Hopes for Cold Feet reunion heat up as Jimmy Nesbitt now set to reprise role that shot him to fame

James Nesbitt with the other cast members (from left) Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Robert Bathurst, Hermione Norris and Helen Baxendale

James Nesbitt as Adam says farewell to on-screen wife Rachel after her car is hit by a lorry

James Nesbitt in the leading role as hapless Adam

thumbnail: James Nesbitt with the other cast members (from left) Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Robert Bathurst, Hermione Norris and Helen Baxendale
thumbnail: James Nesbitt as Adam says farewell to on-screen wife Rachel after her car is hit by a lorry
thumbnail: James Nesbitt in the leading role as hapless Adam
By Rebecca Black

It was the show that made him, and now one of our Hollywood movie stars could be set to slip back into his role as lovable rogue Adam for a brand new series of Nineties ITV hit Cold Feet.

Jimmy Nesbitt had been a struggling actor in London until he landed a part in the show, which started in 1998 and quickly established itself as a must-watch.

As the UK's answer to the American smash hit Friends, Cold Feet followed six pals living the city life in Manchester.

Jimmy's character's romance with Helen Baxendale's Rachel captured hearts across the nation with such memorable scenes as him serenading her while clenching a rose in his backside.

His character had not been written as an Ulster man but Jimmy quickly made the role his own and is believed to have been driven to do so to portray an ordinary man from Northern Ireland with no connections to the Troubles.

Cold Feet was award-winning from the start, scooping the Golden Rose of Montreux and a British Comedy Award for Best ITV comedy in its first year. Jimmy himself scooped Best TV Comedy Actor in 2000 for his performance among a host of other gongs.

It was also one of the first major shows to film in Northern Ireland when, during the third series, the actors travelled to Belfast and Portrush to record scenes for Adam's stag weekend. Scenes were even understood to have been filmed in our famous Barry's Amusements, but did not make the final cut.

Viewers across the UK watched enthralled as Jimmy's character battled testicular cancer in scenes that affected the Broughshane man so much that he went on to become a patron of the charity Action Cancer.

They were then left heartbroken when, during the fifth series, producers killed off Adam's beloved wife Rachel.

Now it has been reported that Cold Feet could be set for a comeback, more than 12 years after the final episode aired. The Sun has reported that ITV has secured the core cast - including Nesbitt and Hermione Norris - to return for a new series.

It is expected to fill ITV's flagship Sunday 9pm slot, which will be left empty when Downton Abbey finishes later this year.

A television insider said that a Cold Feet comeback has been discussed for around five years, but many believed it could not be pulled off because of how big some of the actors who starred in it have become.

Filming is expected to start early next year with a new season pencilled in to hit our screens next Spring.

ITV has not confirmed the news yet, but said that there has been major interest in a Cold Feet reunion.

After the show, Nesbitt went on to star in Waking Ned, television film Bloody Sunday, hit TV series Murphy's Law and Five Minutes Of Heaven alongside Liam Neeson, while one of his biggest roles to date was as Bofur in Peter Jackson's three-part film adaptation of The Hobbit.

Norris secured a role as spy Ros Myers in the hit series Spooks, and Robert Bathurst has since starred in Downton Abbey and Wild At Heart.