Heart To Heart - 'Why Every Moment Counts'

With the new series of Cold Feet just started, actress Hermione Norris reveals how one of the storylines was very close to home

- Alison James

It may be billed as a comedy drama, but Cold Feet has never shied away from confronting life’s downs as well as ups. Over eight series, we’ve seen the characters dealing with bereavement, infidelity and marriage break-ups, depression, money worries, family problems and serious illness. In this latest series, it is Jenny Gifford, played by Fay Ripley, who is having to face the fact that she may have breast cancer. And it is to Hermione’s character Karen to whom she turns in her hour of need.

“It is a very emotional storyline about something we have all been affected by,” actress Hermione Norris tells Yours. “I had a cancer scare a while back. I found a lump. When it turned out to be nothing to worry about, I had the obvious reaction of thinking, ‘Thank goodness’ but I was also very aware that for some of the other women in the hospital room, it would not have been a positive outcome. I love Fay and I love her character, Jenny, so to see them in this situation was very upsetting – even though it’s clearly not real life.”

That health scare is just one of the reasons why Hermione makes every moment count and why she loves Cold Feet. She says: “It speaks to the audience and people can relate, very deeply, to the characters and storylines.”