Several members of the original Cold Feet cast reunited at ITV's 70th anniversary gala in London on Monday, coming together almost three decades after the show's first episode. James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris, Robert Bathurst, John Thomson and Fay Ripley were photographed arriving at the Guildhall for the broadcaster's celebration.
The actors posed together on the red carpet, with Bathurst in a blue three-piece suit, Norris in a velvet black suit with a white blouse, Nesbitt in a navy suit and blue shirt, Thomson linking arms with his co-stars and Ripley wearing a black leather jacket and trousers. The gathering brought several familiar faces from the ensemble comedy-drama back into public view after the series was rested in 2020.
Cold Feet originally aired between 1998 and 2003, running for five series before its initial cancellation. The programme was revived in 2016 with the original principals and produced four further series before producers announced a pause in 2020. Creator Mike Bullen said at the time that the break was intended to allow the characters "a chance to move on," adding that the team hoped to return later to explore the characters as they approached what he described as "the third age."
The revived run continued to follow the lives of three couples as they navigated relationships, parenthood and middle age. Late in the original run, the series drew large audiences for a dramatic twist when Rachel, the wife of Nesbitt's character Adam and played by Helen Baxendale, was killed in a car crash in an episode that drew about 10 million viewers. More recent storylines before the show's pause had focused on an evolving romance between Adam and Karen and a breast cancer diagnosis for the character Jenny.
Cast members released a joint statement when the series was shelved, saying the Cold Feet team had demonstrated that "life never stops being funny, challenging and bittersweet" and that they looked forward to returning "when the time is right." ITV marked its 70th anniversary with a series of events at the Guildhall that brought together talent from across its programme slate.
The reunion at the gala offered a public reminder of the long-running show's impact on British television drama and the continuing interest in the characters and performers who helped make it a ratings success in the late 1990s and 2010s. Producers have previously said any future return would allow time to pass before revisiting the characters' lives, but no firm plans for a new series have been announced.