Robson Green was saved from his cocaine addiction by therapy

Robson Green has revealed how he combatted his cocaine addiction with therapy after he almost completely went off the rails early in his career.

The actor, 60, said that before the class A drug and alcohol were his ‘friend’, but he now relies on coldwater swimming to feel good about himself.

Robson, who regularly plunges in the water near Hadrian’s Wall, after walking along the wall around two or three times a week.

The Grantchester star declared: ‘Alcohol used to be my friend and cocaine used to be my friend. Cold water swimming is now my friend.’

There was a time during the nineties when Robson was the face of several hit dramas including Soldier Soldier, Touching Evil and Wire in the Blood.

He addressed his substance abuse issues by going to therapy, after a camera operator on the set of Touching Evil had a word with him.

Robson, who played the head of a crack police unit, reveals he was told: ‘You don’t want me to film this’, and to sort himself out. His therapist later told him he ‘had two pathways: one to health or you can go on a pathway to death’.

The star told the Sunday Times that as well as knowing that he had become ‘lost’, hearing that his face was being affected was ‘particularly bad’.

Robson has been in a relationship with Zoila Brozas, whom he met at the gym in 2016 and later created headlines when her ex-husband, a vicar, spoke about his heartbreak.

He said: ‘She never left him for me,’ he says. ‘We were two single people who met in the gym. That’s the story. Yes, she was married to a vicar, but we were two single people who met in the gym. She was fit. I was fit and I wasn’t 60 [then]. She liked my clean and jerk [a gym term]. What can I say?’

Robson was accused of causing the Rev Geoffrey Short to ‘question his faith’ after the vicar’s Filipino wife of 16 years left him.

Mr Short said his wife Zoila, a Sunday school teacher, met Robson in a gym on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne six weeks ago.

And after the pair grew closer, the TV star, who has been married twice, reportedly moved the mother of two into his luxury country flat near Morpeth, Northumberland.

Mr Short told his congregation at St Columba’s Church in the village of Wideopen, near Newcastle, of his heartache, saying: ‘For me over the last few weeks and last few months, there have been some difficult times.’

However, after an hour-long service he demonstrated his faith when saying: ‘I hope Robson Green and Zoila have a good life together.’

A member of the congregation held a prayer for the vicar, saying: ‘At this difficult time, on this particularly painful day, we pray for Geoff and his family.’

Robson, who is the star of ITV period drama Grantchester, revealed earlier this year he was mobbed by ‘2,000 super fans’ in Las Vegas last summer.

He plays the role of Detective Inspector Geordie Keating on the hit ITV drama.

Based on the Grantchester Mysteries novels by James Runcie, the ITV series has become a hit on both sides of the Atlantic – and Robson has amassed a crowd of US fans in the process.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘Rishi (Nair) and I went to a press launch of Grantchester in Las Vegas last summer and were expecting about 100 people tops, but about 2,000 super fans turned up. 

‘It was like being at a Taylor Swift concert…it was so surreal.’

Robson revealed that he enjoys getting to speak to US fans about the show, as he added: ‘We spent a lot of time talking to them.

‘It really reinforced the love and joy and happiness I have for this show, because it just transcends so many barriers and has so many universal themes.’

In 2023, former Hollyoaks star Rishi Nair took on the part of Vicar Alphy Kottera after Tom Brittney left the show.

Yet Tom – who played Reverend Will Davenport since 2019 – made a surprise return to the show as he joined the pair on set, but this time behind the camera as director. 

The actor looked worlds away from his former character as sported an unshaven look complete with dark baseball cap and casual hoodie. 

Happy Valley actor James Norton was the original sleuthing vicar when he joined the ITV drama on its launch in 2014. He handed over the reins to Tom four years later. 

At the time of quitting, Tom explained: ‘I’ve had the most incredible time playing Will Davenport for the last five years. I got to solve crimes with my best friend, and work with the best cast and crew I could ever ask for.

‘I’ll miss it more than anything. But it’s time for the baton to be passed, as it once was to me, and I’m so excited for Rishi to join the Grantchester family.’

There were real tears on the set of Grantchester as the actor filmed his final ever scenes as the vicar in 2023.