'It's like they've never been away!': Twitter goes wild for the triumphant return of Cold Feet as the beloved drama returns after 13 years

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There were more than a few questions left unanswered when Cold Feet finished 13 years ago.

And it certainly didn't disappoint on Monday night when the beloved show - which first began in 1997 - returned for a sixth series.

Flocking to Twitter in their droves as the show returned to ITV, fans declared it was like seeing a group of old friends again, admitting 'It's like they've never been away'.

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'It's like they've never been away!': Cold Feet certainly didn't disappoint on Monday night when the beloved show returned for a sixth series after 13 years 

As James Nesbitt, Robert Bathurst, Fay Ripley, Karen David, James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris and John Thomson made their return fans couldn't contain their joy.

Taking to social media in their droves, fans of the rom-com drama made the show the top trending topic in the UK - beating the Bridget Jones movie premiere.

One fan, Richard Hughes, summed up the mood, writing: 'Loved cold feet, the characters dropped straight back into how they were. It's like they've never been away, so glad it's back #cold feet.' 

Another said: 'Watching #ColdFeet was like being reacquainted with an old friend after 19 years, where everything is easy & nicely fits back into place.' 

'So glad': Fans flocked to Twitter in their droves as the show rolled on - driving it to the top of UK trends list

They miss them: Fans declared it was like seeing a group of old friends again, admitting 'It's like they've never been away'

Thank goodness: Many were worried that it would ruin their memories of the drama, but it was agreed that the comeback did not disappoint

The nostalgia had others gripped, saying: 'Cold feet - what a great reunion. Nostalgia done right ❤️ #ColdFeet'

'What's the verdict on new #ColdFeet? I felt it was like putting on a comfy pair of slippers,' another added. 

As episode one of Cold Feet saw the gang reunited when Adam (Nesbitt) announced his impending marriage to Angela (Karen David), fans couldn't believe how good it was to have the gang back.

Another fan, @nigelbywater, wrote: 'Cold Feet: My Monday's are complete. Perfect drama.'

'Absolutely loved cold feet!' Exclaimed @jillbaxendale, with the fan adding: 'A massive well done to all the amazing actors, crew & itv! It's like you've never been away!' 

They're back! As James Nesbitt, Robert Bathurst, Fay Ripley, Karen David, James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris and John Thomson made their return fans cried out in delight

'Perfect': One fan, @nigelbywater, wrote: 'Cold Feet: My Monday's are complete. Perfect drama.'

'Absolutely loved cold feet!': @jillbaxendale chirped: 'A massive well done to all the amazing actors, crew & itv! It's like you've never been away!'

And indeed it appeared that Adam's return to England - and many a life problem - ticked all the boxes with the programmes loyal fan base.

@SamWhite1978 declared: 'That didn't disappoint. Can't wait for the next #ColdFeet Brilliant to have it back on our screens @ITV [sic].'

Others were delighted that the return brought both old and new stars to the mix, with @joanneos writing: 'I love Cold Feet, so happy it's back on! Even better with @jackharper_98 in it.'

'That didn't disappoint': it appeared that Adam's return to England - and many a life problem - ticked all the boxes with the programmes loyal fan base

Loving it! Others were delighted that the return brought both old and new stars to the mix

And it seems that the world of showbiz was sitting down and tuning in too, as Nathan Sykes of The Wanted praised the production. 

The pop star tweeted with anticipation: 'Just sitting down to watch brand new #ColdFeet starring my little bro @celspellman!!'

There was one character notably missing though - 'Just caught up with last nights #ColdFeet wow! Good to see the gang back together. Who else miss Rachel?'

Fans will remember that Helen Braxdale's character died in a road crash in the fifth series of the show so, unlike the others, she was not back for the new series. 

And indeed 21-year-old Cel, who plays Adam's 15-year-old son Matthew was an instant fan favourite.

