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Cold Feet (series 5)
Encyclopedia
The fifth series of the British comedy drama television series Cold Feet
was broadcast on the ITV
network from 23 February to 16 March 2003. This was the final series of the drama and while the number of episodes was halved compared to the previous series, the running time was increased from 46 minutes to 72 minutes per episode, necessitating a 95-minute timeslot. The plot of the series follows three couples: Adam (James Nesbitt
) and Rachel (Helen Baxendale
) getting to grips with bringing up baby Matthew (born in the final episode of the previous series), the return of Pete (John Thomson) and Jo (Kimberley Joseph
) from their honeymoon, and the subsequent breakdown of their marriage, and the divorce proceedings between Karen (Hermione Norris
) and David (Robert Bathurst
).
The producers had originally intended to end the programme in 2001 but pressure for another run meant it came back for one last series. Critics welcomed the decision to end the series and the final episode gained the highest viewing figure in the history of the programme, with 10.7 million people watching Rachel's funeral. Numerous accolades were endowed on the programme (particularly for the final episode, which rated highly in viewer polls) including the prestigious Best Comedy Award at the British Comedy Awards
.
vowed that he would not write a fifth series after the fourth ended so well in 2001, but was persuaded to write it when executive producer Andy Harries
suggested he should kill off a character. James Nesbitt was not keen to return to do another series but Bullen persuaded him to by offering to have Adam's cancer return with fatal consequences (the character had recovered from a testicular cancer
scare in the second series). Despite this, Bullen was unable to make Adam's death funny and, following a meeting with Harries, decided it should be Rachel who died. Harries scheduled a meeting with Helen Baxendale at the Groucho Club
, where they discussed the development. The scenes where Adam talks to Rachel's spirit were inspired by Truly, Madly, Deeply
and Ghost
. Bullen co-wrote the script of episode three with Matt Greenhalgh.
Richard Armitage secured the role of Lee when he arrived at his audition wearing a pair of old boots, something that greatly impressed producer Spencer Campbell
. In order to match the scripted description of his character, Armitage began a heavy workout regimen and took aqua-aerobics lessons to better understand Lee's profession. His first scene was a sex scene with Ramona. Despite leaving the series in 2001, Fay Ripley was persuaded to return to the programme for one last appearance as Jenny in the final episode. To make sure the rest of the cast agreed to return, their salaries were increased to £
75,000 per episode, a 50% increase on their pay for the fourth series (though Joseph earned less).
Episodes one and two were directed by Ciaran Donnelly
, episode three by Simon Delaney
and episode four by Tim Sullivan. Ripley was in the late stages of pregnancy and permitted to work for only a short amount of time, so the fourth episode was filmed before the third. Ripley did not travel to Portmeirion with the rest of the cast, so a make-up artist stood in as Jenny in the beach ad clifftop scenes, wearing the prosthetic stomach originally made for Ripley in the first series. A close-up of Jenny standing next to Jo was filmed in front of a similar backdrop in Manchester and edited into the location footage. The producers endeavoured to film on location once per series but the high cost of the Sydney episode and the rising salaries of the cast meant the budget could not permit travel any further than Portmeirion, a village most famous as the location in The Prisoner
. Rachel's car accident was filmed on location in Moston, Greater Manchester
in the early hours of 6 October 2002. Following the completion of filming, the sets were dismantled and moved to landfill sites.
Robert Bathurst was displeased with the development of David and Robyn's relationship; he told The Times
, "I had a long run-in with the producers. Here was an opportunity for the character to have his first friendship and they used the stock telly drama for friendship of having a shag. I said it's shallow and it's sordid. So they wrote a scene with a self-disgusted David saying 'It's shallow and it's sordid.'"
Mark Russell
composed an extended score for the scenes depicting Rachel's death and its aftermath, using music software to recreate the acoustics of the Cathedral of Chartres
: "We decided what we wanted was quite an elegiac piece of music that becomes more and more emotional so it doesn't reflect the frenzy of the hospital."
reported the original plot of Adam's fatal cancer relapse and Rachel's death in a car accident, though also suggested Karen could die from an alcohol-related accident and that Pete might suffer a heart attack during sex. The Sunday Mirror
quoted Andy Harries as being "undecided" over who would die in a report published in September 2002, though by this time production on the last episodes was well under way.
Critical reviews were favourable and the decision to end the series was welcomed; Paul Hoggart
of The Times
called the formula of the series "less surprising" and audiences had only "residual interest in the characters". Writing in New Statesman
, Andrew Billen compared the appearance of Rachel's ghost to that of Gary Shepherd in thirtysomething, and its inspiration The Big Chill
. Billen was unsurprised when Mark told Karen he was a "child hater" and that Jo married Pete solely to stay in the country, suggesting that viewers had seen the plots coming for a long time. Reviewing for BBC News Online
, Darren Waters wrote that the finale had a "thankful lack of sentimentality", though called the scenes in Portmeirion an "unnecessary coda". The Spectator
' s Simon Hoggart
believed that Baxendale's portrayal of Rachel as a "fraught and snippy woman" was detrimental to the character, causing him to have less sympathy for her and more for Matthew. He praised the strengths and flaws of all the female characters.
