Cold Feet's Fay Ripley reveals heartbreaking reason she struggled with her character's cancer storyline

Viewers tuning in to Cold Feet recently have been met with difficult scenes, as Fay Ripley's character Jenny has been battling through a terrifying health storyline.

In the last episode of the show, Jenny was given the devastating news that she had breast cancer.

Viewers watched on as Jenny was told by her doctor, "your test results are highly suspicious, and indicative of cancer."

Cold Feet

She was later joined by a fellow patient, who sat with her in her car while she broke down in tears, attempting to process the news.

And on yesterday's episode of This Morning, actress Faye revealed that sadly, those heartbreaking scenes weren't entirely acting for her.

She confessed to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that she actually filmed the episodes whilst her father was dying - meaning the plot was very close to home. She went on to share that her dad actually passed away not long after the scenes were recorded.

Fay confessed, "It was a difficult time. My father was in hospital himself and he was dying, and I was doing a scene like that, and going to my father's hospital bed."

Sharing that it meant her emotions were at boiling point, she said, "I was quite easily accessible, you've kinda got to go there.

"I was actually crying over my dad, some of the words, I didn't even realise, I was saying 'mum, mum'."

Fans of Cold Feet have been left gutted by the devastating storyline, with many taking to social media to praise Fay's acting, and the show's writers and producers for handling the plot so well.

After last week's episode, one wrote on Twitter, 'Bawling my eyes out. Cold Feet is astonishing, just as good as it was 20 years ago and that is rare. I thought it was unachievable but well done to all involved #ColdFeet'.

While another agreed, saying, 'Watching #coldfeet ..... watching @FayRipley take that news was spot on... that’s exactly how I reacted. Beautifully acted... the following bit too 🦋'

And a third fan also commented, '@FayRipley Omg, Im in tears after watching you sobbing in the hospital car park, such a moving scene 😥, so well done Fay #coldfeet'.

At the time of writing, Jenny has still not shared her news with her friends or family - including her husband Pete. Fay admitted that at first, it was a decision which confused her.

She confessed, "I railed against that when I first read it. I thought, 'That's ridiculous, why wouldn't she tell Pete?'

"But I think the writer was so clever as so many people have come back and said 'I did that'".

After the show aired, Breast Cancer Care shared a helpful infograph, reminding women of the symptoms of the disease and encouraging them to check their breasts and see a GP if they notice anything unusual.

They also reminded their followers of their free helpline and 24/7 forum, for advice and support any time of day.

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.