solid State, in 1982. Latterly he also spent one night a week at Backworth Drama Centre, and then played in a series of productions at both school and Backworth.

After leaving school at 16 with five O-levels,[4] Green joined Swan Hunter's shipyard as a draughtsman and on one occasion, tried his hand at professional boxing. He actually attended three boxing training sessions for a play Francie Nichol in which he played a boxer). After two years at Swan's and having decided against a career in the RAF after two weeks at an officer training camp,[4] he decided on a career in acting. After auditioning, Green began training under the tutelage of artistic director Max Roberts - his previous director at Backworth. During his training, he continued his musical career, as a member of a successful local band, the Workie Tickets. By 1988, he began his screen career, featured in the award-winning series Shields Stories, a series of short stories about social issues made by Amber Films.[5]

Career

Green first made his name as an actor in the BBC series Casualty, but after three series, moved to national prominence as Fusilier Dave Tucker in the drama series Soldier Soldier. In 1995, one episode called for Green and co-star Jerome Flynn to sing "Unchained Melody." Subsequently, ITV was inundated by people looking to buy the song, and the pair were persuaded by Simon Cowell to release it as a single - a double A-side with White Cliffs of Dover. It stayed at No. 1 for 7 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, selling more than 1.8 million copies and making it the best-selling single of the year, and winning the duo the Music Week Awards in 1996 for best single and best album. Subsequently, they had two further No. 1 singles and two No. 1 albums, all re-makes of standards.[6]

The song gave Green the opportunity to sign a long term deal with ITV to star in several of the network's dramas, including Touching Evil, Grafters and Reckless. In 1996, he set up an independent production company, Coastal Productions, with business partner Sandra Jobling to give youngsters from the North East the opportunities he struggled for. The company has since produced or co-produced most of Green's television work, as well as local productions at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2002, Green starred as clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in the crime drama Wire in the Blood.

Green's production company has brought at least four new dramas to the small screen in recent years, including the massive ratings hit Christmas Lights. The success of this one-off drama led to a series being commissioned under the name Northern Lights, which was followed by a sequel called City Lights). Coastal also produces drama series, including Hereafter starring showbiz couple Stephen Tompkinson and Dervla Kirwan.[7]

In 1995, Green won the Smash Hits Poll Winner's Party award for Favourite TV Actor.[8]

In 1997, Green starred in the TV film, The Student Prince (The Student Prince at the Internet Movie Database) which is no relation to either the Romberg operetta or the 1954 MGM film.

In July 1998, Green received an Honorary Degree from the University of Northumbria and, in September 2006, he was voted by the UK general public at #35 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.

In 2000, Green starred with James Bolam, Susan Jameson and Jamie Bell in the ITV drama Close and True. In 2001, he starred in the six-part ITV drama Take Me.

In 2002, Green starred with Caroline Goodall in the TV movie Me and Mrs. Jones. In December 2002, he released his first solo album, Moment In Time, which was composed of cover versions (including the song "Me and Mrs. Jones"). However, unlike his releases with Jerome Flynn, the album was a commercial failure, peaking at #49 in the UK.

In 2003, Green starred in the ITV mini-series Unconditional Love and in the BBC TV series Trust. In 2005, he starred in two series, Like Father Like Son, and Rocket Man in which he played a widower trying to build a rocket to send his dead wife's ashes into space.

Green presents his own series Extreme Fishing with Robson Green and the spin-off Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge, where he travels over the world investigating and participating in the sport, coining fishing catchphrases such as "get in" and "we're in". During 2009, while promoting the second series on BBC Breakfast, Green claimed that 90% of all coarse fish caught by anglers die. This rapidly caused an angry response from coarse fishing anglers in the UK who believed this comment to be unsubstantiated and potentially damaging to the sport.

In December 2009, ITV presented the documentary Robson Green's Wild Swimming Adventure, a tour of swimming locales around the UK.

In July 2010, Green began filming the seventh series of BBC drama Waterloo Road appearing from May 2011 to July 2011.[9]

In 2011, Green starred in the third series of the BBC Three show Being Human in which he played a werewolf named McNair.

In 2013, Green starred in the third season of the war-drama series Strike Back, as Lt. Colonel Philippe Locke, a former SAS-operative.

In October 2013, Green began presenting Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green on ITV, a factual series about his home county of Northumberland. A second series began airing in February 2015.

On 6 October 2014, he began portraying Geordie Keating in the TV series Grantchester. A second series is due to air in 2015.

Personal life

Green was introduced to occupational therapist Alison Ogilvie by his then-close friend, television director Andrew Gunn. They married on 22 June 1991, but separated eight years later. Green met his second wife, former Page 3 model Vanya Seager, while recording "Unchained Melody" at BMG Records in 1995. They later had a son, Taylor Robson (born 2000). In 2001, the couple married at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire after a family celebration in Mauritius. On 30 October 2011, the couple issued a statement saying that their marriage had "irretrievably broken down" and that they were separating.[10]

Green is the uncle of actor Daymon Britton, who appeared as youth club worker Dom in the long-running BBC children's drama Byker Grove.

Green is a long-time Newcastle United supporter.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1989 A Night on the Tyne Dudley TV film
1989-1992 Casualty Jimmy Powell TV series (Series 4-7)
1991-1995 Soldier Soldier Fusilier Dave Tucker TV series (Series 1-5)
1995 The Gambling Man Rory Connor TV mini-series
1997 Reckless Owen Springer TV mini-series
Ain't Misbehavin' Eric Trapp TV mini-series
1997-1999 Touching Evil D.I. Dave Creegan (TV series)
1998 Reckless: The Movie Owen Springer TV film
The Student Prince Barry Grimes TV film
1998-1999 Grafters Joe Purvis TV series (Series 1-2)
1999 Rhinoceros Michael Flynn TV film
2000 The Last Musketeer Steve McTear TV film
Blind Ambition Richard Thomas TV film
Close & True John Close TV series
2001 Take Me Jack Chambers TV mini-series
2002 Me & Mrs Jones Liam Marple TV film
2002-2008 Wire in the Blood Dr. Tony Hill TV series
2003 Unconditional Love Pete Gray TV film
Trust Stephen Bradley TV series
2004 The Afternoon Play Oliver Barrett TV series (Episode: "Venus and Mars")
Christmas Lights Colin Armstrong TV film
2005 Like Father Like Son Dominic Milne TV film
Beaten Michael TV film
Rocket Man George Stevenson TV series
2006 Northern Lights Colin Armstrong TV series
2007 City Lights Colin Armstrong TV series
Little Devil Will Crowe TV mini-series (Episode: "No. 1.3")
2008 Clash of the Santas Colin Armstrong TV film
2008-2011 Extreme Fishing with Robson Green Himself TV Series
2009 Robson Green's Wild Swimming Adventure Himself TV Series
2009— Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge Himself TV Series
2010 Joe Maddison's War Harry Crawford TV film
2011 Being Human McNair TV series (Series 3)
Waterloo Road Rob Scotcher TV series (Series 7, Episode 1-10)
2012 Mount Pleasant Chris TV series (Series 2)
2013 Robson Green: How The North Was Built Himself TV Series
Strike Back Lt. Colonel Philip Locke TV Series (Series 3)
2013— Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green Himself TV Series
2014 Robson Green: Extreme Fisherman Himself TV Series
2014— Grantchester Geordie Keating TV Series

See also

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Drama Faces - Robson Green". Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Robson Green on TV.com". Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Famous Cadets". Air Cadets. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Daily Mail, 5 May 2012, Weekend Magazine p.12.
  5. ↑ Shields Stories. Amber Films. 1988.
  6. ↑ "Robson Green live on Breakfast". BBC. 4 December 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
  7. ↑ "Profile:Robson Green". uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
  8. ↑ Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. Hosted by Andi Peters and Dani Behr. 3 December 1995. BBC One.
  9. ↑ "Green, Benton join 'Waterloo Road'". Digital Spy.
  10. ↑ "Robson Green and Page 3 wife Vanya Seager split". Retrieved 21 October 2011.

External links