A new star on the rise? Cel Spleeman, who plays Adam's 15-year-old son Matthew was an instant fan favourite

Famous fans: And it seems that the world of showbiz was sitting down and tuning in too, as Nathan Sykes of The Wanted praised the production

There were high expectations for the show and most were hoping that it wouldn't ruin their fond memories of the show, but most agreed that it didn't disappoint.

One said: 'Thank goodness #ColdFeet didn't disappoint , loved every moment and still have a big crush on #JamesNesbitt' 

'Welcome back #ColdFeet. Been watching the old series online at #ITV to get back in the mood and last night didn't disappoint. Welcome back!' 

'I was sceptical but #ColdFeet was blooming marvellous.'   

Being a wet September day, the reunion brought some brightness to a Monday for most.

'#coldfeet has put a spring in my step for the start of the week. Roll on Mondays! Nice one @itvcoldfeet,' said one fan.

He's still the same Adam! The premiere saw Adam returning to Manchester after years of working abroad, planning a wedding

'Loved #ColdFeet last night, that's what you call proper tv!'  

The premiere saw Adam returning to Manchester after years of working abroad, planning a wedding.

He hoped to chivvy his friends together to attend his wedding but not everyone was as excited as he was.

Though as the bride arrived, Karen (Hermione Norris) took Adam aside to tell him his son, Matt (Cel Spellman), had turned up on her doorstep and things at school were much worse than they all thought. The message being Matt needs his dad.

But as usual Adam went the other way and uttered the words 'I do', though he looked to immediately regret. 

What we've been waiting for: Fans have clamoured for a reunion since the final episode was broadcast following Rachel's death, when Adam started to bring up their son on his own

The Manchester-based series ran for five series between 1997 and 2003, with more than 10 million viewers tuning in for the emotional finale. 

His first marriage ended in tragedy when his wife Rachel - portrayed by Friends actress Helen - passed away.

The Bafta-winning show, which was created by Mike Bullen, has been broadcast in more than 30 countries, and remade for US, Italian, Czech Republic and Polish audiences.

The series started in 1997 with couples Adam and Rachel, Pete and Jenny, and Karen and David.

Fans have clamoured for a reunion since the final episode was broadcast following Rachel's death, when Adam started to bring up their son on his own. 

Cold Feet was the best of the recent TV revivals but would have been even better without James Nesbitt as the star of the show, by Jim Shelley

Cold Feet didn’t start well.

It began its first episode for thirteen years with the sight of James Nesbitt as Adam, returning to Manchester from Singapore looking more smug than ever.

This was despite the fact that he had never looked more ridiculous thanks to the new head of hair he appeared to have had sprayed on, making him resemble a haggard human Action Man.

Whether the star of the show was meant to be such an unbearably self-centred twerp or Nesbitt just made him seem that way was hard to say. Probably both.

Adam had flown home to tell his old gang of friends that 14 years after the death of his beloved wife Rachel and a decade of playing the field, he was getting married – to Andrea Zubayr, a beautiful bio-medical engineer who he had met only six months ago, whose father was worth £300million, and who was 18 years younger than him. Hey it could happen...

Well we were asked to believe it could, presumably on the grounds Adam was so irresistibly charming. To be honest, what Andrea saw in him was hard to say.

Admittedly the other characters (David, Karen, Pete, and Jenny) were still in his thrall even after all these years and despite him living abroad.

‘The last 14 years I’ve lived all over the world: Hong Kong, Dubai, Seattle, now here in Singapore,’ we saw him telling some poor stranger/commuter on the bus. ‘Sounds glamorous eh? But the exotic becomes the mundane, the adventure the daily grind. I want a life where the novelty never wears off.’

‘Why do I always get the nutter?’ the woman muttered.

The Mancunian who rented Adam her flat on Airbnb had formed an equally low opinion, declaring he sounded like ‘a banker-w*nker’ and ‘a bit of a tosser.’

‘Please find attached my itinerary,’ she quoted. ‘Who speaks like that?’

