It’s old friends reunited
ACOUPLE of days ago I had a call from my dear friend Richard, who these days lives in Sydney. Richard and I probably speak about twice a year now, if that. So was it a case of: “Hey, how lovely to hear from you! It’s been ages!” or something equally effusive? It was not. That’s never been the way we’ve spoken to one another so why start now? Instead, if I remember rightly, I greeted him with a remark about kippers. Don’t worry, it’s a very old in-joke of ours.
You see, Richard and I have one of those friendships where, no matter how long it’s been, we speak as if we spoke only yesterday.
That’s surely the finest friendship you could ask for, fish-related quips notwithstanding. It’s enormously comforting. Which brings me very neatly (yes it does, don’t argue) to the new series of COLD FEET (ITV, 9pm). Because that’s exactly the way I feel about this show.
Mike Bullen’s comedy-drama is so beautifully written and performed, with such engagingly flawed but essentially likeable characters, that I need no more than a couple of minutes in their company again to feel as though they’ve never been away. A couple of weeks ago I actually spoke to actor John Thomson, who plays the sweet but hapless Pete, and to my surprise he told me they were slightly disappointed with the last series. A “slow-burner” was how he described it. And I thought to myself: “Really? Is he being serious? I loved it.”
I didn’t tell him this, obviously, because it’s important at all times to sound like a proper hard-nosed TV critic, just to keep these people on their toes. But between you and me I think I’ve reached a level of fandom where I’ll happily forgive even an entire lacklustre series
– one where Jen just sits around painting her nails, perhaps, or Adam watches Homes Under The Hammer on loop.
Having said that, I’m delighted to find series eight getting off to a genuinely eventful start. James Nesbitt’s Adam (right), for example, appears to have caught the eye of Gemma, a young barista at his local coffee shop. And, goodness me, it sounds as if the feeling is mutual.
When she spots him perusing a Tinder-like dating site on his mobile, Gemma remarks: “If I was in the market for a 42-year-old with come-to-bed eyes, I’d swipe right…” (Oh, yes, Adam’s been a little less than honest about his age).
Meanwhile, Karen and David (Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst) have very different reactions to the news that son Josh has quit uni. Elsewhere tonight, episode three of ICONS (BBC2, 9pm), finds Chris Packham focusing on four extraordinary scientists: Alan Turing, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Tu Youyou. Needless to say, it’s inspiring stuff. And whatever you may think of its “who’s the greatest?” format, at least this series is helping reinforce the true meaning of the word “iconic”. This in an age where I’ve heard it used to describe everything from a range of mountains to a range of crisps.