"Colin is a forty-year-old petulant child who, in the relationship between Colin and Howard, has been the leader. Colin is just as competitive and obsessed with titles this series. He has to be numero uno, the top dog, but he suffers from attention deficiency. He's always in desperate need of approval and recognition. The wonderful thing about Colin is that he is completely devoted to his wife and family."
"In this series, the stories have developed more so than the characters: the backdrop this series is witness protection. And let's face it, the worst two people you could have to keep a low profile are Colin and Howard - and this is what keeps the comedy element going."
From what starts as a normal day out in Manchester, Colin and Howie witness something that changes their lives forever...
"The opening five minutes see Colin sulking because Jackie wouldn't have sex with him the night before and then all of a sudden their world is turned upside down when they come across the guy who is shot in the throat. They've witnessed an assassination which takes the whole story into a wonderful jeopardy arc. The great thing about these characters, Colin and Howard, is that if you put them in jeopardy - you'll get conflict and a really good twist in the story."
"Colin being Colin does think it's all quite exciting initially, until Jackie gives him a reality check. Secretly Colin believes that he could have been a cop or a detective. So what I've decided to do is play Colin in a way that he listens to every word the police say and hangs on every word. But Jackie keeps giving Colin these reality checks and asks 'do you know our lives are at risk' when we discover that Colin has revealed everything when questioned by the local press. The sequences in this are wonderfully farcical, but based on reality."
Robson agrees that he can relate to Colin in a few ways too...
"I am quite like him, I have very few friends, you know, really close ones. I can count them all on one hand. I have one friend in particular called Robin Sellers and irrespective of what's happening in my life we have always been good friends. He is the only man I can be emotionally intimate with, and that's a rarity for men and I treasure that. I find it very precious and in this game good friends are few and far between. I'm lucky to have friends like that, and I think Colin feels the same way about Howie, and I'm so happy about meeting Mark Benton during the making of this drama. We really do get on like Colin and Howie and my friendship with Mark is one that I know will continue."
Despite the comedy element in this series, Robson reveals the key to any good programme is getting the mix right...
"All great humour comes from reality I think, and Mark made a very important point which I never clicked into - it's not a comedy and it's not a drama; it's a heist of the two if you like. It's a very unusual piece to be in because there is heightened humour and heightened reality to this. I think that's why it's popular. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry."
And the boys' relationships with their wives help too...
"No, it's not about them at all; it's all about Robson Green! No, seriously I've just spent the whole day with Nicola Stephenson and people didn't have to but they came up and said 'the chemistry between you two is wonderful. You really believe that you're a couple.' I've never played such a character like Colin before. Every character I've played has either been disloyal or without integrity, had affairs, and been a bit of a scumbag really. And this is one of the only shows my son will watch. He loved the last episode of Northern Lights where we went fishing. He giggled and he just wanted to play it again and again, and he loves Mark to bits too."
So will his six-year-old son, Taylor, follow in Dad's footsteps?
"I'm really not sure. It's a difficult one because he is so used to me doing this for a living and seeing me on TV, and I try to say that it's a very insecure profession, and mention the good and bad sides, but he says 'Yeah but, we've got a swimming pool Dad! What's the problem?' so he doesn't quite understand what I'm trying to explain just yet."
Aside from his family and work, Robson's other love without doubt is football - so what more could he want when one of his heroes turned up for work...
"I remember when there was the idea to get a footballer on the show, it was great. The lovely thing is that Mark's character is from Middlesbrough so we are both from the North East but there is great rivalry in terms of our favourite football teams. As I've said before, Colin and Howie are a product of their childhoods and are still as obsessed with football - one of Colin's prized possessions is a signed photo of Alan Shearer! I think because of the jeopardy that this series has, it brings Colin and Howie even closer. They really stick together and after all the new identities are in place they even get various jobs together. And one of these jobs sees the pair of them becoming traffic wardens. It is a funny story where Colin only gives a ticket to cars that look flash and one of the cars he gives a ticket to belongs to none other than David Ginola! Colin then has the audacity to ask for his autograph on the ticket he has given him."
"It was great having David on set; we had a great time talking about all his football stories, although when he first arrived I was a little speechless. I'm terrible whenever I meet heroes of mine. I'm fortunate to know Alan Shearer quite well but whenever I meet up with him my voice goes up an octave, and I end up sounding so stupid!"
Robson is no stranger to being called a heartthrob, but says...
"I do laugh at some of the things that are said, but it's media intervention so I never live by the press, which some actors do - I don't believe the hype. And I can only apologise for the anti-climax whenever the word heartthrob is mentioned... I do laugh and wonder because when I was working at the shipyard there weren't any women queuing up for me then! The best compliment I get is that I'm very likeable onscreen and that's an objective I'd try to carry on. With this series I think all the characters are very likeable. They are characters that we care about, irrespective of what the characters do. I think the recognition I get is just part of it, and I like to think that I deal with it quite well."
So what's next for Robson...
"There will be a brand new series called My Mum, Your Dad and of course another series of Wire in the Blood, which also has a very loyal audience. Both series will be on ITV1 soon. As for any future dream roles, I've played Jesus so I don't actually know what comes after playing the son of the Almighty! The thing is, with any acting job, you think it will be good because you see yourself in it and I always look forward to something new. Although if anyone offered me the part of Hotspur in Shakespear's Henry IV, part 1, I would certainly do that. It's a great part and he's from the North East as well."
...and would Robson ever return to singing?
"Well I am a trained singer, and if there was a musical film or theatre show that I loved the sound of, I would do it, yes.">