COLD FEET

'''Cold Feet''' is a British comedy drama set and filmed in Manchester. It was created by Mike Bullen and produced by Granada Television for ITV. It began with a 60-minute pilot in 1997 and was followed by five series between 1998 and 2003. The series follows the lives of six thirty-somethings at different stages of relationships and how each copes with births, marriages and divorces, amongst many other things.
''Cold Feet'' was critically acclaimed during its run, and it attracted 8 million viewers each week. It won over 20 awards, including the Best TV Comedy Drama British Comedy Award in 1999 and in 2000 and the prestigious Best Drama Series at the British Academy Television Awards 2002. Granada sold the series to over 33 countries, including the United States where it is broadcast on BBC America and in South Africa where it is known as ''Love, Life and Everything Else''.^[1]
A retrospective documentary entitled ''Cold Feet: The Final Call'' was produced by Granada and aired on March 11, 2003, days before the final episode.^[2] Following the end of the series, repeats were shown on ITV2 and would go on to form the backbone of the new ITV3 schedule. The series has been released in full on VHS and DVD and music from the series has been released on four soundtracks.
An American version was produced for NBC in 1999, starring David Sutcliffe and Jean Louisa Kelly but it was cancelled after four episodes because of low ratings.

Contents

Production

Development

Casting

Writing

Music

Filming

Characters

Plot

Critical reception

Awards

US version

International broadcast

Merchandise

VHS and DVD releases

Books

Soundtracks

Board game

Notes

References

External links

Production

Development

Creator Mike Bullen, along with producers Andy Harries and Christine Langan, developed the pilot as something that people of their generation and class could relate to, something "in between" working-class soap operas and glossy costume dramas.^[3][4] Harries referred to the series as "[tapping] into a post-Thatcher zeitgeist" and "confronting reality, getting married, having kids, holding down jobs".^[5]
Bullen's idea for a pilot was a "boy meets girl" story told from both sides of the relationship. In an early script draft the setting was north London but Langan and Harries relocated it to Manchester for reasons of cost, accessibility to an audience and with a plan to secure a series from Granada.^[6]
The 60-minute pilot centred around the characters Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley. Adam was a serial womaniser and Rachel had just been dumped by her boyfriend. It was produced in 1996 but its broadcast was delayed for almost a year by ITV.^[7] It eventually went out on March 30, 1997, 20 minutes after it was billed due to over-running sports coverage.^[8] Both Bullen and Harries were sure of securing a full series, though ITV were not, as the pilot had pulled in only 4.5 million viewers.^[9]
Harries entered the pilot in the Rose d'Or and it walked away with a Silver Rose for Humour and (surprisingly) the Golden Rose. Bidding for a series then came from both BBC One and Channel 4 before ITV itself eventually commissioned six episodes for the series' inaugural year.

Casting

John Thomson was the first to be cast for the pilot. He had previously appeared in Mike Bullen's earlier credit, ''My Perfect Match'', which Christine Langan remembered him from. James Nesbitt was next to be cast after being recommended by director Declan Lowney. Casting director Kate Rhodes James then hired Helen Baxendale, who was arguably the most famous face in the cast, having appeared in ''Cardiac Arrest''.
Fay Ripley originally intended to read for Rachel, but secured the role of Jenny after an audition with Thomson in which she "managed to bodge together a sort of Manchester accent".^[10]
Robert Bathurst was known for his role in ''Joking Apart'' and arrived for his audition scene "bearded and shaggy", as he was starring in ''The Rover'' at that time.^[11]. The last of the original cast was Hermione Norris who "made [Karen] sexy and likeable."
In the fourth series Kimberley Joseph joined the cast. An unknown actor in Britain, Joseph had previously presented ''Australian Gladiators'' and has since appeared in ''Lost''.

