Cold Feet star Fay Ripley has fueled hopes for a long-awaited return of the ITV series after admitting the cast is desperate for a reunion. The actress, 60, who played fan favorite Jenny Gifford on and off for nearly three decades, has revealed she and co-stars including James Nesbitt, John Thomson, and Hermione Norris want the show to come back.
"We all do actually. Everybody does," Fay said this week, acknowledging the appetite from fans and family for a revival. "I used to get a call once, twice a year, from family members, going, 'Oh, it's on the news, you're coming back!' And I go, 'Well, I haven't heard anything.'"
She added: "There was a news item about it about six months ago saying it was coming back. If you hear that, it's because John Thomson has just told somebody in an interview that he thinks it's coming back."
John, 57, plays her on-screen husband Pete Gifford and has repeatedly teased a return. Earlier this year he floated the idea of a one-off special rather than a full series. "On the back of the success of Gavin and Stacey – to just do one special," he suggested. "See how that's received."
Cold Feet, whose pilot episode aired in 1997, followed three Manchester couples and made stars of Fay, John, and James, 61, who plays Adam Williams. It returned in 2016 for a hit revival that ran four more series until 2020.
Speaking on the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast, Fay admitted she was anxious about their previous return to the screen. "You do think, is this going to be in some way be humiliating? Is this right?" she said.
Fay also lifted the lid on the famously close-knit cast and their legendary nights out, particularly with James. "I've spent time with Nesbitt and he doesn't know when the evening is over," said host Mark Wogan.
Fay replied: "You're right, correct. I don't think that's new news for the nation. But he has an unbelievable ability to then go to work. I'd be sacked, I wouldn't be able to go to work. So I have to stop whatever I'm doing at 9 o'clock and go and get some sleep."
Fay credits much of the show's original success to producer Christine Langan and writer Mike Bullen, recalling how it almost never took off. "That show didn't land straight away. It went out, it didn't get any viewers, and then they re-put it out and it did land."
The show has won a string of awards, including a BAFTA for best drama and a Royal Television Society award for best comedy.
Fay agreed that the desire for a revival is down to "nostalgia" for cultural outputs from the 90s and early 2000s. She added: "Who knows? It's one of those things. If it does [happen], it does. We've enjoyed so much about the show."
