AFTER getting his bum out in last year’s Cold Feet finale, John Thomson has never had more attention from women.
And that’s good news because the actor is single and looking for love after his ten-year marriage ended in divorce.
But despite losing weight and even getting a hair transplant, like many others in the modern age he has struggled to find The One using online dating apps such as Tinder.
It isn’t because he’s short of matches, but because women think he’s an imposter.
In an exclusive interview ahead of the seventh series of Cold Feet, John said with a sigh: “I’m kind of drifting now. I’ve had enough of online dating. No one believes it’s me, they think it’s a rogue profile.
“It’s just kind of awful. It’s like shopping for women and I don’t like it. It’s such a waste of time.”
John, who plays Pete Gifford in the series, is back on the market after his relationship with wife Sam broke down two years ago.
And the Salford-born 48-year-old looks briefly offended as I describe him as an “unlikely sex symbol”.
The dad-of-two said: “Well that’s the ultimate backhanded compliment really. I think that’s because I was packing a few more pounds back in the day.
“I mean I’m not too bad these days, really. I look after myself so I think I look much better than I used to in the show.
“If I was an unlikely sex symbol then, I don’t see why I’m not a likelier one now.”
Likely or unlikely symbol, the former Fast Show star is certainly not short of offers.
And he gets so much fan mail that it has to vetted by his agent so nothing dodgy gets through.
But he rules out ever sleeping with a fan of the show, as he thinks it would be “dangerous”.
He explained: “Fan mail is pre-opened when I receive it just in case there’s anything sensitive.
“I mean it’s very different when you’re in Aerosmith and your bouncers point at, ‘Her, her, her, her’ and they’re all taken off to the hotel. That’s a different kind of set-up isn’t it?
“But Cold Feet’s not like that!
“I’ve been asked out on dates on Twitter and I’ve had phone numbers sent to me. I’ve had randoms ask me on Facebook for dates. I just don’t respond.
“It’s not in my nature and I just feel it’s probably best. I’ll say, ‘look I’m in a relationship’ and maybe sometimes I am and sometimes I’m not, just to shut the door.”
But offers of an evening out are not the oddest thing he’s had in the post, ever since his days as Jesse Chadwick on Coronation Street.
He added: “I used to get some strange things at Corrie.
"I got a lot of the Koran on CD asking me to convert to Islam. I got that a couple of times, asking me if I was interested in embracing Islam. I said, ‘I’m a lapsed Catholic!’”
In the final episode of last year’s rebooted Cold Feet, which had been off-air for 13 years, Pete and wife Jenny, played by Fay Ripley, rekindle their romance as they romped in the toilet of best pal Adam (James Nesbitt).
Being on TV in his very own Tom Hiddleston moment meant some awkward conversations at home - with his two daughters Olivia, 14, and Sophia, seven.
He was particularly concerned about Olivia, saying: “That was a family meeting. My daughter’s 14 and I warned her about it.”
But explaining the scenes was not half as awkward as actually shooting them with Fay, 51.
John recalled: “We had to do it like a porno.
“We had to do a bit of that...like extraneous noises. Where we rehearsed, it was where the holding area for the extras.
“We went through the motions and we could hear chuckling and all the extras were watching us.
“It was hysterical.
“You just get on with it but those things can be a bit embarrassing really. But I had no qualms. I’ve had my bum out a lot in this.
“If you go way back when we went to Australia (in a 2001 episode) I ran full frontal into a pool with Jimmy Nesbitt and I’m sure people have probably had a look to see where I rate on Naked Attraction.”
Nudity aside, last year’s series was a different type of story for John, who is a stand-up comic by trade.
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It saw John’s character Pete, working as a taxi driver, fall into a deep depression after troubles at his job and at home.
Viewers even briefly thought Pete had killed himself when he was seen at the bottom of a cliff in a pool of blood.
Another heartbreaking moment saw Pete broke down in front of wife Jenny with pal Adam looking on — a scene that was applauded by mental health campaigners.
My daughters don't like seeing Daddy cry
And John says his daughters find these scenes far more upsetting than anything. involving his derriere.
He said: “They don’t like seeing Daddy cry. Olivia to be honest gets more upset. It broke Olivia’s heart.
“For them it’s Daddy. It’s not Pete Gifford, it’s Daddy, so I have to be mindful of exposing them to high emotion really, as a decent dad.
“High emotion is worse than my a***.”
Nevertheless, he might want to schedule another family meeting, as the stripping off isn’t quite finished just yet.
In the new series, which starts on September 8, he stars in his own sex tape with Jenny.
He said of the episode: “I’ve seen a bit of that. It’s funny, it is funny.
“I’m in a silky thingy and we’re feeding each other trying to be like all sensual and erotic and it all goes wrong and it’s funny.
“A lot of it was ad-libbed and it just worked. They said: ‘Do what you want with the food in the fridge’.”
The show’s long-called-for resurrection, announced in November 2015, came just at the right time for John, who says acting is very feast and famine.
He said: “I don’t do it for the money, I do it for a job I love and the money’s secondary. But when times are lean that’s a different story.
“But I would rather do something I enjoy for less money than something mercenary for something that would make me miserable.”
One lucrative payday is the annual panto season, but John is spurning festive gigs this year in to spend more time with his daughters.
Speaking of his run in Aladdin in Manchester last Christmas he said: “It’s graft — it’s twice daily. I mean I did 53 shows in four weeks. That’s not even counting rehearsal.
“There was no life. I was trying to manage a girlfriend, an ex-wife and two kids and me — forget it. I’ve said no this year, I want to be able to spend time with my kids.
I'm horrified that Gogglebox people are doing panto
“Christmas is for children anyway. I want to see their joy.”
And in any case he admits he has also become frustrated by the number of reality TV stars and sportspeople, rather than actors, who land roles treading the festive boards.
He said of his last panto outing: “Everybody was a bona fide turn who had skills. Everyone was a proper actor or, you know, entertaining.
“I love Gogglebox but I was horrified to hear that people from Gogglebox were doing panto. It’s a craft, is pantomime.”
Cold Feet returns to ITV on Friday, September 8 at 9pm.
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