Writing

The first two series were written entirely by Mike Bullen, with David Nicholls joining him to write four episodes of the third series. Mark Chappel co-wrote one episode of series four and Matt Greenhalgh co-wrote one episode of series five.
Before ''Cold Feet'', ''My Perfect Match'' had been Bullen's only script. His technique for this new series was to base the characters on people from his own life; Adam was based on himself, Pete on his friend from childhood Mark Taylor. Rachel was originally written as a combination of the qualities of the "perfect girlfriend", along with another friend, Clare Rowland.
By the time of the fourth series, Bullen's writing style had shifted so significantly that the characters were no longer based on his friends, rather on the actors who played them.^[12]
Input from the actors was also taken in during the writing and other production stages. The location of the stag weekend storyline in series three could not be decided upon; Dublin and Blackpool were two possible locations until James Nesbitt suggested Portrush.^[13][14] At other times problems with the cast would force rewrites or production changes; Rachel's pregnancy was brought forward by two episodes in series four when Helen Baxendale's bump showed earlier than expected and the fourth episode of series five was filmed before the third, to accommodate Fay Ripley, who was nearing the end of her own pregnancy.^[15]
A theme in the writing that was a departure from what was normally seen on British television was the fantasy scenes, which Bullen said was added for "sophistication" and "credence".^[16]

Music

The theme song is "Female of the Species" by Space, a track personally chosen by producer Christine Langan after hearing it on ''The Chart Show''.^[17] She remained in overall charge of the music that appeared during the first three series, sometimes selecting the latest single to hit the high street and sometimes an old classic.
"Female of the Species" did not appear in the 1997 pilot. For that, original music was composed by Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert (The Other Two). The successful use of popular music in the series led to four soundtracks being released.
The main score of the series was composed by Mark Russell and was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Original Television Music at the 2000 ceremony.^[18]

Filming

Studio filming took place at Granada Studios in Manchester and it was common for filming to take place on location. The characters' houses were located in Didsbury (Adam and Rachel, Pete and Jenny) and Bowdon (Karen and David) and the producers tried to remain consistent with external shots but would sometimes have to find a new, similar location when they returned if the house had a different owner.^[19]
Scenes in bars, pubs and clubs would be filmed during after-hours, though on at least one occasion a club shoot was done with real punters.^[20] The urban renewal of central Manchester meant that a lot of the new developments formed a backdrop for the characters' jobs; Rachel's and David's (original) separate workplaces were filmed in and around Bridgewater Hall.^[21]
Sometimes the cast and crew would leave Manchester altogether to shoot in such places as Lindisfarne (episode #2.6)^[22] and Portmeirion (episode #5.4)^[23] but the biggest by far was the shoot in Sydney for the final episode of the fourth series, which involved flying out Nesbitt, Thomson, Norris, Bathurst, Joseph and Sean Pertwee as well as hiring a local production crew to avoid the expense of flying out the whole Granada team.^[24][25] Because she was at such a late stage of her pregnancy, Baxendale did not join the rest of the cast and all of her scenes were filmed in Manchester and blended with location shots months later. The Sydney episodes were filmed in October 2000.^[26]

Characters

(l-r) David, Pete, Adam, Rachel, Karen and Jenny look at a castle David has taken them to for a holiday.

The series always revolved around the six core characters, who were described by Langan as "regular people, not distinguished by their careers or by crime." The pilot introduced Adam Williams (played by James Nesbitt), a serial womaniser and systems analyst who meets advertising executive Rachel Bradley (played by Helen Baxendale).

Adam's friends Pete and Jenny Gifford (played by John Thomson and Fay Ripley) are both trying for a baby. In jest, Thomson and Ripley have described their characters as "all ego and vanity".^[27] Rachel's friends David Marsden (played by Robert Bathurst), a management executive and Karen Marsden (played Hermione Norris), a publisher, already have a child and are arguing over whether to hire a nanny for him.
The first series added Pete and Jenny's first child, baby Adam, and the Marsdens hired Spanish au pair Ramona Ramirez (played by Jacey Salles) who was a recurring character until the fourth series, when she became a regular.
In the second episode of the fourth series, Jenny emigrated to America, and to keep a cast of six, Jo Ellison (played by Kimberley Joseph) was introduced. Recurring characters would appear for a finite amount of time (such as Rachel's husband Kris Bumstead, played by Lennie James) or would reappear at various moments in the series (such as Pete's mum Audrey, played by Doreen Keogh, who appeared three times). Some minor characters would reappear in the stories of a particular character, such as Natalie, David's boss (played by Lorelei King) or Mark Cubitt (played by Sean Pertwee).

Plot

Main articles: List of Cold Feet episodes

The series focuses on three couples as they move through their lives and relationships. Starting out with one fledgeling couple, one having a child and one with a child and careers, the status quo was soon upset as characters would have affairs, marry, divorce, have children, have cancer treatment, adopt, and, ultimately die. No character ended the series in the quite the same way as they began it.

Critical reception

Reaction to the pilot was not forthcoming due to it running so late, and as a result of the delay in transmission, the ratings were bad.^[28] The first episode of the series proper fared little better, with the acting and writing criticised; ''The Independent'' described the pacing as "arthritically slow".^[29]
A year later, at the start of the second series, it became one of the most popular programmes on television. Figures in the third series improved and 9.1 million viewers watched Adam and Rachel marry in that series finale.^[30] Previews of the fourth series noted a change in style, with ''The Observer'' describing it as "back with a darker edge, switching the emphasis from commitment to falling apart."^[31] Following the first episode, the series was criticised as "flabby and dull"^[32] and ratings had dipped due to a weak lead-in.^[33] It had already been decided that this would be the final series, to stop it from "going stale".^[34]
However, high ratings (the fourth series finale scored 8.3 million viewers^[35]) meant that the show would return for one final series, which was announced in October 2001.^[36] Ratings for the fifth series steadily grew, with the first two episodes each drawing 8 million viewers each.^[37][38] The penultimate episode drew 9.4 million viewers^[39] and overnights for the series finale showed 10.2 million viewers with a 42% audience share^[40] burying it nearest rival on BBC One.^[41]
While often described shorthand as a British ''Friends''^[42][43] ''Cold Feet'' had little else in common with the American sitcom beyond the principal cast being three males and three females (one of whom was called Rachel). Kimberley Joseph dismissed the comparison, suggesting that "''Friends'' [...] glosses over topics and doesn't really go deep, into the heart of life".^[44] Former ''Friends'' guest actor Baxendale was more blunt, calling ''Cold Feet'' "more real".^[45] The comparison was lost on American audiences; reviewers noted that it had much in common with ''Ally McBeal''^[46] (something British writers would later pick up on).^[47]
Mike Bullen's quest to bring a television series to an audience of people like himself led to thirtysomethings being dubbed "the ''Cold Feet'' generation" by media.^[48] The series also sparked a surge of "flirtysomething" dramas based around co-operative friendship groups.^[49]

Awards

The series picked up multiple awards over its run, beginning with the Golden Rose of Montreux (and a Silver Rose for Humour) in 1997. The first series was nominated for an RTS Television Award for Best Situation Comedy or Comedy Drama but did not win. It was nominated for the same award after the second series and this time won, along with a Broadcasting Press Guild Award (jointly) and TRIC Award.
1999 also saw the first BAFTA nomination for the series, for Peter Middleton's photography and lighting. Both Fay Ripley and James Nesbitt were nominated for British Comedy Awards in the Best TV Actor/Actress categories.
In 2000 the series secured another TRIC Award and British Comedy Award wins for the show as Best Comedy Drama and James Nesbitt as Best TV Comedy Actor. In 2001 there were BAFTA nominations for actors, writers and directors, British Comedy Award nominations for Nesbitt, Thomson and Norris and an International Emmy Award nomination. There was also another RTS win for the series in the Best Sound category.
After a few years of nominations, ''Cold Feet'' finally won a BAFTA in 2002 for Best Drama Series. It also took away the "People's Choice Award" at the British Comedy Awards but lost Best Comedy Drama.
For its final year it won another British Comedy Award (for Best TV Comedy Drama) and Nesbitt won Most Popular Comedy Performance at the National Television Awards. As well as the NTAs the series has fared well in other popular polls; it was named the fourth best TV finale in a survey conducted by NTL in 2004.^[50]

US version

Main articles: Cold Feet (US TV series)

In 1999 NBC commissioned a remake of the series for broadcast in its fall season,^[51] with 13 60-minute episodes initially contracted.^[52] The series was a co-production between Granada and Kerry Ehrin Productions and starred David Sutcliffe as Adam Williams and Jean Louisa Kelly as Shelley Sullivan (the Rachel role). Low ratings lead to the series being cancelled after four episodes.^[53] The series secured a nomination for best music-editing at the MPSE Golden Reel Awards.^[54]

International broadcast

In Australia, the series is shown on Channel Seven with repeats showing on Monday night. In the United States Bravo bought the rights to the first three series and began showing on Monday nights from 10pm on January 8, 2001 (following a "sneak preview" of the pilot on December 11).^[55] The series was acquired by BBC America in 2005.^[56]
The series has been broadcast on the Canvas channel in Belgium and by VARA in the Netherlands. In Sweden it is shown on TV4, in Norway on NRK1, and on MTV3 in Finland. In the Czech Republic it was shown on ČT1. In Israel it was shown on "Yes+", a paid satellite channel.
In Latin America, cable network Cosmopolitan Television broadcast it from April 2007.

