TV: Catch-up with the Cold Feet cast

After a 13-year hiatus, Cold Feet returned to our screens a year ago and was met with a rapturous welcome from views and critics alike. It's no surprise, then, that the series, created and penned by Mike Bullen, is back for another run.

Here, the ensemble cast, James Nesbitt, Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst, talk about their much-lauded return and hint at what's in store.

:: James Nesbitt - Adam

After weeks of "will they, won't they", at the end of the last series, Adam and his landlady Tina finally agreed to give things a go but take it slow. When we check in with them, they've been loved up and living across the hall from each other and spending hours renovating Adam's house.

"I think people will have been concerned about who replaced (Adam's late wife) Rachel or who was trying to capture Adam's heart and I think the build on that was very good," comments Nesbitt, 52.

"I think that people really did take to Tina and there was an optimism but just when things are possibly going smoothly, the obstacles are those that Adam put there himself."

Adam "finally gets a job". "I've never been entirely sure what he does," jokes Nesbitt and continues to forge a relationship with son Matthew, "which I think means the world to both of them".

Reflecting on the show's return, the actor acknowledges he and his co-stars were tentative about reprising the series.

"I think there was apprehension but what was amazing about the last one (series) is that actually having not seen each other for years, it was immediate," he comments. "We were very relaxed with each other."

Hermione Norris - Karen

In the last series, Karen turned down two marriage proposals, from ex-husband David and billionaire Eddie Zubayr, and enjoyed a passionate fling with a younger colleague.

"She did have it going on," laughs Norris, 50.

"This series she's focusing on her work and balancing running a publishing company and trying to manage her teenage girls."

And then there's Ramona, her former nanny-turned-PA who's more a hindrance than help.

Norris believes Cold Feet is about love, both romantic and platonic.

"You get to 50 and you realise that more than anything that's all there is at the end of the day," she says before adding she couldn't believe the reception they enjoyed on their return.

"It was amazing, the warmth we received. People were so clearly pleased and delighted to see everybody back together. I mean it could clearly have gone wrong, it could've been a different result but I think people love it because it's about the ordinary, not the extraordinary."

John Thomson - Pete

Thomson was at the centre of one of the most hard-hitting storylines when the normally jovial Pete was diagnosed with depression in the previous series.

"The response I've had for that, it's been amazing and also on a social media level people have been very frank and very candid and said 'Your portrayal of depression has hit a chord with me'," says Thomson, 48.

"It's nice for people to see I'm multi-faceted. My pedigree is in comedy, so that's kind of natural to me but I'm an actor so it's nice to do the harder range of emotions."

When we see Pete, he's moved on from minicab driving to chauffeuring but he's looking for something more than being a glorified errand-boy for his rich clients.

"Pete loves to work with the old people, that's what brings him real joy, even though it's poorly paid and the hours are huge, that's what his real vocation is. So I think he's at a little bit of a crossroads - 'Do I do this for the money or do I do this for my soul?'"

Robert Bathurst - David

There's no doubt that the pompous David's fall from grace hit him hard and he's now peddling life insurance to unsuspecting pensioners.

"There's a bit of a downgrading," laughs Bathurst, 60.

"He's taken a dive professionally and aspirationally because of the problems he had last year (when he was arrested for dodgy dealings) and his reputation has sunk."

On top of that his living arrangements "are quite fluid" after being knocked back by ex-wife Karen.

"With David things happen to him by accident, he never really leads the way," notes the actor.

"He's always trailing and as a result something does develop, which involves work but then other things intrude and then he gets into a rather terrible state."

Fay Ripley - Jenny

There's a promotion pending for Jenny when we catch up with her.

"I mean don't ask for my actual job title, but there's been a promotion (at the hotel) so she's sort of handing the domestic reins to Pete," says Ripley, 51, but it remains to be seen what strain this might take on their marriage.

Reflecting on the show's reception, she says: "When it first came out, there was nothing like it on the telly and it sort of broke a few boundaries. Now it's not really breaking boundaries but it's come at a time when there's so much stuff going on in the world, you escape into a slightly nostalgic gentle world. I think people are rather grateful for a time out."

The success is very much down to the chemistry between the cast and, at this year's Baftas, co-star James Nesbitt made an impassioned speech about equality within the industry. Did it make Ripley proud?

"Well, I tell you what, it made excited because I've asked him to renegotiate my contract so that I can have exactly the same money and rights as him," she quips. "How exciting, come on Jimmy!"

Cold Feet returns to ITV on Friday September 8