“Not only do I get the chance to talk about what I think is the greatest place on Earth, but also what it means to be a Northerner. It’s just an amazing tale to tell.”
“It’s a place that still surprises me and I’m coming up to 50 years of age. It’s a kind of ‘did you know, and if you didn’t, let me tell you something about this extraordinary part of planet earth’. It really is. It’s really beautiful and inspiring and life affirming.”
MILLIONS TUNE IN FOR ROBSON GREEN’S TALES FROM NORTHUMBERLAND
Millions of viewers have tuned in to watch the first two episodes of Robson Green’s Tales from Northumberland.
The eight-part ITV series, screened on Mondays at 8pm, follows the Wire in the Blood star as he travels around the county of his birth.
A staggering 3.8million people watched the first episode, which aired on Monday, October 28.
The 48-year-old visited Seahouses and spent a night on the Farne Islands in the series opener.
Viewing figures increased for the second episode, screened three days ago, with 3.9million people tuning in to see Green visit Kielder Observatory, stay overnight in a bothy and meet shepherdess Emma Gray.
Jude Leitch, general manager at Northumberland Tourism, believes it will encourage even more people to visit the county.
She said: “Obviously we are delighted by this. It is fabulous for the county and we are very excited by it.
“Not only is it an entertaining programme, but it shows the diversity of the county.”
The show is also attracting interest in the world of social media, as part of a combined effort between Northumberland County Council, Northumberland Tourism and tourism partners.
As the first episode began, a simultaneous tweet on Twitter was joined by 132 people and reached 199,177 people.
There were also 1,500 tweets about the show with more than 750 people tweeting on the Northumberland hashtag.
This activity reached more than 710,000 Twitter accounts with more than 2.4 million people exposed to the key messages about the county.
During the course of the series, Green discovers a side of Northumberland that he never knew.
He immerses himself in many of the unique experiences the Secret Kingdom has to offer and meets a host of the county’s colourful characters.
This Monday coming, the third episode will follow Green as he visits Bamburgh Castle and Holy Island. He also joins Amble-based GP Dr Ben Burville, from Morpeth, to go seal swimming.
Green said: “Swimming with the seals is an experience that I will never forget.”
MY TALES FROM NORTHUMBERLAND
The hotly anticipated new Shiver series, Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green, received a rapturous reception at its premiere in Robson’s own back yard at the Alnwick Playhouse this week.
Beginning nationally on ITV this Monday 28th October, it’s set to be a most wondrous journey. As Robson says: “It’s a place that still surprises me and I’m coming up to 50 years of age. It’s a kind of ‘did you know, and if you didn’t, let me tell you something about this extraordinary part of planet earth’. It really is. It’s really beautiful and inspiring and life affirming.”
In this new factual series, actor Robson Green returns to his home turf as he leads viewers through a unique and often overlooked part of Britain that remains close to his heart.
In Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green, Robson reveals why the county of his birth, to which he has recently returned to live, still remains for him a magical and mysterious ancient kingdom.
Over eight episodes, Robson travels the length and breadth of this magical landscape by land, sea and air to see things he’s never seen before and discover a side of Northumberland that he never knew.
He immerses himself in many of the unique experiences the area has to offer, spending the night in one of the most remote spots in Britain, stargazing into the darkest skies in England and exploring the rich and deep history of a county which has its own flag, tartan and dialect. Not forgetting its iconic locations such as Holy Island and Hadrian’s Wall, which are key to the nation’s ancestral roots.
Stretching from just north of Newcastle up to the Scottish border, Northumberland boasts more castles than any other county as well as vast expanses of unspoilt, rugged countryside, allowing Robson to encounter all walks of county life from a lord and lady to a shepherdess.
As he reconnects with his homeland, Robson also sees it like never before and whether faced with sleeping in a lighthouse, or being attacked by birds in the wilderness, it’s not an experience he will be forgetting any time soon.
Tales of Northumberland begins on ITV, Monday 28th October at 8pm and continues for eight weeks.
ROBSON GREEN PUTS TYNEDALE ON THE TOURISM MAP
Britain's best-kept secret is to be unveiled next week on prime-time television – thanks to Hexham’s blue-eyed boy Robson Green.
For the actor, pop star, angler and action man is fronting an eight-part series letting the rest of the country into the delights of Northumberland.
Called Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green, it starts on Monday at 8pm on ITV – and much of the filming was done in Tynedale.
Camping on the Roman Wall, a visit to Kielder, including the observatory, and herding sheep with Elsdon shepherdess Emma Gray all feature in the series.
The series sees Robson – who was born in Hexham and still lives in the area – take a nostalgic journey around a part of the world that means a great deal to him.
Speaking at the series premiere at Alnwick this week, he said: “This was really a labour of love, and I was so honoured to be asked to do it.