Merchandise

VHS and DVD releases

Videos were released by Granada Media (series 1-2) and 2 Entertain Video (series 3-5). Each series was spread over two tapes and packaged in a double box. VCI released all five series on DVD between 2000 and 2003. A complete set was released in late 2003 which had two versions: one with a bonus disc and one without. The bonus disc contained the documentary ''Cold Feet: The Final Call'' which was not included on the initial series five DVD.
The DVDs have static menus with background music while the region 1 releases repeat the montage from the first episode as the menu. This feature was duplicated when Granada Ventures re-released the series in region 2 on March 20, 2006.^[57] As well as new menus, each individual series was repackaged and the 11-disc box set was retitled "Cold Feet: The Complete Collection" and repackaged.
Music licensing issues meant some minor cuts were made on the DVDs. The fifth series DVD featured episodes edited from the original four x 90-minute format into six episodes of varying lengths.^[58] The cuts remained on the 2006 release.

Release name		Episodes	VHS release date	DVD release date
				Region 2	Region 1	Region 4
	The Pilot and Complete 1st Series	7	15 November 1999	25 September 2000[59]	25 January 2005[60]	4 February 2002[61]
	The Complete 2nd Series	6	10 April 2000	16 October 2000[62]	26 April 2005	5 December 2006[63]
	The Complete 3rd Series	8	5 November 2001	5 November 2001[64]	26 July 2005[65]	2 February 2007[66]
	The Complete 4th Series	8	25 November 2002	25 November 2002[67]	—	3 April 2007[68]
	The Complete 5th Series	4	24 March 2003	24 March 2003[69]	—	1 June 2007[70]
	The Complete Story (10-disc)	33	—	10 November 2003[71]	—	—
	The Complete Story (11-disc)	33	—	10 November 2003	—	—

Books

★ ''Cold Feet''. Rice, Jonathan (1999, Andre Deutsch Publishing, ISBN 0-233-99732-6)

★ ''The Best of "Cold Feet"''. Bullen, Mike; Rice, Jonathan (2000, Andre Deutsch Publishing, ISBN 0-233-99924-8)

★ ''The Little Book of "Cold Feet" Life Rules''. Smith, Rupert (2002, Granada Media, ISBN 0-233-05088-4)

★ ''The Complete Cold Feet Companion''. Smith, Rupert (2003, Granada Media, ISBN 0-233-00999-X)

Soundtracks

★ ''Cold Feet OST''. 1999, Global TV

★ ''More Cold Feet''. 2002, Global TV

★ ''The Very Best of Cold Feet''. 2003, UMTV

★ ''Cold Feet''. 2006, EMI Gold

Board game

Cheatwell Games issued a licensed board game in 2001, which is no longer produced.^[72]