Tesco Personal Finance
recorded a 20% increase in calls from people wanting to take out life insurance policies. A spokesman attributed the surge to people watching Rachel's death in a car accident.
The series secured the Best Comedy Drama award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards
and Nesbitt was voted Most Popular Comedy Performer at the National Television Awards
in the same year. Other viewer polls placed Rachel's car crash as "Best Drama Moment" at the BBC's annual "TV Moments" ceremony in 2004 and a poll conducted by cable provider NTL in the same year placed the finale as the fourth best of all time. Adam's speech at Rachel's funeral came 69th in the Channel 4
poll The 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, broadcast in February 2005. In 2008, Rachel's car crash was ranked at number three in Sky One
's 50 Greatest TV Endings.
on 24 March 2003. The four 72-minute episodes were reconfigured into six quasi-episodes of varying lengths, which were rated by the British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC) on 17 March 2003; episode "1" was rated 15, episodes "2", "4" and "6" as 12, and episodes "3" and "5" as PG. The series was re-released in new packaging by Granada Media on 20 March 2006. A DVD of the final episode was made available in 2005 in a joint promotional venture between The Sun
and Woolworths
.
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
was broadcast on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network from 23 February to 16 March 2003. This was the final series of the drama and while the number of episodes was halved compared to the previous series, the running time was increased from 46 minutes to 72 minutes per episode, necessitating a 95-minute timeslot. The plot of the series follows three couples: Adam (James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
) and Rachel (Helen Baxendale
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
) getting to grips with bringing up baby Matthew (born in the final episode of the previous series), the return of Pete (John Thomson) and Jo (Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
) from their honeymoon, and the subsequent breakdown of their marriage, and the divorce proceedings between Karen (Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress.Norris attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet...
) and David (Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
).
The producers had originally intended to end the programme in 2001 but pressure for another run meant it came back for one last series. Critics welcomed the decision to end the series and the final episode gained the highest viewing figure in the history of the programme, with 10.7 million people watching Rachel's funeral. Numerous accolades were endowed on the programme (particularly for the final episode, which rated highly in viewer polls) including the prestigious Best Comedy Award at the British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
.
Episodes
| # | Episode | Writer(s) | Director | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Production
Mike BullenMike Bullen
Mike Bullen is an English-born screenwriter. Bullen grew up in the West Midlands of England, attending the Solihull School and later Magdalene College, Cambridge. He left with a degree in history of art and became a radio producer for the BBC World Service...
vowed that he would not write a fifth series after the fourth ended so well in 2001, but was persuaded to write it when executive producer Andy Harries
Andy Harries
Andrew D. M. Harries is a British television and film producer. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television current affairs series World in Action, before moving on to freelance work...
suggested he should kill off a character. James Nesbitt was not keen to return to do another series but Bullen persuaded him to by offering to have Adam's cancer return with fatal consequences (the character had recovered from a testicular cancer
Testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...
scare in the second series). Despite this, Bullen was unable to make Adam's death funny and, following a meeting with Harries, decided it should be Rachel who died. Harries scheduled a meeting with Helen Baxendale at the Groucho Club
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a well-known private social club located at Dean Street in Soho, London. Its members are mostly drawn from the media, entertainment, arts and fashion industries....
, where they discussed the development. The scenes where Adam talks to Rachel's spirit were inspired by Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 film made for the BBC's Screen Two series.-Overview:The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Minghella said he wrote the script specifically as “a vehicle for [Stevenson] to express all her talents...
and Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
. Bullen co-wrote the script of episode three with Matt Greenhalgh.
Spencer Campbell
Spencer Campbell is an English television producer.- Career :Campbell's early credits include working as a researcher in the early 1980s on the Granada Television television magazine Chalkface...
. In order to match the scripted description of his character, Armitage began a heavy workout regimen and took aqua-aerobics lessons to better understand Lee's profession. His first scene was a sex scene with Ramona. Despite leaving the series in 2001, Fay Ripley was persuaded to return to the programme for one last appearance as Jenny in the final episode. To make sure the rest of the cast agreed to return, their salaries were increased to £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
75,000 per episode, a 50% increase on their pay for the fourth series (though Joseph earned less).
Episodes one and two were directed by Ciaran Donnelly
Ciaran Donnelly (director)
Ciaran Donnelly is an Irish film and television director. His works include four episodes of the ITV comedy drama series Cold Feet , the crime drama series Donovan and the BBC One drama Spooks...