Who indeed?

Then there was the way Adam treated his son, sticking him in boarding school while he jetted off round the world.

He hadn’t even told Matthew he was getting married, choosing to introduce him to Andrea on the touchline while Matthew was playing rugby at school.

No wonder the boy insisted he wouldn’t be attending because he was performing as Bill Sykes’ girlfriend Nancy in the school play. (It was a boys’ school.)

‘It’s a good part. I get to die,’ he argued.

‘It’s my wedding! It’s a big thing for me!’ protested Adam.

‘Well it isn’t for me!’

When his son stormed off, Adam threatened to stop paying the school fees.

Very mature...

Luckily this was all balanced out because we were meant to feel sorry for him – because he was still traumatised by the death of his first wife Rachel at the end of the fifth series.

He had panic attacks when he heard the name ‘Rachel’ or thought he saw her face and seemed to crowbar her and her demise into the conversation in a manner that was almost creepy.

‘I was just thinking about my first wife...’ Adam mentioned to his landlady, who he had only just met.

‘Do you know what they all had in common?’ he explained of his previous girlfriends. ‘None of them were Rachel. None of them came close. But Angela... You’ll see when you meet her. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. But while it does I’ll feel alive and after Rachel I never thought I would again.’

‘Can you just move on!’ you felt like saying but he was obsessed.

‘I wish your mum could see you now,’ Adam told Matthew later, when they had mysteriously bonded after all. ‘I think of her every day you know - still miss her. She was magnificent.’

The others couldn’t forget Rachel either.

‘Every time I see you I see your mum!’ Karen gushed to Rachel and Adam’s son Matthew – a greeting guaranteed to make any teenage boy uncomfortable or upset.

Karen even went as far as objecting to the wedding: ‘Don’t you think Rachel would want us to say something?’

‘You know deep inside that Rachel wouldn’t give this marriage her blessing,’ Jenny concurred.

Yes inevitably (understandably) David (Robert Bathhurst), Karen (Hermione Norris), Pete (John Thomson), and Jenny (Fay Ripley) had their doubts about Adam marrying Angela.

‘He is making a terrible mistake and he knows it,’ Jenny said, several times.

Eventually outside the church before he was about to get married, even Adam asked Pete: ‘do you think Jenny might be right - that my sub-conscious knows that the wedding is wrong?’

Make your mind up...

It was a shame the plot was all about Adam and James Nesbitt, even though he was clearly the main character and now the biggest actor.

The others were so much warmer and more human Cold Feet could not only have returned without Adam but arguably have been better.

Thompson and Ripley were particularly convincing as Pete and Jenny – the couple who had hit on such hard times when he had been laid off that he had two jobs just to get by.

David and Karen were divorced and more successful but their lives were appealingly empty – the most obvious symbols of where the ‘30 Something’ generation of the 90s and the Blair era was now.

‘I am not happy,’ announced David dolefully. ‘I have moments but that’s all they are. Little fleeting glimpses. Maybe in middle age that’s the most we can hope for.’

‘I miss my future being ahead of me,’ sighed Pete feeling washed up at 50.

‘I miss...Karen,’ David returned.

‘Great stag do !’ cried Adam with a hollow cheer, turning attention back to himself.

Even the way the first of the eight episodes ended up with great pathos made him seem weak. We learnt that Matthew had tearfully confided in Karen he was about to be expelled from school for smoking weed and was being bullied.

‘I don’t have any friends. I don’t fit in. I never have. I’ve always hated it!’ he cried.

Karen chose to tell Adam just as he was about to get married, dragging him outside and informing him his son was ‘miserable. He’s a lost soul. Your son desperately needs his dad.’

Earlier, during one of his improbably emotive speeches, Adam had told his son: ‘My greatest regret is you’ve never known what it is to have a family – not properly. I know it can’t be the same but when you come to stay with us in Singapore I want you to feel like you’re coming home.’

