'Cold Feet' Turns 20: Creator Mike Bullen Says 'Characters Still Have Something To Say'

The stars are currently filming Series 2 in Manchester.

‘Cold Feet’ made its  debut 20 years ago today, on Sunday 30 March 1997, when viewers first met Adam and Rachel, Pete and Jenny, Karen and David. 

The show’s remaining stars Faye Ripley, Hermione Norris, John Thomson, James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst have taken a break from filming in Manchester for a special celebratory snap, marking the show’s special birthday. 

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Faye Ripley, Hermione Norris, John Thomson, James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst team up for a special snap
ITV

‘Cold Feet’ initially ran for five series until 2003, before returning last year for a brand new series, watched by eight million viewers. Helen Baxendale, whose character was killed off, was the only star not to return. 

On today’s special day, creator Mike Bullen says: 

“Twenty years ago, when Cold Feet began, I was just trying to write a show that would amuse and hopefully move my own generation. That remains the aim. It’s just that, with the passage of time, we’re a generation older. We don’t face the same issues, but there are still issues to be faced.

“I think that’s why the reboot worked. We weren’t a tribute act to ourselves; we’ve still got something to say. I’ve met quite a few viewers who knew of the show because their parents watched the original, and are now fans in their own right. I get a huge buzz out of that.”

The most recent series saw the characters tackling fresh struggles, with Adam (James Nesbitt) trying, and failing, to balance middle-age romance with tending to his teenage son, and John Thomson earning accolades for his frank depiction of a man struggling with depression. 

The new series is currently filming in Manchester to air later this year on ITV. 

'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)