Comedy Premieres was a programming strand of four one-off television comedies, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network and broadcast throughout 1997.
101-587: Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premiere special of the same name . The series follows three couples experiencing the ups-and-downs of romance, originally Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley ( James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale ), Pete and Jenny Gifford ( John Thomson and Fay Ripley ) and Karen and David Marsden ( Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst ). As
202-545: A "sneak peek" before the regular series run began. From 2005 the series was broadcast by BBC America . When broadcast on SABC 3 in South Africa, the series is retitled Life, Love and Everything Else . Worldwide, it has been broadcast in over 34 countries. Critical response to the first episode was not favourable; in The Independent , Nicholas Barber called it the most depressing TV programme he had ever seen. He wrote of
303-443: A 2007 feature for The Guardian ' s G2 supplement, screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst discussed the impact the series has had on British television, including inspiration for one of his programmes, Talk to Me . He opined that until Cold Feet there had not been a significant television series depicting "the wants and needs of ordinary young adults" since Thirtysomething concluded in 1991. Brocklehurst developed Talk to Me in
404-478: A 42% audience share. King Leek was described in The People as having "sheer comic class". The reviewer praised both the leads and the supporting cast and concluded by calling it the best of the four comedy premieres. Matthew Bond wrote that Billy Ivory had written "something so black that it was nigh on impossible to see the comedy at all." Desmond Christy of The Guardian was equally disappointed and hoped
505-460: A Tuesday. The eighth episode of series 4 and all four episodes of series 5 were extended to fill a 90-minute timeslot. The series was repeated when ITV launched digital channel ITV3 , then marketed towards over-35 viewers. In the United States, Cold Feet was first broadcast on the cable network Bravo . Bravo bought the pilot and first three series for $ 1 million. The pilot was broadcast as
606-470: A baseball bat to them". In 2001, Andrew Billen compared the contemporary cultural relevance of the series to The Way We Live Now , as a follow-up to his comparison of the first series with Vanity Fair : "In previous years we have seen the anguish caused by infidelity, impotence and infertility. This season the characters face the hazards thrown up by miscarriage, alcoholism and a late-flowering career. Sustaining relationships looks as hard as ever. Yet there
707-472: A basis for custody of the children. Karen stops seeing Mark and the divorce cools down. Both re-evaluate their lives after Rachel's death; David develops his relationship with Robyn and Karen plans a trip with Ramona. Pete and Jo's marriage deteriorates when she sleeps with a co-worker ( Richard Armitage ) on a work weekend away. Jenny returns from New York in Episode 4 and moves back in with Pete after he asks Jo for
808-567: A column focusing on Chewin' the Fat , Scotsman critic Aidan Smith accused the big-budget episode "which somehow managed to squeeze the Harbour Bridge into every shot" of being the point the series jumped the shark , and Times columnist Caitlin Moran complimented it, but was concerned that the series' original main characters—Adam and Rachel—were being sidelined by everyone including Mike Bullen. When
909-591: A couple of episodes. Karen is reunited with an old boyfriend ( Richard Dillane ), who is in Manchester for a photography exhibition. Karen is rivalled by Jenny, who has returned to working to pay the bills while Pete is living elsewhere. David takes a sudden interest in politics after meeting local residents' activist Jessica ( Yasmin Bannerman ). He starts an affair with her but she dumps him after being offended by his insensitivity when he tries to end it. Karen finds out about
1010-571: A divorce. After a jet-set life in Singapore , Adam returns to Manchester to visit his old friends and to see son Matthew (now portrayed by Ceallach Spellman ), breaking the news of his upcoming nuptials with businesswoman Angela Zubayr ( Karen David ). This isn't well received amongst the group, especially Matthew who sees Angela as a replacement for his mother Rachel. Struggling to support his family, Pete finds himself in two run down jobs and suffering from depression, which Jenny seems oblivious to. Seeing
1111-477: A fan of American television such as Thirtysomething , Frasier and Hill Street Blues , Bullen pitched Cold Feet , a traditional "boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-wins-girl-back" story told from both sides of the relationship but using elements of fantasy and flashback to distort events to fit a character's point of view. The initial pitch centred on Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley (James Nesbitt and Helen Baxendale), which Harries believed would diminish
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#17328689025611212-419: A fault in their love life, she pursues a fling with client Trevor Green ( Nicholas Gleaves ), who begins to stalk her. Torn apart after the death of Harry ( James Bolam ), an old man who he was caring for, Pete considers suicide. David is entangled through a wrongdoing at work and is arrested, something which his wife Robyn finds humiliating and throws him out of their luxury Cheshire home. Karen finds herself on
1313-462: A few theories." In an interview published in October 2003, Harries told The Daily Telegraph that ITV would "probably" bring back Cold Feet ten years after it ended, and said, "There's a tacit understanding with the actors that we will re-visit it again at the appropriate time." In 2007, a tabloid newspaper quoted an ITV "insider" as saying that a reunion episode would be broadcast to mark ten years since
1414-422: A full-blown affair after their kiss in Episode 3, as David was seen as too much of a "jittery type". The character appears in five episodes. Bathurst was more impressed with the storylines that came out of the affair, rather than the affair itself: "It was the deception, the guilt and the recrimination rather than the actual affair, which was neither interesting nor remarkable". Series 6 introduced Cel Spellman as
1515-438: A giant testicle (which was computer-generated) and in Episode 6 a fireworks explosion was supervised by pyrotechnics experts. The testicle dream scene drew mixed reaction. The Mirror ' s television critic Charlie Catchpole praised it but Robert Bathurst was critical: "I hated that sequence. I thought it was really unfunny. It was a lousy prop and awful graphics and there was too much of it—it would have been much better if it
1616-525: A high concept to make compelling, heartwarming, sometimes profound drama. And, while the show dealt with issues such as adoption, alcoholism and testicular cancer, it was always at its most successful when bouncing playfully between the three couples, neatly exposing the differences between men and women. Over four years after Cold Feet ended, ITV executives were still looking for a series that could comfortably replace it. On his appointment as chairman of ITV plc in 2007, Michael Grade announced that he wanted
1717-495: A houseshare with a gay landlord. He has a brief fling with Ramona, which is followed by some dates with a teacher ( Pooky Quesnel ). Jenny begins a relationship with a dotcom millionaire ( Ben Miles ), who decorates her house with flowers and takes her on a trip to New York. The fling ends when Jenny realises he does not love her. She and Pete reconcile after briefly considering a divorce. David and Karen bring home their newborn twins, and Karen's ex-pat mother ( Mel Martin ) moves in for
1818-413: A love interest for Karen Marsden. Pete and Jenny had remarried whilst David's marriage to Robyn was crumbling. Leanne Best was introduced as Tina Reynolds, Adam's partner following his separation from Angela. After his separation from Robyn, Nikki Kirkbright ( Siobhan Finneran ) is introduced as David's new partner, and Adam later forms a relationship with Karen. In 2020, at the conclusion of series 9, it
1919-571: A mutual friend of pilot director Declan Lowney, and read the part in his natural accent because he was keen to play a Northern Irish character in a contemporary drama unconnected to The Troubles . Baxendale was best known for her role in Cardiac Arrest and was hesitant to star as Rachel because she did not believe she could perform comedy. Bathurst was known to Langan for his starring role in Joking Apart . Ripley thought she would be auditioning for
2020-759: A neighbour and a husband in the first series and a workman in the third. The main characters are six core characters were devised to be "regular people, not distinguished by their careers or by crime" and were based on people from Mike Bullen's life, along with characters who became integral to the programme as Cold Feet progressed. Significant supporting roles in the series are played by Rosie Cavaliero (Amy, series 2), Ben Miles (Robert Brown, series 3), Yasmin Bannerman (Jessica Barnes, series 3), Sean Pertwee (Mark Cubitt, series 4–5), Richard Armitage (Lee, series 5), Lucy Robinson (Robyn Duff, series 5–present), and Eve Myles (Caitlin Henderson, series 8). Doreen Keogh
2121-552: A new place to live, Adam's estranged father, Bill ( Ian McElhinney ), arrives. Bill and Adam patch up their relationship and he offers Adam and Rachel the money to buy their own house. On the way to the auction, Rachel is killed in a car crash, leaving Adam devastated. Her ashes are scattered in the final episode. Karen and David are going through an amicable divorce but when she starts seeing Mark again and David starts seeing his new lawyer Robyn ( Lucy Robinson ), it escalates, as they begin using each other's infidelity and her alcoholism as
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#17328689025612222-475: A rarity for location filming; usually filming in public places was done on a Sunday during closing hours but the clubbing scenes in this episode were filmed during opening hours at the Music Box in Manchester. A hand-held camera was used to enhance the frenetic pace. Incidental music for the series was composed by Mark Russell . He also composed a theme tune, which was used as an alternative to Space 's " Female of
2323-525: A short scene in Episode 2 featuring Bathurst was filmed over half a day in Blackpool ; Bathurst, Norris and a small production crew filmed scenes in Paris for Episode 3; exterior location scenes of the characters on holiday in Episode 6 were filmed on Lindisfarne , though the castle interiors were shot at Hoghton Tower . The second series also featured more visual effects; in Episode 5 Adam dreams about being chased by
2424-430: A therapist ( Michael Troughton ). Karen develops alcoholism and decides to seek therapy too. She and David reconcile and he moves back in. Soon, she starts an affair with a publisher, Mark ( Sean Pertwee ), which is revealed to David in Episode 8. Having had enough of the lies, he leaves Karen. Adam and Rachel decide to adopt a child and begin going through the procedures. They are pleased when they later discover that Rachel
2525-585: Is "an enjoyable one-off comedy aimed at anybody who's ever been single, married, or had children. With such catholic appeal further heightened by Helen Baxendale heading a talented cast, it showed just what ITV can do." An ITV committee selected Cold Feet to represent the network in the comedy-drama category at the Montreux Television Festival. The programme won the Silver Rose in the Humour category and
2626-501: Is her father. Struggling to cope with living in Manchester and being step-mother to Matthew, Angela decides to end her marriage with Adam, who fell quickly for his landlord Tina Reynolds ( Leanne Best ). At Adam's 49th Birthday party, the Marsdens' eldest son Josh ( Callum Woodhouse ) arrives from Spain with former nanny Ramona ( Jacey Salles ), and it is later revealed that he is gay. Setting up her own publishing house Marsden House , Karen
2727-415: Is introduced in series 1, Episode 4 as Pete's mother Audrey Gifford. She makes a cameo appearance in series 3, Episode 1, and reappears in series 4, Episode 4 and series 5, episode 1. The character's recurrence was based on the good chemistry between Keogh and Thomson. Yasmin Bannerman played local residents' campaigner Jessica in series 3. Bannerman and Bathurst did not know that Jessica and David would have
2828-414: Is made redundant at work and decides to be a stay-at-home dad for Josh. After some interference from Karen, he takes a new job. Their relationship improves from the first series; they spend their wedding anniversary in Paris and Karen announces in Episode 6 that she is pregnant. Pete and Jenny's marriage deteriorates when she reveals she had a crush on Adam. Pete later sleeps with a co-worker— with whom Adam
2929-535: Is nothing each protagonist wants more than old-fashioned domestic bliss." The review resonated with other critics; in The Scotsman , Linda Watson-Brown wrote an overall positive review of the series in general—dismissing the spate of "anti- Cold Feet " reviews—but criticised "the ease with which problems are resolved and morality used to slap the viewer in the face". The final episode set in Australia polarised critics; in
3030-418: Is pregnant but are distraught when their social worker tells them that the adoption cannot proceed. In Australia for Pete and Jo's wedding, Rachel goes into premature labour and gives birth to a boy. Three months after the birth of their baby, Adam is made redundant. He gets a new job, but then he and Rachel are told that after the death of their landlord they will be evicted from their house. As they search for
3131-420: Is relying on useless Ramona as personal assistant. Adam is determined to take things one step further with Tina so they can move in together, though she doesn't want to rush things and especially not with David now living with Adam and Matthew following his divorce from Robyn. Pete has landed on his feet as a chauffeur, and Jenny is finding herself seeing a lot less of her husband. Matthew's relationship with Olivia
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3232-545: Is sufficiently pointless to be dismissed even by her fellow characters as 'not as good as Jenny'." Stewart also criticised Hermione Norris's acting and Karen for being a "spoon-faced moaner". A brief article on the MediaGuardian website described a "revisionist backlash" as critics' negative opinions of the series contrasted with the positive reaction that greeted it in 1998. Cold Feet ' s cast and crew were frequently praised for their depiction of real-life social issues on
3333-477: Is taken to the next level, to the shock of Karen and Adam. The series began filming in Manchester on 19 March 2018 and continued until July. It began airing on 14 January 2019 and concluded on 18 February 2019 after 6 episodes. The six episodes of series 9 aired on ITV from 13 January 2020, to 17 February 2020. The creator and the main cast have both confirmed that the show has gone on prolonged hiatus again after this series. Cold Feet began its first series with
3434-499: Is very different. Why do so many lives fall apart at 40? Because things haven't worked out how we hoped and we've had to turn to Plan B. The drama is all about the crisis caused by things not turning out as the characters planned." Later in 2008, ITV commissioned Married Single Other , a comedy drama executive-produced by Andy Harries and directed by Declan Lowney, about three contemporary couples living in Leeds . Granada Entertainment USA,
3535-489: The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) were contacted. BPAS strongly recommended that the plot be developed in a different direction, on the basis that infertility from what would appear to have been a routine abortion would be an "improbable link", though the producers proceeded with their original story anyway. By the time pre-production on the third series began, Bullen had grown tired of writing
3636-652: The Royal Television Society Programme Award for Situation Comedy & Comedy Drama, and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Entertainment. For the second series, it received four British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) nominations— Best Drama Series , Best Original Television Music, Best Graphic Design, and Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment). At the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards it won TV Comedy Programme of
3737-639: The American arm of Granada Productions , tendered the series format to American networks and cable channels from late 1997. The format was sold to NBC , which commissioned 13 x 60-minute episodes in May 1999 for the fall season, to be produced in association with Kerry Ehrin Productions. The American series starred David Sutcliffe as Adam Williams and Jean Louisa Kelly as Shelley Sullivan (the Rachel role). Low ratings lead to
3838-478: The American sitcom Friends , a series that is also based around three men and three women, and featured Helen Baxendale in a guest role. In a 2003 interview with Bullen on BBC Radio 4 's Front Row , Lawson asked whether Friends had influenced Cold Feet . Bullen explained that the connection was made by media as "a useful shorthand", that he was irritated by the characters in Friends and "would liked to have taken
3939-860: The BAFTA for Best Drama Series and the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme. At the British Comedy Awards 2003 , Series 5 won Best TV Comedy Drama and Mike Bullen was named Writer of the Year. Four non-fiction tie-in books have been released by Granada Media, an imprint of André Deutsch Publishing. 2000 saw the release of Cold Feet: The Best Bits ( ISBN 0-233-99924-8 ) and Cold Feet: A Man's/Woman's Guide to Life ( ISBN 0-233-99732-6 ). The Best Bits , compiled by Geoff Tibballs, features script extracts and behind-the-scenes information from directors, producers and actors in
4040-628: The Czech Republic. The creators intend the show to run for three series of 13 episodes and tell a story over seven years. The first series was broadcast from September 2009. During and after its original run, Cold Feet won over 20 major awards. For its first year, Cold Feet received three British Comedy Award nominations; the series won in the Best TV Comedy Drama category and Nesbitt and Ripley were respectively nominated for Best TV Comedy Actor and Best TV Comedy Actress. The series also won
4141-618: The Golden Rose of Montreux, the festival's highest honour. Further acclaim came at the end of the year at the British Comedy Awards when Cold Feet won the Best Comedy Drama (ITV) award. Alexander Chancellor previewed The Chest for The Observer , calling it "homely" and concluded that "If you don't mind implausible plots and inconclusive endings, you may find this quite enjoyable to watch; but don't expect to laugh very much." In The Independent , Tina Ogle noted that Neil Morrissey
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4242-640: The ITV network to be broadcasting long-running series like Cold Feet to attract the younger, upmarket viewing demographic. In 2008, BBC One broadcast Mutual Friends , a six-part television series written by Anil Gupta , which was compared to Cold Feet . While the BBC wanted the series to match the success of Cold Feet , producer Rob Bullock stressed that " Cold Feet is about a different period of life. It's about people in their early thirties. Mutual Friends moves things on—what's happening to our characters as they approach 40
4343-576: The New Writer (Fiction) category, and Jon Jones was nominated in the New Director (Fiction) category. It lost out on four British Comedy Award nominations (Nesbitt and Thomson for Best TV Comedy Actor, Norris for Best TV Comedy Actress, and the third series for Best TV Comedy Drama) but won the People's Choice Award (a viewer poll). The series also scored an International Emmy Award drama nomination. Series 4 won
4444-450: The Pete character, whose son is born in the first episode. Bullen incorporated his experiences of the first few months of parenthood into the Pete and Jenny storyline. Adam's testicular cancer storyline in series 2, Episode 5 was influenced by a similar condition that afflicted Harries, and was supplemented by the newspaper columns written by terminal cancer sufferer John Diamond . If a storyline
4545-538: The Screen Producers Association of Australia conference, where they decided to base the fourth series finale in Sydney. The episode was written to be a "normal episode" of Cold Feet that just had a different background. The main cast—except for Helen Baxendale who was pregnant—the producers and Ciaran Donnelly shot for 18 days in October 2001 in locations that included Hyde Park , Kirribilli , Double Bay and
4646-473: The Species ". Christine Langan heard "Female of the Species" on The Chart Show while the pilot was being produced and decided to make it the theme song. She remained involved in choosing popular music used on the show for the three series she worked on it. "Female of the Species" was used as a closing theme throughout the first series. For the second series, it was replaced by Morcheeba 's "Let Me See", except for
4747-573: The Year, and a second Best TV Comedy Drama award at the British Comedy Awards. The awards for the television industry magazine Broadcast presented it with the Drama: Series or Serial award. In year three, Fay Ripley became the only actor to receive a BAFTA nomination for their work on the series; she was nominated for Best Actress . At the BAFTA Craft awards, David Nicholls was nominated in
4848-908: The actors and production staff, was released. The book sold 961 copies in the first week of publication, making tenth position on the hardback non-fiction chart. Comedy-drama Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 483183669 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:28:22 GMT Comedy Premieres The Premieres, all pilots for potential television series, were produced from 1995 to 1996 for intended broadcast in 1996. However, they were all postponed until 1997. Cold Feet received positive critical reaction from The Times ; in The Times , Matthew Bond wrote that it
4949-453: The affair in Episode 8 but is adamant that she and David will stay together for the children. Adam and Rachel decide to have children but are distraught to discover that she is infertile from complications with her abortion. They decide to get married instead but Adam is briefly tempted when he reunites with a long-lost love ( Victoria Smurfit ) on his stag weekend in Belfast. Jenny and Pete await
5050-616: The birth of their second child but after a miscarriage, Jenny rethinks her current lifestyle. In Episode 2 she decides to take a job in New York, and leaves with little Adam. Pete is unhappy for a time but begins a relationship with Jo Ellison, a friend of Rachel's. The relationship goes well until Jo has to return to Australia after her visa expires. Pete follows her and declares his love and they get married in Episode 8. Karen and David are sleeping in separate beds until she decides he should move out. He moves into Pete's spare bedroom and starts seeing