A bit difficult as he’d never been there but still..

Now Adam seemed to realise where his real responsibilities lay and as he stood at the altar he spun into such a daze of indecision (choosing between Andrea and Matthew) that he missed the moment he had actually got married anyway.

Maybe this was really why we found the characters in Cold Feet so compelling that we had wanted to see them again after all this time.

Not because we liked them so much but because they were so awful.

A wave of warmth at seeing old friends 13 years on: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews the relaunch of Cold Feet, says Christopher Stevens   

Rating:

Some things don’t change. It’s been 13 years, but Pete still hero-worships Adam. Clever Karen is still too nice for her own good. And Cold Feet (ITV) – back for an eight-part relaunch – is still the best in its class, a silly romantic comedy that’s shot through with pain and grief.

American TV has been excelling at these lightweight, ensemble dramas for years, ever since Thirtysomething in the Eighties, but Mike Bullen’s show set in Manchester and debuting in 1997 was the first time that British television got the format just right.

Moving on: James Nesbitt as Adam with his younger fiancee Angela in Cold Feet

Reunited: The cast of Cold Feet back for a new eight-part series on ITV, launching tonight

Largely that’s due to perfect casting. Charmer Adam is a selfish pain-in-the-bottom, and James Nesbitt still plays him as though he doesn’t even have to act.

Bumbling Pete forever expects and accepts the worst, rather like actor John Thomson, the forgotten man of The Fast Show, who admits he was on his way to audition for panto when he heard Cold Feet was coming back.

Posh Hermione Norris is utterly believable as supercilious, soft-hearted Karen, while her ex David is played by Robert Bathurst, a man so born for dimwit aristo roles that even his name sounds like a stately home.

Then there’s Fay Ripley, who has been playing hospital matrons and police inspectors since leaving Cold Feet in 2001 – just the sort of competent, bossy jobs you’d expect her character Jenny to do.

They’re all older, of course, and mostly in their fifties now, but not so very different.

Their children, on the other hand, are unrecognisable – the toddlers of the original series are teens now, smoking dope and fancying each other at weddings.

Old friends: From left to right, Robert Bathurst, Hermoine Norris, James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson and Faye Ripley, in the original series three of Cold Feet

The ageing process gives Bullen a chance to weave a melancholic thread through the narrative, which had widower Adam returning from Singapore with a fiancee who’s 18 years his junior. Over cheap lager and prawn balls on his stag night, the self-styled ‘Three Amigos’, the elderly lads of Cold Feet, reflected glumly on their mid-life disappointments.

‘I’m not happy,’ David confessed. ‘I have little fleeting moments ... maybe in middle age that’s the best we can hope for.’ One of the great pleasures of being fiftysomething, of course, is feeling sorry for yourself. It’s so much less exhausting than being cheerful. But the story didn’t stay downbeat for long.

There were typical bursts of knockabout comedy, like the moment when Adam, in the minicab he has borrowed from taxi driver Pete, is mistaken for a cabbie. His fare, naturally, turns out to be his new landlady, who lives across the hall – Adam might be engaged, but he can never be surrounded by too many smitten women.

Growing up: Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst in Cold Feet

The plot sometimes strayed into sheer fantasy. Angela (Karen David) was the daughter of an Asian billionaire, a Muslim businessman who seemed entirely happy to see his daughter, and her fortune, spliced to an English ne’er-do-well almost twice her age.

He didn’t even object when the ceremony was hurriedly held in a half-empty church with none of his own family or associates there. Who knew Far East oligarchs were so laid back?

This kind of whimsy was a trait of the original show, but it feels naive now – perhaps because lost innocence is one of the debits of ageing. We ceased long ago to believe in Father Christmas and Asian billionaires.

That’s easy to overlook, however. Cold Feet is a show to be enjoyed for the emotions it evokes: the over-riding one was a wave of warmth at meeting old friends, people we thought we’d never see again. And that’s what middle age feels like.