“It’s an area I thought I knew very well, but I discovered things that I never knew. It was incredibly inspirational and life affirming.
“One moment you’re sleeping in one of the most remote parts of England in a bothy, then you’re swimming with grey seals in the North Sea and spending a night on the Farne Islands with tens of thousands of birds. It was an absolute privilege.
“ I met a shepherdess who lives with her 12 dogs and 150 sheep, and is probably the most inspirational young woman I’ve ever come across.”
Asked what viewers could expect from the series, Robson said: “It will give people an insight into what is an absolutely unique part of the world.
“It’s a place that still surprises me and I’m coming up to 50 years of age.”
Filming took place at some stunning locations, and as well as the Tynedale scenes the series includes counting puffins on the Farne Islands, smoking kippers in Craster and dining on the roof of Bamburgh Castle.
One of his personal hiughlights was visiting the observatory at Kielder, and meeting astronomer Gary Fildes.
Robson said: “The observatory in one of the best places to observe the Milky Way, Saturn and meteor showers.
“It’s just jaw dropping in its scale and what that young man has achieved was extraordinary.”
Northumberland County Council has been working closely with the production company Shiver to assist with filming, which incorporated extensive aerial footage and some fantastic time lapse photography.
The council’s policy board member for culture, Coun. Val Tyler, said: “I think we can sometimes take for granted the sheer beauty, diversity and uniqueness of the county we live in.
The production crew have made an absolutely fantastic job of capturing the heart of Northumberland, its stunning landscapes and the great characters that live here.
“I’m sure residents will feel very proud to see their magnificent county explored on national television.”
ROBSON GREEN’S GUIDE TO NORTHUMBERLAND
We catch up with the Soldier Soldier star ahead of his new ITV travelogue, for a chat about watching Breaking Bad in a mud hut, meeting Britain’s youngest shepherdess, and a bricklayer turned astronomer, who he calls “Einstein”
Born in Northumberland, Robson Green has come a long way since his part as Dave Tucker in ‘90s ITV drama Soldier Solider. As well as his recent parts in Being Human, Waterloo Road and Strike Back, he’s been filming a new top secret show, in the wilds of Borneo.
“I love nature, but I’m also a lover of drama,” says Green, who never travels without his iPad, “I’ve just been filming on an island in the pacific, and there’s very little there in terms of home comforts.”
Even on location he couldn’t miss the Breaking Bad finale: “To watch Breaking Bad, the whole series, in my little hut in the Borneo rainforest, was just fantastic.”
As far as his career has taken him, the star has always had an affinity with his northern home. No matter the exotic locations he finds himself in, Green is adamant than the north of Britain is the best place in the world.
He showcases it as part of his new eight-part ITV show, Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green (8.00pm, Mon 28, on ITV), and, while filming, realised that it’s even better than he remembered.
“I discovered new things about an area that I thought I knew very well,” says Robson, “I didn’t know you could swim with grey seals and dolphins on your doorstep, I didn’t know that we had a war on 1503 that changed the course of British history, or that Earl Grey tea was invented here.”
Green reveals the must-see sites in his home county, ahead of the series:
Green says: "It was once head of the Kingdom of Northumbria. Here, visitors can learn about the history of the battle and what took place there."
Green says: "They’re remote, old farm houses, renovated for walkers to spend a night there. They cost you nothing, and you can bed down for the night, just take some water and some food and there are bunk beds there, a wood fire and a kettle. You’ll have a great time and see the darkest night sky – you’ll see the Milky Way as nature intended."
Green says: "It will take you five days to walk it. Go and camp each night with the guys and girls who actually organise camping trips along that wall and learn about how the Roman occupation gave Northumberland the major part of it’s identity.
Learn about the Romans bringing ostriches, zebra and lions to Northumberland and the colours and spices and food brought to the area. It’s beautiful."
Green says: "It's the cradle of Christianity. Do the pilgrims' walk there – it's beautiful and extraordinary. Saint Cuthbert, the famous saint, not only taught the gospel there, but he spent 12 years of his life isolated on the Farne Islands, preserving and protecting the wildlife. Do a bit of swimming with seals and dolphins while you are there."
Green says: "It’s run by an amazing guy called Gary Fildes, he’s a bricklayer turned world-renowned astronomer. He’s one of the most inspirational individuals I've had the pleasure of working alongside; he does this lecture before you go in, about the Universe.
He was a bricklayer and now he’s telling us the kind of stuff Isaac Newton and Einstein would – he has the brain of Einstein, it’s extraordinary. His story alone could span eight episodes."
Green says: "Where the youngest shepherdess in Britain, Emma Grey, works on her own. She started at 23-years-old, herding 150 sheep, and she’s got 12 dogs, it’s amazing."
