television series Thirtysomething and the film When Harry Met Sally...; the stories were funny and dramatic but neither aspect was "ghettoised". Believing that there was little television aimed at people like them, Bullen and Langan discussed their own lives and friends, using personal experiences to create the characters: Adam was based on Bullen before he met his wife and Rachel was based on a combination of his ex-girlfriends and "the fantasy girlfriend". When writing his first draft, Bullen realised that telling the same story from both sides of the relationship would mean repeating something that the audience had already seen. To rectify this he introduced the fantasy scenes and the idea of the characters reporting events in a slightly different way to what really happened. Adam and Rachel were originally Londoners living in Chelsea. Langan proposed moving the setting to Manchester to keep production costs down by using Granada's existing studios based in the city. Harries, who wanted a series to be commissioned by ITV, agreed, believing it would make the show more accessible to viewers. Another requirement for a series was the number of potential storylines; Adam and Rachel's plot was self-contained. Harries told Bullen to expand the four supporting characters' roles, so Bullen "tacked on" their storylines. The script went through up to seven drafts before being filmed. Langan interviewed several directors before hiring Father Ted director Declan Lowney. Lowney initially rejected the script, believing the characters to be very smug. After re-reading it, he met Langan backstage after a Father Ted taping, where he compared the story to The Big Chill. Both producer and director "clicked" and Lowney joined the production team. Casting After commissioning the pilot, ITV Network Centre did not dictate to the producers who should be cast. John Thomson, a comedian known for his work with Steve Coogan, was the first to be cast. He had played Rick, a minor character in The Perfect Match, a role Bullen describes as "proto-Pete". Bullen was impressed by Thomson's natural comedy and Langan asked him to write a role for him to play in Cold Feet. Thomson accepted the role because he did not want to be known forever for playing "Fat Bob", the sidekick of Coogan's Paul Calf in a series of sketches. Lowney had been introduced to James Nesbitt through a mutual friend. He brought him in to audition for the part of Adam after