Cold Feet is back to its best, and I can’t wait for it to return
‘Ido.’ They were the first words of Adam (James Nesbitt) in this current series of Cold Feet (ITV) and proved to be his last too. Neither were wedding vows, the big tease, but it was a satisfyingly circular piece of writing from creator Mike Bullen. This run of Bullen’s Manchesterset saga has represented a surprise return to form – so much so that for the past month, Cold Feet has been the best home-grown drama on air. The sixth and final episode continued that hot streak, striking the balance between rollercoaster romcom and upmarket soap.
The secret affair between Adam and longtime friend Karen (Hermione Norris) came out into the open and, it’s fair to say, went down badly. Friends and families were disproportionately furious, although Karen’s daughter Ellie (Sylvie Briggs) was a rare voice of reason: “Good luck to you, I say. You’re both single and could do a lot worse.” Still, they reluctantly agreed to press pause on their fledgling relationship.
Meanwhile, with a public-spirited new perspective on life after his brush with homelessness, David (Robert Bathurst) became a modernday Robin Hood, with BLTS and lattés replacing bows and arrows.
Cold Feet is at its best when it offsets the comedy with tragedy and this week’s heart-tugging twist was the death of Charlie (Ivanno Jeremiah), chemotherapy buddy of Jen (Fay Ripley). This lent poignancy to the climactic concert by her cancer sufferers’ choir. Jens eyes brimmed with tears as they crooned Stop Crying Your Heart Out by Oasis and Happy Together by The Turtles. I’ll wager many viewers got a sudden attack of the sniffles as well.
Realising that life was short and happiness precious, Jen gave Karen and Adam her blessing. They duly held hands and whispered sweet nothings – by the look on his face, X-rated ones.
It was all left tantalisingly poised for the next series. Midlife love and mixing two families is ripe with dramatic possibility, while there’s also the matter of Jen’s breast cancer to explore further. And did we detect a spark between David and café owner Mary (Michelle Holmes)?
This was mainstream drama, compellingly plotted, convincingly performed and stylishly delivered. Cold Feet has got its groove back. As Adam said, I do (want to see what happens next).
Like a satchel-sized version of the long-running Up series, Growing Up Gifted (BBC Two) is a continuing documentary project following six academically talented teenagers from low-income families to see what it takes to break the class ceiling.
It debuted last year and now cameras revisited to check on their progress. First up were the three boys – a veritable riot of hormones, Clearasil and school blazers – now in Year 10 and a step closer to their crucial GCSE exams.
Budding musician Jamarley faced pressure both at home, where power cuts meant he had no light by which to study, and on the London streets, where there was territorial “beef ” with a rival school. When he took GCSE Music a year early and achieved a top grade, his single mother was jubilant. “No daddy here, but I’m still rocking it,” she joked. Jamarley replied: “I love you, Mum, but stop being annoying”. “That’s my job,” she shrugged.
In Hartlepool, unconventional Kian had been bullied due to what his father referred to as “the swot factor” – except this swot talked back to his bullies. In a new school, Kian aimed to confound people’s assumptions by campaigning to be Head Boy.
Most affectingly of all, aspiring doctor Liam got an appetite-whetting tour of Cambridge University (“It’s like Harry Potter!”) but back home in Newcastle, personal struggles jeopardised his studies. With an absent father, Liam’s grandfather was his male role model and Liam was terrified about coming out to him as gay. He need not have worried. “It doesn’t make you a different person,” said his grandad wisely. “I’m still proud of you. Anyway, the gay bars in town are the best ones to go to.”
I’m a former comprehensive school pupil and council estate resident who was the first in my family to go to university, so many of the issues struck a chord. Yet you didn’t need to relate to these youngsters to be rooting for them. Filmed with unobtrusive sensitivity, Growing Up Gifted was a powerful insight into both teenage life and social mobility.