Robson Green once admitted he was “fearful” of his dad as a child after seeing him beat a man up and put him in a dustbin.
One of four children, Robson, who is a guest on Saturday Kitchen today (January 28), grew up in Dudley, Northumberland.
In a piece he wrote for Reader’s Digest, the Grantchester star revealed his father would go to any length to stick up for him.
This included getting into the odd fight.
Robson Green on ‘fears’ over his father
The much-loved actor recalled how his dad was a miner, who looked like a powerful man, who “demanded respect”.
Grantchester star Robson, 58, wrote: “He was never physical with my sisters and brother and me, but I was fearful of him and he got into a few fights outside home.
“When I was nine, a young man tried to rearrange my face with his foot.
“When my dad saw what had happened, he went over to his house and rearranged the father’s face and stuffed him in the dustbin.”
But he remembers he had another side. He was a champion ballroom dancer and a great singer – a fact Robson didn’t discover until he was 26.
His father passed away in 2016, aged 73.
In a Q&A with The Guardian the same year, Robson said: “I’m so proud that my dad is inherent within me and my sisters and my brother.
“He’s not gone – he’s still here. I’m so proud of what he and his ilk represented.”
Is Robson Green married?
Robson’s first wife was Alison Ogilvie, an occupational therapist. They married in 1991, separating eight years later, reportedly after Robson had an affair.
Read more: Grantchester star Robson Green on ‘real problems’ with drink and drugs as a young actor
His second wife, former Page 3 model Vanya Seager, was originally from Hong Kong. The pair met in 1995 when Vanya was working as a PA for Simon Cowell and Robson was recording Unchained Melody.
They married in 2001, after Vanya gave birth to their son, Taylor Seager-Green in 2000. In 2011 they split. In a joint statement issued at the time, they said the marriage had “irretrievably broken down”.
And then, in 2016, it was reported that Robson had an affair with a vicar’s wife.
It caused now-partner Zoila Short to end her marriage to Rev Short. The pair met at the gym, and mum-of-two Zoila, 45, now lives with Robson.
Saturday Kitchen next airs on BBC One on Saturday, January 28, at 10am.
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