Robson Green juggles his role as DI Geordie Keating on Grantchester with his namesake travel series, but things aren't always smooth sailing on set. Speaking to Reader's Digest in 2016, the actor opened up about the near-death experience that left him fearing for his life.
"We were filming on an 82-foot trawler in the Brooks Peninsula in Canada for Extreme Fishing with Robson Green when the storm we hit turned into a Force 10 hurricane," he recalled. "Now, I'm not a religious man, but for 36 hours I talked to The Almighty and begged him to get us home safely. I thought I'd never see my son Taylor again.
"I was so sick it felt like I'd brought up every organ of my body. It was a living hell; nothing will ever come close to that horrendous experience. Some of the crew who worked on that boat have never stepped back on board."
While the experience has left a mark, Robson hasn't let it deter him, and he's continued to sail around for fishing expeditions.
Explaining how important fishing has become to him, in May 2023, the TV star told The Sydney Morning Herald: "I truly believe that we're meant to immerse ourselves in the outdoors. It doesn't take a Cambridge professor to realise that we're made of water, our brains are 73 per cent water, so maybe being next to water and hearing water triggers a mechanism that tells us we're in the right place.
He added: "I feel like I'm so fortunate to be able to do something that I genuinely enjoy. It's not an escape from life, it's a greater immersion in life. I still get offers of drama, and I'm about to embark on another one, but in the schedule, I go, 'OK I'll be taking those two weeks off because I'll be going fishing'".
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Robson's love of fishing was sparked by his late father, who would often take him out on the water. "Dad had always been a keen fisherman, just as his father had been, and he was keen to pass on his passion – perhaps because he felt that I was destined for a career down the mine, like him, and he wanted me to have a hobby that I enjoyed," he told The Telegraph.
He added: "Fishing has never been about the beauty of the place or the size of the fish; it has always been about how I feel. I compare it to being at home. Home is not a house or a garden – it is a feeling, and I have always felt at home on the water.
"My dad passed away in 2009, ironically when I was fishing on the Bang Pakong River in Thailand, but I will be forever grateful that he introduced me to the pastime all those years ago. And although I miss him terribly, when I'm out on the water I am always with him."