'Cold Feet' Fans Praise Powerful Teen Pregnancy Storyline: 'Excellently Acted, Directed And Written'

It isn't the first time the ITV drama has been lauded for tackling difficult subjects.

‘Cold Feet’ has won widespread praise from fans over the way it dealt with a teen pregnancy storyline. 

Viewers of the ITV comedy drama were impressed with how sensitively the plot had been handled, after Karen Marsden’s daughter Olivia decided to have an abortion. 

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'Cold Feet' dealt with the topic of teen pregnancy
ITV

During Friday’s (22 September) episode, fans saw 17-year-old Olivia (Daisy Edgar-Jones) coming to terms with the fact she was pregnant with Matthew’s (Cel Spellman) baby. 

As both of their fathers - played by James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst - tried to influence their decision to terminate the pregnancy, the teens were determined to come to their own decision. 

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Matthew and Olivia's parents tried to suggest an abortion
ITV

Eventually they reached the conclusion that abortion was the right option for them, and emotional scenes saw them attend the clinic together, supported by their parents. 

It is not the first time ‘Cold Feet’ has won praise for dealing with tough issues. 

Upon its return to screens last year, viewers lauded the drama for tackling the subject of male depression, after Pete Gifford contemplated suicide, amid struggles with his mental health. 

Actor John Thomson later admitted his surprise at the reaction to the storyline, telling HuffPost UK: “People have said they’re depressed, telling me: ‘Your storyline is the most genuine depiction of male depression of a man of that age. I know I’m going through it, I need to do something about it.’

“People have told me they’ve gone to the doctor. I didn’t realise that would be the ripple effect of my portrayal.”

‘Cold Feet’ continues next Friday at 9pm on ITV. 

Useful websites and helplines:

  • Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
  • Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
  • Get Connected is a free advice service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@getconnected.org.uk
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(01 of14)
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James Nesbitt played Adam Williams... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(02 of14)
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Since appearing in ‘Cold Feet’, James has gone on to become one of the country’s most popular actors. He's played the lead role in five series of BBC crime drama ‘Murphy’s Law’, starred as the titular character in a new adaptation of ‘Jekyll’ and also featured in ‘The Passion’, a story of the last week in the life of Jesus. He was most recently seen in 2014’s BAFTA nominated series ‘The Missing’, where James played the father of a missing child. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(03 of14)
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Helen Baxendale played Rachel Bradley... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(04 of14)
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At around the same time Helen appeared on ‘Cold Feet’, she landed a guest role as Ross Geller’s girlfriend, Emily, on ‘Friends’ and subsequently had some exposure on US TV. But she returned home to Britain star in more episodes of the ITV drama, before Rachel was killed off in the final season's dramatic car crash. After her exit, Helen said she was taking time out of acting to bring up her young children. After she returned to work three years later, Helen enjoyed guest parts in series such as Agatha Christie’s ‘Marple’ and ‘Poirot’, ‘Lewis’ and ‘Inspector George Gently’. But her most high-profile role was in BBC Three sitcom ‘Cuckoo’, which was recently renewed for a third series. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(05 of14)
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Fay Ripley played Jenny Gifford... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(06 of14)
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Fay first left ‘Cold Feet’ in series four, but returned for the funeral of Rachel Bradley in the final series. Since then, the actress has lent her voice to a BBC adaptation of children’s book ‘Fungus The Bogeyman’, starred in sitcom ‘Reggie Perrin’ and had guest roles in ‘New Tricks’, ‘Monday Monday’ and ‘Hustle’. In 2014, she starred in Channel 5’s police procedural drama ‘Suspects’, as well as ITV sitcom ‘The Delivery Man’. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(07 of14)
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John Thomson played Pete Gifford... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(08 of14)
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John has enjoyed plenty of success since the end of ‘Cold Feet’, most notably starring in ‘Coronation Street’ as Eileen Grimshaw’s love interest Jesse, and ‘Waterloo Road’ as a parent of one of the students. As well as roles in BBC drama ‘New Street Law’ and the third series of ITV’s ‘Kingdom’ alongside former co-stars Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris, John has also dabbled in reality TV. He’s appeared on ‘Comic Relief Does Fame Academy’, celebrity survival series ‘71 Degrees North’ and the 2013 series of ‘Celebrity Masterchef’. John was most recently seen playing various characters on ‘The Keith Lemon Sketch Show’. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(09 of14)
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Hermione Norris played Karen Marsden... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(10 of14)
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Hermione has arguably had the biggest amount of success since the end of ‘Cold Feet’, appearing alongside Robson Green in crime series ‘Wire In The Blood’, as Ros Myers in BBC spy drama ‘Spooks’ and in ITV drama ‘Kingdom’ as Beatrice Kingdom. She’s also starred in BBC series ‘The Crimson Field’, ‘In The Club’ and ‘Outcasts’, as well as bagging a role in ‘Doctor Who’ episode ‘Kill The Moon’ last year. Hermione recently appeared alongside Robert Bathurst in Sky One's ‘Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death’. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(11 of14)
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Robert Bathurst played David Marsden... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(12 of14)
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Robert has had a number of high-profiles in ‘The Pillars of the Earth’, ‘Wild at Heart’, ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Poirot’, as well as starring in children’s sitcom ‘My Dad's The Prime Minister’. He’s also returned to the stage, starring in a number of West End productions. Most recently, he appeared in sitcom ‘Blandings’ alongside Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Tim Vine and Mark Williams and in 2014, he had a minor role in ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie’. (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(13 of14)
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Kimberley Joseph played Jo Ellison... (credit:Rex)
'Cold Feet': Where Are They Now?(14 of14)
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Just two days after filming the final episode of ‘Cold Feet’, Kimberley returned to Australia, where she joined medical soap ‘All Saints’. In 2004, she then began appearing in ‘Lost’ as Cindy Chandler, and featured in 13 episodes before the show ended in 2010. Since then, Kimberley’s appeared in Linkin Park’s video for ‘Castle Of Glass’, and is bringing up her young son Gabriel, who was born in 2013. (credit:Rex)