Notes

1. Anonymous (2006-06-23) "Q&A: Hermione Norris", ''Western Mail''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
2. Simpson, Richard (2003-03-11) "Farewell Rachel but is it the end of Cold Feet?", ''Evening Standard''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
3. Smith, p.6
4. ''Cold Feet: The Final Call''
5. Smith, p.64
6. Smith, p.62
7. Billen, Andrew (1998-12-04) "Private lives", ''New Statesman''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
8. Smith, p.8
9. Carter, Meg (1998-11-09) On Air: "Our friends in the North", ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2007-02-15
10. Smith, p.75
11. Smith, p.115
12. Mike Bullen, ''Cold Feet Backstage'' (Series four DVD)
13. Spencer Campbell, ''Interviews'' (Cold Feet: The Complete Collection DVD)
14. James Nesbitt, ''Cold Feet Backstage'' (Series three DVD)
15. Smith p.252
16. Mike Bullen, ''Cold Feet Backstage'' (Series three DVD)
17. Smith, p.65
18. Multiple authors, "Awards for ''Cold Feet''", ''Internet Movie Database''. Retrieved on 2007-03-16
19. Smith, pp.107-109
20. Smith, p.184
21. ''John Thomson on Location'' (Cold Feet: The Complete Collection DVD)
22. Smith, p.100
23. Smith, p.252
24. Smith, p.202
25. Smith, p.214
26. Spencer Campbell, ''Cold Feet Backstage'' (Series four DVD)
27. ''Cold Feet Backstage''. (Series three DVD)
28. Smith, p.8
29. Barber, Nicholas (1998-11-22), "Comedy drama: What's less believable than Dr Who?", ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
30. Moyes, Jojo (2000-12-20), "''Cold Feet'' wedding is watched by 9.1 million", ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
31. Lane, Harriet (2001-11-11), "It's getting a bit chilly out there...", ''The Observer''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
32. Hanks, Robert (2001-11-21), "Television Review", ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
33. BBC News (2001-11-27), "Shafted to return next year". Retrieved on 2007-02-10
34. Wells, Matt (2000-12-27), "Cold Feet over a fifth series of hit show", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
35. Anonymous ''Broadcast Now''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
36. Anonymous (2001-10-15), "Cold Feet too hot to drop", ''The Mail on Sunday''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
37. Cozens, Claire (2003-02-24), "Cold Feet is hot stuff for ITV", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
38. Deans, Jason (2003-03-03) "Cold Feet clocks up ratings win", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
39. BBC News (2003-03-10) "Cold Feet ratings hot up". Retrieved on 2007-02-10
40. Deans, Jason (2003-03-17) "Cold Feet walks away with 10m", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
41. BBC News (2003-03-17) "Record ratings for Cold Feet finale". Retrieved on 2007-02-10
42. Lawson, Mark (2003-02-17) "Mark Lawson on Cold Feet", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
43. Rampton, James (1998-11-14) "Baxendale gets 'Cold Feet'", ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
44. Kermond, Clare (2003-05-29) "Living the dream with Cold Feet", ''The Age''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
45. Kingston, Stephen (1998-11-08) "I'm back ... making love in an Oxfam shop window", ''Sunday Mirror''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
46. Shannon, Sarah (1999-05-18) "Cold Feet is hot favourite in US", ''Evening Standard''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
47. Billen, Andrew (2003-03-24) "Couplings and recouplings", ''New Statesman''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
48. Womack, Sarah (2002-07-12) "The Cold Feet generation has an early mid-life crisis, ''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
49. Ojumu, Akin (2001-12-30) "Hot foot after Cold Feet, Fay leads the way", ''The Observer''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
50. BBC News (2004-03-19) "Blackadder named best TV finale". Retrieved on 2007-02-10
51. Hontz, Jenny (1999-05-17) "NBC to cut the laughs", ''Variety''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
52. Anonymous (1999-09-24) "NBC and GMI to unveil US Cold Feet at Mipcom", ''Broadcast Now''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
53. Adalian, Joseph (1999-11-02) "NBC ices 'Cold Feet'", ''Variety''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
54. Ault, Susanne (2000-02-17) "Sound editors mix in TV noms", ''Variety''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
55. Dempsey, John (2000-11-01) "Cabler Bravo gets 'Cold Feet'", ''Variety''. Retrieved on 2007-03-04
56. Tryhorn, Chris (2005-07-25) "BBC America buys ITV drama", ''Guardian Unlimited''. Retrieved on 2007-03-04
57. Region 2 Out This Week Robert John Shepherd
58. Robinson, Dominic "Dom Robinson reviews Cold Feet Series Five", ''DVD Fever''. Retrieved on 2007-02-10
59. Region 2 Out This Week
60. Cold Feet - UK show starring Helen Baxendale (Friends' 'Emily') now on DVD
61. Cold Feet-Series 1 (Universal) (1998)
62. Region 2 Out This Week
63. Cold Feet-Complete 2nd Series (1999)
64. Region 2 Out This Week
65. Cold Feet - Season 3
66. Cold Feet-Complete 3rd Series (2000)
67. Region 2 Out This Week
68. Cold Feet-Complete 4th Series (2001)
69. Region 2 Out This Week
70. Cold Feet-Complete 5th Series (2002)
71. Region 2 Out This Week
72. Evans, Paul (2001-10-12) "London Toy Fair 2001" ''Pevans''. Retrieved on 2007-03-02

References

External links

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