Love on the rocks?

Anne Reid and Sir Derek Jacobi are back as Celia and Alan – but is romance still in the air?

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The course of true love never did run smooth and that’s certainly the case for elderly lovebirds Alan and Celia Buttershaw, whose romance has kept us entertained for four series of Last Tango in Halifax.

The story of the childhood sweethearts who rediscover their feelings for each other decades later quickly became a huge hit with viewers, who’ve been begging for writer Sally Wainwright to pen more episodes since the last series aired at Christmas 2016.

Now, after three years away from our screens, the heartwarming drama is back, with Sir Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid, who play Alan and Celia, rejoined by Nicola Walker as Alan’s put-upon daughter Gillian and Sarah Lancashire as Celia’s formidable daughter Caroline.

We chatted to Reid, 84, and Jacobi, 81, to find out what’s in store...

Fans have been longing for the show to come back. Why do you think it’s so popular? Jacobi

I think viewers relate to these characters and these situations. There are no murders, no car chases – it just reflects the sorts of lives we’re all living and the problems we’re having. Reid I know there are very high expectations of