5151-512: The changing mood with devastating precision". Catchpole's positive comments about the music led to a previously shelved soundtrack album being released. The ITV Network Centre originally scheduled the first series to be broadcast in the 10 pm timeslot on Sunday nights. This went against the wishes of Andy Harries, who wanted it broadcast at 9 pm in the so-called "ironing slot"—generally used for programmes that an audience does not have to concentrate on. David Liddiment compromised by allowing
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#17328689025615252-717: The characters; Karen and David's home was designed as a spacious detached house intended to be located in Bowdon , while Pete and Jenny and Adam and Rachel had smaller middle-class abodes intended to be located in Didsbury . All exteriors of the characters' houses were shot on location. Christine Langan was keen to avoid a generic sitcom style of filming, citing the formulae of such programmes as "tired and dreary" and lacking emotional depth. To achieve this goal, she and Harries recruited directors with little background in television. These included Nigel Cole , who came from an advertising background and
5353-444: The couple. They seek guidance counselling to repair their marriage. Six months after the last series, Rachel returns from London and tells Adam that she aborted the baby, and their relationship seems over for good. They both start seeing other people—he one of Pete's colleagues ( Rosie Cavaliero ) and she a man much younger than her ( Hugh Dancy )—but reconcile after Adam is diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer in Episode 5. David
5454-495: The dating game, and soon falls for Adam's father-in-law Eddie ( Art Malik ), though later discovers that they live in two very different worlds, with Karen's twin daughters Ellie ( Ella Hunt ) and Olivia ( Daisy Edgar-Jones ) still dependent on her. Jenny's ex-partner Grant ( Robert Webb ) from her time in New York City turns up on her doorstep determined to see their daughter Chloe (Madeleine Edmondson), who still believes that Pete
5555-413: The death of his father in Episode 4. Adam and Rachel decide to rent a house together. He is horrified to discover in Episode 2 that she is married to another man. While he is staying with Pete and Jenny, Rachel has sex with her visiting husband ( Lennie James )—who leaves soon after—and is pregnant by Episode 6. Just as the relationship between Rachel and Adam is recovering, she tells him that he might not be
5656-476: The depiction of Manchester in the series—and that killing off Rachel was "a privilege". A reunion episode was speculated after the fifth series ended; in the 2003 documentary Cold Feet: The Final Call , executive producer Andy Harries stated, "By killing a character, you are truly saying 'this series is over' … until, of course, in 10 years time when money is running a bit short for all of us, we bring it back. What we do with Rachel, I don't know yet—but I have got
5757-458: The discussion in an article for The Guardian ; she mentioned that no impression was given that Rachel had suffered an incorrectly performed operation or had had to travel to eastern Europe for it, and that it was improbable that Rachel managed to conceive a child after all. Cold Feet continued to cover social issues when it returned in 2016. The character of Pete was diagnosed with depression. Writer Mike Bullen himself has battled depression. In
5858-421: The eight-third series episodes; Bullen wrote the other four and his interest in the series was revived. At the conclusion of the third series, Bullen announced that he did not want to write a fifth series, and that the fourth would be the last. Series 4, episode 8 was produced as the final episode but the cast and crew realised that they would like to make one final series for proper closure. Bullen agreed to write
5959-401: The factual accuracy of the storyline depended on how the producers wanted to portray the issue to viewers. Her opinion was backed up by an ITV statement, which said that "stories for Cold Feet are not just chosen in order to make people aware of the issues involved; they're also chosen for their dramatic potential and relevance to modern living". Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray developed
6060-448: The father, and that she is moving to London until the birth. Karen and David have recently hired Ramona as a nanny to their young son Josh. At her publishing job, Karen edits the novel of a renowned author ( Denis Lawson ), whom she becomes attracted to. She plans to sleep with him on a book tour but is humiliated when she finds out he is not attracted to her. David tries to sleep with Ramona to get back at Karen, which causes friction between
6161-457: The festival. ITV scheduled a repeat broadcast a few days afterwards but did not commission a series. Not until David Liddiment 's appointment as director of programming at ITV in August 1997 was a six-episode series ordered. The first series begins nine months after the pilot episode. After Pete and Jenny's baby is born in Episode 1, the couple have a hard time getting any sleep. Pete has to cope with
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#17328689025616262-451: The fifth series began in 2003, critics welcomed its end. Paul Hoggart wrote in The Times that the flashback and fantasy scenes were becoming so overused on television that their use in Cold Feet was less surprising than it was in 1998. In Scotland on Sunday , Helen Stewart lamented the loss of Fay Ripley and Jenny's replacement by "the bland but international crossover-friendly Jo, [...] who
6363-597: The final episode was filmed in 2002, the sets were dismantled and taken to a landfill. In series 3, Cold Feet shot outside England for the first time for Episode 5. A storyline featuring Adam's stag weekend was originally scripted to take place first in Blackpool and then in Dublin . James Nesbitt suggested that it should be filmed in Belfast and Portrush , near where he grew up. He, Andy Harries and producer Spencer Campbell scouted
6464-416: The final episodes on the condition that there would be just four, and that he could kill off a character. Matt Greenhalgh co-wrote series 5, Episode 3 with Bullen, specifically the scenes depicting Rachel's death. Greenhalgh worked on the script at the same time as he was writing his BBC Three series Burn It , also set in Manchester. In a 2007 interview, he said that he was not a fan of Cold Feet —decrying
6565-543: The first two series. A Man's/Woman's Guide to Life , compiled by Jonathan Rice, is in a "flip-book"-style format, and is presented as if written by the characters. It features backstories for the characters, drawn from Bullen's scripts for the first two series. The Little Book of Cold Feet: Life Rules ( ISBN 0-233-05088-4 ), a book of quotes from the series, was compiled by Rice and released in 2003. The same year, The Complete Cold Feet Companion ( ISBN 0-233-00999-X ) by Rupert Smith, featuring interviews with
6666-429: The last episode when John Lennon 's " Love " was used. The Mirror ' s Charlie Catchpole described the diagetic popular music in the school reunion scenes of series 2, Episode 4—" Don't You Want Me " ( The Human League ), " Relax " ( Frankie Goes to Hollywood ), " Temptation " ( Heaven 17 ), " True " ( Spandau Ballet ), " Do You Really Want to Hurt Me " ( Culture Club ) and " Tainted Love " ( Soft Cell )—as "[catching]
6767-471: The later scripts were written once filming on earlier episodes had already begun. The number of people on the development team varied; the third series' comprised Bullen, Langan, Harries, producer Spencer Campbell , script editor Camilla Campbell, ITV's controller of comedy, and a team of five writers. Many storylines were based on life experiences of the production team; Bullen and his wife Lisa had their first child in late 1997, which made Bullen identify with
6868-475: The left-wing New Statesman , Andrew Billen praised it as a homage to La Ronde and, despite the sex-talk, being "intricately constructed as a farce". A complaint was made by a viewer to the Independent Television Commission —the commercial television regulator—about the depiction of sex, but it was not upheld. A scene in series 2, episode 4 showing Karen smoking a joint at a dinner party
6969-465: The lives of people from his generation—people in their 30s who were under-represented on television. The Perfect Match , about a man who proposes to his girlfriend at the FA Cup Final and has to deal with constant media attention afterwards, was made and then broadcast in 1995. Harries asked Bullen to pitch more ideas for television to The Perfect Match ' s assistant producer Christine Langan . As
7070-561: The locations in April 2000 before filming went ahead later that year. Local businesspeople were so eager to promote the area that they waived any fees Granada would have given them for allowing filming, meaning the location manager only spent £20, considerably less than the £3,000 a typical shoot of that length would have cost. This location shoot inspired the producers to film even further away from Manchester; in November 2000, Bullen and Harries spoke at
7171-470: The main cast for holding it together. The Grimleys received acclaim for its 1970s nostalgia. Mark Lawson called it "a rare example of a period sitcom" and compared Darren Grimley to Adrian Mole . John Millar for the Daily Record anticipated a full series would follow the pilot and Eddie Gibb for The Scotsman named it the best sitcom of the year. The broadcast was watched by 4.6 million, gaining
7272-456: The measures taken, four people complained to the ITC about the glamorisation of drugs. The ITC dismissed the complaints. The scenes of Jo and Audrey smoking cannabis in series 5, Episode 1 drew seven complaints to the ITC by people who thought it would give children the wrong impression of drugs. The ITC dismissed the complaints on the basis that the episode was broadcast after the watershed . Mark Lawson
7373-471: The northern beaches. Budget problems meant an overseas location could not be secured for series 5, so scenes in the final episode were shot in Portmeirion , Wales. Screen time was divided up equally between the couples over the course of an episode, though occasionally some scenes would run longer; in series 4, episode 3, the scenes of Karen clubbing went on for ten uninterrupted minutes. These scenes were also
7474-454: The now teenaged Matthew, who in Adam's absence, was raised by his godmother Karen and attended a private school. Mike Bullen has sole writing credit on 26 episodes of the series; four episodes of series 3 were written by David Nicholls , and Bullen co-wrote one episode of series 4 and 5 with Mark Chappell and Matt Greenhalgh respectively. Bullen usually wrote ten pages of script per day, whatever
7575-434: The original five series from 15 November 1998 to 16 March 2003. A revival with all of the original cast except Baxendale (Rachel had been killed off) began airing from 5 September 2016. The revived series introduced Ceallach Spellman as Matthew, Adam and Rachel's now teenage son, alongside Karen David as Adam's second wife Angela Zubayr following the death of Rachel, and Art Malik as Angela's business tycoon father Eddie,
7676-488: The original series progressed, the Giffords divorced and Pete married Jo Ellison ( Kimberley Joseph ), whilst Karen and David also separated, forming relationships with Mark Cubitt ( Sean Pertwee ) and Robyn Duff ( Lucy Robinson ). The original series was executive-produced by Bullen with Granada's head of comedy Andy Harries , and produced by Christine Langan , Spencer Campbell and Emma Benson. 32 episodes were broadcast over
7777-420: The part of Rachel, and had to put on an accent for her role as natural Mancunian Jenny. When the fourth series was commissioned, Ripley announced that she was leaving the show to broaden her career options. Kimberley Joseph was cast as Jo Ellison, a replacement character who remained on screen until the conclusion of Cold Feet ' s first run. Bullen makes numerous Hitchcock -esque cameo appearances; he plays
7878-619: The pilot aired. The report turned out to be a fabrication. At the 2010 Edinburgh International Television Festival , Harries stated that discussions about the series' return were "ongoing", but highlighted a number of factors that would prevent a reunion in the near future. The following day, Harries told Kate Silverton that he had held discussions with Mike Bullen about the series returning, but that it would not be back on television screens in 2011 or 2012. All episodes of Cold Feet were shot on film stock on locations in and around Greater Manchester. Sets were designed by Chris Truelove to reflect
7979-463: The quality of his writing. His own third draft was usually submitted to the producers as the "first" draft. As he was still an inexperienced writer by the time production of the first series began in January 1998, Bullen was aided by Christine Langan, who pitched in as a script editor. Storylines were planned in advance—the producers knew that they wanted to split up Adam and Rachel at the end of series 1—but
8080-486: The same manner as Bullen developed Cold Feet , namely by basing its characters on his own experiences and friends. Both Brocklehurst and Mark Lawson have discussed similar "copycat" series, including Hearts and Bones , Metropolis , Couples and Wonderful You . Brocklehurst noted that these series "lacked [ Cold Feet ' s] warmth and believability" adding that they were "unrealistic and cynical". In 2007, Brocklehurst said: Cold Feet proved that you didn't have to have
8181-547: The scissor lift Adam appears on at the beginning of the episode. General reaction improved as the first year went on. At the conclusion of the first series, Andrew Billen compared it with Vanity Fair in the Evening Standard and was pleased that it offered a televisual outlet for the "forgotten" twentysomethings. Paul Hoggart for The Times wrote positively of the writing, directing, acting, and editing and looked forward to how Rachel's pregnancy plot would be resolved in
8282-551: The second series. Other critics hailed it as "the British answer to Thirtysomething "; in 1998, Meg Carter wrote in The Independent , "More than 10 years on, Granada Television has finally produced a modern show that mines the rich seam of a generation that is as confused as it is liberated by increased choice and freedom, and that caters for an audience which has not, traditionally, watched very much ITV." Mark Lawson compared it to
8383-506: The series being cancelled after four episodes. In 2003 the format was sold to Italian network Mediaset for a 2004 broadcast. In 2008, Polish broadcaster TVN secured the rights to a remake from Granada International. This version, entitled Usta, usta , is set in Warsaw . The thirteen-episode series began filming in May 2009 and was broadcast from 6 March 2010. An adaptation entitled Přešlapy has also been developed for television audiences in
8484-434: The series single-handedly and believed all the stories that could be told had been told. ITV were keen to increase the number of episodes per series to 20 but Granada refused, though did agree to add two more, bringing the total to eight. A writing team of five was assembled, overseen by Bullen. Four of the scriptwriters were deemed not good enough and they parted company with Granada. David Nicholls remained and scripted four of
8585-427: The series. When Cold Feet began, Christine Langan stated, "The real challenge was to overcome the traditional view that many of the issues we cover—jealousy, guilt, money, sexual problems, parental death—are ordinary issues, hardy perennials and, as such, not interesting enough for drama." The fourth episode of the first series was controversial due to its depiction of the characters freely discussing their sex lives; in
8686-404: The show to start at 9.30 pm. Harries was able to get the second series moved to 9 pm, which annoyed advertisers. The third series remained in the same timeslot but, like other series on the network, suffered from ITV's late decision to add a third advert break to hour-long shows. Episode 8, featuring Adam and Rachel's wedding, was broadcast on Boxing Day—the first time the show was aired on
8787-527: The six 50-minute episodes over 14 weeks from March to May 1998. Locations included an empty shop unit near Piccadilly station for the charity shop sex scene in Episode 3 and a Masonic Lodge for the gala dinner scenes in Episode 6. In the second year, the sets were moved to the Spectrum Arena in Warrington , where filming ran from March to June. The series featured the first location shoots outside Manchester;
8888-516: The six main cast members—James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst—who had appeared in the pilot. Thomson's character Pete Gifford was written specifically for him after his performance in The Perfect Match made a positive impression on Christine Langan. Norris originally auditioned for the part of Rachel but was cast as Karen because the role suited her social class. Nesbitt got an audition through
8989-684: The six main characters, "Are we supposed to care about these people? The theory, I think, is that we should relate to them, because their lives are as prosaic as our own, and because Cold Feet is a portrait of urban life as it really is in the Nineties. This is another way of saying the writer hasn't bothered with research or imagination." He criticised the conclusion of Episode 1 but praised the other five, which he had seen on preview tapes. On The Late Review , Germaine Greer and Tony Parsons singled out Nesbitt's acting; Greer called him "especially awful" and Parsons wished that he had plunged to his death from
9090-507: The storytelling potential if the ITV Network Centre commissioned a full series after the pilot, so Bullen "tacked on" plots for two other couples—Adam and Rachel's respective friends Pete and Jenny Gifford (John Thomson and Fay Ripley) and David and Karen Marsden (Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris). The pilot was directed by Father Ted ' s Declan Lowney over 12 days in 1996 on location around Greater Manchester . The programme
9191-570: The writing team during the research stages, stated that there had not been a recorded case of Asherman's syndrome in the United Kingdom since the Second World War. Further to that, she stated that the consensus among medical groups was that there was no real direct link between abortions and infertility; rather an untreated infection could increase the chances of fertility problems if it interfered with an abortion. Christine Geraghty countered that
9292-412: Was a major contemporary issue and wrote the treatment as a failure because it was representative of the odds of conception in real life. Rachel's problem with conception is soon diagnosed as being due to "partial Asherman's syndrome ", a storyline that runs through series 3 and 4. The plot was analysed on an episode of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour . Ann Furedi of BPAS, which had supplied information to
9393-504: Was also briefly involved—and Jenny tells him to move out of the house. They decide to give their marriage another chance when Adam's cancer puts things into perspective. In Episode 6, all three couples see in the new millennium on a trip to Lindisfarne, where Pete and Jenny's relationship worsens again as the others' improve. Half a year after the Lindisfarne trip, Pete and Jenny have separated. He moves from house to house, eventually finding
9494-508: Was announced in a group statement that Cold Feet was being rested for the foreseeable future, with a view to returning once again when the characters have reached the next suitable age for stories to tell. Series creator Mike Bullen's working relationship with Granada Television began in 1994 when his agent sold his first screenplay, a one-off comedy drama called The Perfect Match , to the company's head of comedy Andy Harries. Harries had been looking for television scripts that would reflect
9595-455: Was debated at the writing stage; all scripts were required to be sent to Granada's Compliance department to ensure they maintained the ITC's code of conduct. The department would not allow Karen's drug use to be portrayed without some cost to her, so suggested that Karen and Adam could be arrested while rolling joints at the school reunion. Bullen thought the idea was "ludicrous" so added a scene where David berates Ramona for her drug use. Despite
9696-526: Was keen to use the two episodes of the first series he was allotted to "make his mark" and establish himself as a good television director. Other directors included Mark Mylod , Tom Hooper , Tom Vaughan , Pete Travis , Jon Jones , Ciaran Donnelly and Tim Sullivan . For the first series, interior sets were built at the Blue Shed Studios in Salford . Three directors and three film crews were used to film
9797-431: Was like a Monty Python foot come smacking down like that and get it over with. You couldn't keep up that surprise and hilarity for all the minutes it was on the screen." By the third series, Cold Feet ' s sets were permanently located on a Granada warehouse stage and were left intact between series. This meant the basic sets could be used on other Granada programmes, such as The Grimleys and My Beautiful Son . After
9898-447: Was not drawn from real life experiences, it was researched by communicating with experts; Bullen consulted the relationship support charity Relate for the scenes of Karen and David's marriage guidance session in series 1, episode 5, and consulted Dr Sammy Lee for information about Rachel's intracytoplasmic sperm injection in series 3. When it was decided to have Rachel's abortion lead to her developing Asherman's syndrome in series 3,
9999-465: Was one of four one-off Comedy Premieres made by Granada for ITV. Cold Feet was eventually broadcast on 30 March 1997. It received only 3.5 million viewers and little critical attention. As ITV's comedy portfolio was so thin, Cold Feet was submitted as the network's comedy entry at the Montreux Television Festival in May 1997. There it won the Silver Rose for Humour and the Rose d'Or , the highest accolade of
10100-411: Was playing a "typical fluffy bunny", but singled out Jim Carter as the best actor. Thomas Sutcliffe for the same newspaper was more critical of Morrissey, writing that he was putting on "his 10-year-old boy act", and concluded by saying The Chest "makes you want to run someone through with a cutlass." Matthew Bond criticised the story for being "a familiar variation of a familiar story" but complimented
10201-434: Was unappreciative of the scene, writing that the drugs plot was a "forced jollity" compared to the other humorous scenes in the episode. In series 3, Adam and Rachel seek intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) when they have trouble conceiving a child naturally. The characters take out bank loans of thousands of pounds to pay for the treatment, which is unsuccessful each time. The producers devised this storyline because IVF
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