By Jade Bremner - 16 Octobre 2013
CLIP INTERVIEW : ROBSON GREEN AT ALNWICK PLAYHOUSE
28 Octobre 2013
"IDYLLIC, JAW-DROPPING AND A BEAUTIFUL GEM OF GREAT BRITAIN " - this is how Robson Green describes his native Northumberland.
And the ‘Wire In The Blood’ star can certainly qualify such over-whelming praise.
Not only is it the county of his birth, but the actor has recently spent his time getting up close and personal with The Secret Kingdom.
His intimate, eye-opening portrayal is captured in an eight-part series, ‘Tales From Northumberland’. Launching on Monday, the half-hour, weekly programmes on ITV capture the beating heart of the county, as Green discovers its amazing secrets, rich history and passionate people.
“You remind yourself just how beautiful and unique this part of the world is,” said Green, 48. “Not only is the landscape breathtaking and the monuments and castles remind us of our turbulent past, but the people of this area have a definite sense of self, belonging, home and most importantly, identity.
“During the project, we asked people what Northumberland meant to them. A lot of people said the landscape, its sense of peace and the space.”
In the series, Green travels the length and breadth of the county by land, sea and air to come across things he’s never seen before.
He immerses himself in many of the unique experiences the area has to offer, from spending the night in a bothy at Haughton Green – one of the most remote spots in Britain – to stargazing at Kielder, which has the darkest skies in England. It also gives him the chance to encounter all walks of county life, from a lord and lady to a shepherdess.
On top of this, Green explores the rich and deep history of a county which has its own flag, tartan and dialect and has been occupied by Romans, invaded by Vikings, played a key role in the founding of English Christianity and has been the setting for many bloody battles between the English and the Scots. “It was a county that I thought I knew well until I did this series,” he admits. “It is the great history lesson.
“Take the Romans. I didn’t know that the Romans brought zebras and ostriches to Northumberland. They brought colour and flair to this area.
“One minute I am swimming with grey seals off the coast, and the next I am in an observatory at Kielder. It is one of the most extraordinary pieces of television and it celebrates all that is idyllic, beautiful and jaw-dropping about the area.”
The first episode sees Green return to Seahouses where he has many cherished childhood holiday memories, and gets back to nature on the Farne Islands. He also gets to hold the Farne’s most famous resident – the puffin. “It is unbelievable,” he says.
“You’ve got puffins, you’ve got guillemots, cormorants – it is just wonderful.”
" One reasons why the North is the greatest place on earth, it's our great sense of worth, identity and belonging. "
TALES FROM NORTHUMBERLAND WITH ROBSON GREEN
Actor Robson Green delves into region's history in new TV series
North East born and bred star Robson Green has continued his "love affair" with his birthplace by fronting new ITV show
Geordie actor Robson Green will be back on our screens exploring his native county.
The 48-year-old, who was born in Hexham, has spoken of his latest TV venture, Tales from Northumberland, which sees him delving into the historical importance and forgotten corners of his birthplace.
At a preview screening of the ITV programme, which airs on Monday, Robson told how taking part in the show opened his eyes to some remarkable stories about the area he grew up in.
He said: “It’s a strange twist of irony that I left Northumberland many, many years ago and travelled the world filming, and still am.
“But I have found myself coming back here to live permanently and it’s kind of reclaiming one’s identity, this journey.” As soon as Robson got the call from director and producer Stuart Ramsey, he jumped at the chance to front the factual series.
“I was playing a Lt Colonel in an HBO drama called Strike Back taking on terrorism in the jungles of Bogota and I was called asking if I wanted to tell a kind of untold story of Northumberland and it was an area I thought I knew very well until I started this series.
“I travelled the length and breadth of the county by land, sea and air discovering new, wonderful, magical things about the place.”
He added: “Not only is it idyllic and beautiful and jaw-dropping in its scale and its landscape but you learn something new about our history that not only tells us where we come from and who we are but maybe where we’re going as well.
“It’s astonishing to think there are parts of Northumberland that changed the course of British history and discovering things like, even though I knew there was an observatory overlooking Kielder, I didn’t know that 85% of Britain’s population don’t see the Milky Way like we see it in Northumberland.
“The guy running it there is called Gary Fildes, who is a bricklayer turned world-renowned astronomer, and that started to be a running theme throughout the series.”
The eight-part series sees Robson travel to some of Northumberland’s best loved places such as Northumberlandia, Bamburgh Castle, the Farne Islands, Kielder Forest, Holy Island and Hadrian’s Wall.
But the most enlightening part of the process, Robson says, was meeting some of the hard-working folk who make the county what it is.
He said: “You meet these people that have a definite sense of self and are so proud of where they come from.
“But they have an inner peace and that derives from everything the programme is about.
“I truly believe that everything that makes Britain great can be found here in Northumberland.”
By Ruth Lawson - 23 Octobre 2013
