COLD FEET 6 ‘I get to do drunk acting’ FACTFILE

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER? MON 14 JAN, 9PM, ITV NEW SERIES As Cold Feet returns for a new series, we catch up with Fay Ripley, 52, whose fun-loving character Jen Gifford gets a shock cancer diagnosis in episode one… I

The Cold Feet gang are all back and dressed in their wedding finery at the start of the new series – but who is about to get married? We’re not saying, but if we tell you Adam spends most of the wedding reception chasing much younger women, you can probably guess it’s not him. The series kicks off with Karen happily single, David still with his millionaire girlfriend and Adam struggling to deal with how getting older is affecting his legendary luck with the laydeez. But Jen is about to get some very bad news that will have an effect on all of her family and best friends…

n episode one we see Jen finding a lump in her breast?

At first, I thought, “Oh God – do we need to see this in Cold Feet?” I wasn’t sure it was the right storyline, because I didn’t want it to be soapy. It wasn’t really hard to do because I haven’t got breast cancer. What was hard was getting it right.

Was it daunting taking on the storyline?

I didn’t need to do any research. Sadly, there was no need as it’s already so much a part of my life. I have really close friends and family who have been and are going through it. I just wanted it to be real in the sense that sometimes it would need to be funny, then scary and sometimes really honest. There’s a fine line between the moments when you are s**t scared and those where you put out the bins.

And Jen doesn’t tell husband Pete [John Thomson] her news?

I haven’t seen that reaction before [on TV]. It’s maybe not the kindest thing for her husband, but she’s struggling – and in a way it’s her going, “I don’t know what to do. Because guess what? I’m making this up as I go along. I’ve never had cancer before…”

What have been your most memorable Cold Feet moments?

The best day I’ve ever had on Cold Feet was the sex in the fridge episode [in 2017]. I didn’t have any lines to learn, I was in a negligée and an uplifting bra – then I messed about with John and a camera crew. I was like, “Yes, this is how I should be earning my living!” That sounds like I’d want to do porno, which isn’t what I’m saying!

Do you have similar sort of pals in real life?

I’m always slagging off my best friends – I can’t stop myself! That’s why they’re there. That’s part and parcel of friendships. I’ve got a really close group of girlfriends. What I like about that Jenny/karen [Hermione Norris] relationship is that best friends do fall out sometimes and they get back together. It’s realistic and it’s not painted as a perfect life.

How do you feel about getting older?

I saw my dad retire too early and it was an interesting lesson. A real inspiration to me is Marji [Campi] who plays my mum, Barbara. She’s the most vibrant person on the set. She’s the last to leave a party and if she hears we’ve been out in Manchester, she’s gutted she wasn’t there. If I can aim towards that, then great.

The gang go to a music festival this series; tell us about that.

It started off in lovely weather and then we had torrential rain. I think they’ve had to CGI out the mud from the bottom of my very bright dress in a couple of scenes. It was good fun though, because I got to do a bit of silly dancing and drunk acting…

Jenny also joins a local choir. Did you get to sing for real?

It is really me singing on screen. I’m not surprised choirs are such a big deal now. The whole experience is very uplifting. Especially if you have someone at the helm who is inspirational.

On the latest series, James Nesbitt says, “It’s very strong. It really seems to have got its mojo back and it’s moving in the right direction.”