‘There is no age-limit on love!’: Lesley Manville and Peter Mullan on their heart-melting TV romance
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- Stefan Golaszewski's sitcom 'Mum' debuted 10 years ago, introducing 59-year-old Cathy (Lesley Manville) grieving her husband Dave's death, with Michael (Peter Mullan) as Dave's quiet old friend whose hand grab slowly evolved into a declaration of love in the rain — and finally the pair prancing off into the woods with champagne and crisps.
- Mullan singled out the rain scene as the only take where Golaszewski 'didn't pull me up on the fucking lines,' calling the moment Michael finally let it all out — 'You melt me like butter' — the most special moment of his career on the show.
- The eight-person cast still keeps in touch via an active WhatsApp group, with Mullan calling it the only show he's worked on where the cast has stayed connected: 'It's very rare.'
- Manville and Mullan both report being stopped by strangers who call 'Mum' their favourite show and ask if more is coming — happening 'at least every couple of weeks' for Mullan and as recently as 'this week' for Manville, 10 years after it aired.
- Mullan pushed back on the assumption that older romances wouldn't appeal to younger viewers, saying 'as many youngsters came up to me and talked about it as did people of our vintage' — despite thinking 'who wants to see two old fogies get together' when you're young.
- Manville keeps a handmade Cathy doll made by co-star Lisa McGrillis, while Mullan has a cast selfie cup and a 'Beetlejuice'-looking model of Michael — and confessed to also stealing a nose and ears from Lord of the Rings.
- The show earned multiple Bafta nominations and became known as a rare on-screen celebration of love between ordinary people in their 60s, with Manville summing up the public response: 'People at that age can fall in love, Jesus Christ!'
Why it matters: A decade after 'Mum' aired, both leads still field constant fan questions about bringing it back — evidence of an underserved audience for slow, character-driven romance featuring people over 50, and proof that BAFTA-nominated intimacy, not youth, can anchor a long-tail cultural hit.
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