, episode three by Simon Delaney
Simon Delaney
Simon Delaney is an Irish television and theatre director, whose works include the RTE series Bachelors Walk as one of three bachelors living together in a flat on the quays in Dublin....
and episode four by Tim Sullivan. Ripley was in the late stages of pregnancy and permitted to work for only a short amount of time, so the fourth episode was filmed before the third. Ripley did not travel to Portmeirion with the rest of the cast, so a make-up artist stood in as Jenny in the beach ad clifftop scenes, wearing the prosthetic stomach originally made for Ripley in the first series. A close-up of Jenny standing next to Jo was filmed in front of a similar backdrop in Manchester and edited into the location footage. The producers endeavoured to film on location once per series but the high cost of the Sydney episode and the rising salaries of the cast meant the budget could not permit travel any further than Portmeirion, a village most famous as the location in The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
. Rachel's car accident was filmed on location in Moston, Greater Manchester
Moston, Greater Manchester
Moston is a district of Manchester, in North West England, approximately 3 miles north east of the city centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, Moston is a predominantly residential area, with a population of about 12,500 and covering approximately .-History:The name Moston may derive...
in the early hours of 6 October 2002. Following the completion of filming, the sets were dismantled and moved to landfill sites.
Robert Bathurst was displeased with the development of David and Robyn's relationship; he told The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, "I had a long run-in with the producers. Here was an opportunity for the character to have his first friendship and they used the stock telly drama for friendship of having a shag. I said it's shallow and it's sordid. So they wrote a scene with a self-disgusted David saying 'It's shallow and it's sordid.'"
Mark Russell
Mark Russell (composer)
Mark Russell is a British composer whose works include music for the television series Cold Feet, Murder City and Kingdom. He presented Mixing It on BBC Radio 3 from 1990 to 2007, when the programme ended...
composed an extended score for the scenes depicting Rachel's death and its aftermath, using music software to recreate the acoustics of the Cathedral of Chartres
Cathedral of Chartres
The French medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French High Gothic style...
: "We decided what we wanted was quite an elegiac piece of music that becomes more and more emotional so it doesn't reflect the frenzy of the hospital."
Broadcast
The four episodes were broadcast in a Sunday night timeslot from 9 p.m. to 10.35 p.m.Reception
The first and second episodes each secured overnights of 8 million, with the first taking a 33% audience share. Ratings grew as the series progressed; episode three scored 9.4 million viewers and the finale drew 10.2 million, with a 42% share. Final figures took it to 10.7 million, making it the eighth most-watched drama and 15th most-watched terrestrial programme of 2003. During production of the series, tabloid newspapers published stories that four funeral scenes had been filmed and a final decision on which would air would be made close to the broadcast; The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
reported the original plot of Adam's fatal cancer relapse and Rachel's death in a car accident, though also suggested Karen could die from an alcohol-related accident and that Pete might suffer a heart attack during sex. The Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
quoted Andy Harries as being "undecided" over who would die in a report published in September 2002, though by this time production on the last episodes was well under way.
Critical reviews were favourable and the decision to end the series was welcomed; Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart is an English television critic and columnist. He is the youngest son of Richard Hoggart and brother of political journalist Simon Hoggart. His sister, Nicola, is a teacher.-Early life and Career:...
of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called the formula of the series "less surprising" and audiences had only "residual interest in the characters". Writing in New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, Andrew Billen compared the appearance of Rachel's ghost to that of Gary Shepherd in thirtysomething, and its inspiration The Big Chill
The Big Chill (film)
The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. It is about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite briefly after 15 years due to...
. Billen was unsurprised when Mark told Karen he was a "child hater" and that Jo married Pete solely to stay in the country, suggesting that viewers had seen the plots coming for a long time. Reviewing for BBC News Online
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
, Darren Waters wrote that the finale had a "thankful lack of sentimentality", though called the scenes in Portmeirion an "unnecessary coda". The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
Simon Hoggart
Simon David Hoggart is an English journalist and broadcaster. He writes on politics for The Guardian, and on wine for The Spectator. Until 2006 he presented The News Quiz on Radio 4...
believed that Baxendale's portrayal of Rachel as a "fraught and snippy woman" was detrimental to the character, causing him to have less sympathy for her and more for Matthew. He praised the strengths and flaws of all the female characters.
Tesco Personal Finance
Tesco Personal Finance
Tesco Bank is the trading name of Tesco Personal Finance plc, a telephone and internet based commercial bank in the United Kingdom owned by Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket. Until 2008 it was a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the UK's largest banks and...
recorded a 20% increase in calls from people wanting to take out life insurance policies. A spokesman attributed the surge to people watching Rachel's death in a car accident.
The series secured the Best Comedy Drama award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
and Nesbitt was voted Most Popular Comedy Performer at the National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
in the same year. Other viewer polls placed Rachel's car crash as "Best Drama Moment" at the BBC's annual "TV Moments" ceremony in 2004 and a poll conducted by cable provider NTL in the same year placed the finale as the fourth best of all time. Adam's speech at Rachel's funeral came 69th in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
poll The 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, broadcast in February 2005. In 2008, Rachel's car crash was ranked at number three in Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
's 50 Greatest TV Endings.
Home media
Video Collection International (VCI) released Cold Feet: The Complete 5th Series on region 2 DVDDVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
on 24 March 2003. The four 72-minute episodes were reconfigured into six quasi-episodes of varying lengths, which were rated by the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC) on 17 March 2003; episode "1" was rated 15, episodes "2", "4" and "6" as 12, and episodes "3" and "5" as PG. The series was re-released in new packaging by Granada Media on 20 March 2006. A DVD of the final episode was made available in 2005 in a joint promotional venture between The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
.