Married Single Other

A cold, dark, depressing Monday night in February?

You can’t accuse ITV1 schedulers of not giving Married Single Other every chance of success.

Regular readers will know that I’ve interviewed the stars of the new six-part romantic comedy drama, which starts tonight.

Features on Ralf Little and Lucy Davis have already been published.

My chat with Miranda Raison is due to run later in the series.

The comparisons with Cold Feet were inevitable.

Both shows feature three interlinked couples.

With Married Single Other executive producer Andy Harries part of the team who brought us Cold Feet.

Director Declan Lowney also worked on the classic Manchester drama.

I was at the 1998 launch of the first series of Cold Feet and interviewed the cast every year until the final episode was screened in 2003.

Seven years ago, millions of viewers saw Rachel (Helen Baxendale) killed by a lorry as the series neared its close.

When Andy remarked: “By killing a character, you are truly saying: ‘This series is over.’

“Until, of course, in 10 years’ time, when the money’s running a bit short for all of us – and we bring it back.”

Married Single Other is not Cold Feet MK 2.

It’s very much its own series with a darker tone.

I asked Los Angeles-based Lucy about Cold Feet when we met up in London just before Christmas.

“I was a huge fan. I loved Cold Feet and was devastated when it finished,” she told me.

“I did buy the DVDs of Cold Feet and I’ll watch them all again one day.

“There was always one of them that everyone could relate to somehow.

“Mine was Jenny (Fay Ripley). I can’t remember why now but for some reason I felt more like her.

“So if it (MSO) does anywhere near as well, we’ll be very lucky.”

Younger readers will mostly have no idea what this Cold Feet fuss is all about.

But they may know the names of its stars – James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst.

It’s an impossible TV act to follow.

Which is why Married Single Other deserves to be judged on its own merits.

With ITV to be applauded for taking a chance with new TV drama writer Peter Souter.

*Married Single Other begins on ITV1 at 9pm tonight.