Spend some time chatting with British actor and TV presenter Robson Green and you will quickly discover that he is always up for an adventure. Whether it’s taking on a complex new role, exploring the waterways of the world on an extreme fishing expedition, or journeying ‘Down Under’ as a keynote speaker at the World Recreational Fishing conference in Melbourne, Green is a man who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Or a chance to pay another visit to Australia whenever the opportunity arises.
“It’s my second home,” he told The Guide. “When it’s minus two in Great Britain and it’s a bit grim, and there’s lots of grim stuff happening in the world, just to have a bit of sunshine on your face and immerse yourself in the outdoors of the big island at the bottom of the earth, it’s kind of a no-brainer.”
For Green, it’s also a no-brainer to share his passion for fly fishing with fellow angling aficionados whenever he gets the chance. Fishing, and fly fishing in particular, has been a part of his life since he was young, and continues to conjure up many fond memories of his childhood.
“Throughout my life, genuine happiness for me, my road to Damascus, my comfort blanket for the soul, my everything, believe it or not, is fishing,” he said.
It’s Green’s passion for fly fishing, combined with his obvious dynamism in front of the camera, that led him to the extreme landscapes of Iceland in Robson Green’s Icelandic Adventure, the first series in . Though the season showcased the very best fishing the country had to offer, and there was plenty of tackle terminology along the way, it was also a platform for Green and his co-host, fellow actor and longtime friend Jim Murray, to share the solace casting a line has provided them with at some of the most difficult moments in their lives.
Fly fishing provides therapy, offering a form of meditation. Source: Signpost Productions/Rivers Meet Productions
“We both very early on in our lives used fishing as a therapy for different reasons,” Green explained. “Jim for the loss of his daughter, and me for various issues, mainly to do with addiction. I used it as a way to create a normality in my life and a pathway of something affirming rather than destructive.”
It was the duo’s willingness to speak candidly about their personal experiences and venture bravely into open discussions about mental health that drew anglers and non-anglers alike to the series. When coupled with the pure joy of witnessing Green and Murray’s banter as they celebrated every successful cast, catch and reel, it was a winning combination. Now, in a follow-up to their Iceland trip, the pair are teaming up once again, this time for an adventure a little closer to home.
Good mates and co-hosts, Jim Murray and Robson Green enjoy an ice cream on an oversized bench in Kielder, by England’s Tyne river. Source: Signpost Productions/Rivers Meet Productions
“Jim and I realised very early on that we, scientifically, shared a view that we’re partly made of, and come from, water,” Green told The Guide. “Maybe fishing reminds us that home isn’t the house you live in, or the town that surrounds you, maybe home is a feeling.”
That said, Green couldn’t be prouder to be showcasing the very best fishing the UK has to offer in the latest iteration of the pair's adventures in Robson Green’s British Adventure, where Green shares the magic to be found in the incredible waterways of his own backyard.
All rugged up, adventuring at Scotland’s Dee river. Source: Signpost Productions/Rivers Meet Productions
“Fish are the canaries in the coal mine, they always have been,” Green told The Guide. “They’ve always told us about the health of our planet: so if there are fish travelling upstream on these iconic rivers, the River Tweed, or on the Spey, or on the Dee where we visit… that tells us something.”
Along the way, Green and Murray are joined by some familiar faces including Green’s partner Zoila and Jim’s wife, actor Sarah Parish, as well as a group of experienced anglers and fishing novices who accompany them on the hunt for the elusive wild Atlantic salmon. Green is confident that even the most unlikely viewer will appreciate a journey that celebrates the joy to be found in immersing oneself in the great outdoors.
Robson Green (left) with his co-host, friend and fellow actor, Jim Murray, fishing at the river Spey. Source: Signpost Productions/Rivers Meet Productions
“You don’t have to like fishing to watch it,” he reiterated. “But it does have this unique ability to take us back to moments in our lives, the places and people we shared them with, and at the end of the day, that’s why I love it.”
Four-part series Robson Green’s British Adventure premiered at 8.30pm, Friday 28 April on SBS, continuing weekly on Friday nights. Episodes will be available after they air. Start with episode 1:
