Cold Feet novel The Lost Years snapped up by Hodder

Hodder & Stoughton is publishing Cold Feet: The Lost Years, an original novel written in collaboration with the creator of the 90s TV show of the same name.

Publisher Kate Howard bought world rights to the book, authored by Carmel Harrington in collaboration with "Cold Feet" creator Mike Bullen, from Shirley Patton at ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

It is the first time a novel has been written based on the series.

"Cold Feet" returned to ITV last year, produced by Big Talk Productions, and got an average of 7m views a week, despite a 13-year gap between the old and new series. According to Hodder, the novel, set in between these series, will "fill in the gaps" as "the missing piece of the puzzle". It will publish in hardcover and e-book on 5th September.

Howard said: "In autumn 2017, the show comes back for a seventh series, and alongside it we will publish an original Cold Feet novel, Cold Feet: The Lost Years, written by award-winning author Carmel Harrington in collaboration with the show’s creator Mike Bullen. This original novel is set between the old and new series, filling in the gaps, bringing us even closer to the characters we’ve laughed, grieved and grown up with. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle that the show’s millions of fans have been waiting for."

Bullen said: "I’m delighted that a writer of the calibre of Carmel Harrington is taking on the challenge of joining the dots between the original 'Cold Feet' and its recent incarnation. Like other fans of the show, I’m excited to catch up with the characters’ lives in the intervening years."

Harrington said: "I've been a die-hard fan of 'Cold Feet' from that first electric pilot episode in 1997. It's a joy to write further adventures for these beloved characters, created by the incredible Mike Bullen. I'm honoured and excited to work with the teams at Hodder and ITV."