The episode was conceived by Mike Bullen and '' Cold Feet '' s executive producer Andy Harries in 2000 . Both attended a television conference in Sydney and decided to contrive the main plot of the fourth series so the characters would end up in Australia . Helen Baxendale was pregnant and could not fly to Australia , so all scenes featuring Rachel were filmed in Manchester and Salford , England . After location scouting and casting around the Sydney area in May and July , production in Australia ran for 18 days in October 2001 . Locations used included a heritage home in Vaucluse for the wedding scenes , Palm Beach for a beach barbecue scene , and outside the Opera House . The episode was watched by nearly nine million people on its original UK broadcast and received a mixed reaction from newspaper critics ; some believed the trip to Sydney was an unnecessary jaunt for the cast and crew , others selected the episode as a " pick of the day " . It also received mixed reviews in Australia and New Zealand . Kimberley Joseph 's performance was praised , as was Gary Sweet 's guest role . The episode represented the series when it won the award for Best Drama Series at the British Academy Television Awards 2002
British Academy Television Awards 2002
British Academy Television Awards 2002
Series 4, Episode 8 (Cold Feet)