LIFE could have been very different for James Nesbitt has he followed his original career plan and become a teacher.
But thankfully the Co. Antrim actor – who picked up an OBE from the Queen for services to both drama and Northern Ireland in March - chose to channel his talents down a more theatrical path and over the last 30 years has honed his craft to become one of TV’s most recognisable faces.
As the leading man in series such as Murphy’s Law, Munroe and The Missing, it is his role as the twinkly-eyed charmer Adam Williams in Cold Feet that has him firmly back in the spotlight.
The BAFTA-winning comedy drama returned to our screen this week, which as well as Nesbitt’s welcome return, brings another new Irish face to our screens.
Manchester Irish actor Ceallach Spellman is a new addition to the Cold Feet castYoung talent Ceallach Spellman joins the cast to play Matthew - Adam’s teenage son - in the eight-part series now showing on ITV.
The Radio 1 DJ and actor, whose grandparents came from Mayo, is a former pupil of St Bede’s Catholic school in Manchester.
Described by Nesbitt as a brilliant addition, Spellman says he’s thrilled with the part – especially as his mum was a big fan of the original series.
“Cel is a very important part of this new series. He’s brilliant. He gets it," Nesbitt says. "Anyone would be very proud to have him as a son and I’m very proud to have him as a screen son.
"One of the challenges of a new series is to ask, ‘What happens in late-40s, early-50s? Where are our lives? What is past, what is finished with, what is new, what are the potentials?’
"The relationship with your child is a big thing. That was what really excited me about it.
"My own two daughters weren’t born when we filmed the pilot episode of Cold Feet. That’s been the backdrop to my life in the intervening years."
Having won numerous awards for its depiction of friendships, relationships, parenthood and love, Cold Feet first aired in 1997 and introduced audiences to friends Adam and Rachel, Pete and Jenny, Karen and David.
“I never thought we would do it again," says Nesbitt of the show's return, which picks up 10 years on.
"Then I opened the script and thought, ‘Oh my God, there they are.’ Enough time had gone by. Those familiar, yet distant, characters leapt off the page and they still had something to say.
"It was fascinating to see them after that gap of time, where their lives were and where they were going to go. The new dynamics with the children and yet the familiar friendship. So I thought all the ingredients were there to have another crack at it."
Cellach, a life-long Man city fan, jokes that wearing a Manchester United shirt during filming was probably his best bit of actingCeallach Spellman - the new kid on the block
Ceallach Spellman’s mum was always a big Cold Feet fan but it was only when the Manchester Irish actor spoke to people about the show that he realised its legacy.
“Once I was lucky enough to get the role I watched all of the old series,” he says. “Then I watched the last two episodes on a train from Manchester to London and was sat there like a blubbering mess.
"Just facing out the window trying to sort myself out. So I suddenly got what Cold Feet was about, its essence and everything it brought to television and people’s lives.”
The 21-year-old, who plays James Nesbitt’s on screen 15-year-old son Matthew, describes joining the established cast as a daunting experience.
“It was definitely daunting to join the Cold Feet cast. If it wasn’t, there would have been something wrong,” he says.
“I just wanted to make sure I did the best I could do and also not take anything away from what they’ve got. But all of the cast were so welcoming.
"My on screen dad Jimmy has been an absolute dream to work with.
"Apart from the fact he’s a Manchester United fan!”
Born in Salford, Spellman moved to Urmston when he was three – and so is a Manchester City fan at heart.
“In our first weeks we were actually filming at Old Trafford. Having to wear a Manchester United shirt is probably my best bit of acting. Jimmy took great pleasure and delight in those scenes,” he jokes.
“I’m just sorry to my dad and grandad who will be bitterly disappointed when they see that on screen.”
![Pictured: Adam Williams [James Nesbitt], Pete Gifford [John Thomson], Jenny Gifford [Fay Ripley], David Marsden [Robert Bathurst] and Karen Marsden [Hermione Norris].](https://media.irishpost.co.uk/uploads/2016/09/ColdFeet-n.jpg)
The Cold Feet cast reunited James Nesbitt, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris.“Matthew’s got his mum’s genes, good at exams, and his dad’s genes, good at sport,” he says. “My dad is a teacher so he always made sure me and my little brother did our schoolwork. But I’m quite sporty as well.
"I’ve been very lucky in knowing I’ve always wanted to act. I got my first acting role when I was seven. Then my first series - Blue Murder - when I was eight. I played Caroline Quentin’s son.
"My mum and dad saw I loved drama and performing. They were great supporting me at what I wanted to do. Then I got an agent, was lucky enough to keep working and Sylvia Young was the perfect opportunity for me to carry on and do what I wanted to do.”
Currently balancing his TV work with presenting his BBC Radio One show, Spellman says his true passion is acting.
“The presenting is still very new for me,” he says. “It’s only been for the last two or three years. But having done both acting and presenting now, I very much want them both to run alongside each other.
“My love and passion is 100 per cent the acting. That’s what I’ve known since I was seven. But it’s been nice to prove to myself and others that I don’t need to choose one or the other. So hopefully I can keep them both going.”
Cold Feet airs Mondays at 9pm on ITV
