Cold Feet star James Nesbitt has told how he struggles not to take his work home with him.

The 51-year-old actor said he found it hard to let go of darker roles, particularly the 2007 horror serial Jekyll.

He told Radio Times magazine: “While I was filming Jekyll, my wife eventually said ‘You’re going to have to stay in a hotel’.

James Nesbitt at the Bafta TV awards
James Nesbitt (Jonathan Brady / PA Wire/Press Association Images)

“Even though it was written by Steven Moffat and was funny, it was still dark, and you do carry those things home with you.

“I also found it very hard to decompress after (2014 drama) The Missing.”

James, who stars in the return of Cold Feet alongside Hermione Norris, Robert Bathurst, Fay Ripley and John Thomson, said the return of the comedy came at the perfect time for him.

Cold Feet
Cold Feet (Jonathan Ford/ITV/PA)

“Turning 50 can be scary. I was dreading it as I’d gone through a separation (from wife Sonia).

“I’d been doing The Hobbit for two years. It’s been documented that I struggled a bit with that job and I came back thinking ‘Is there going to be something for me to do?’”

James’s co-star, John, told the magazine the series came at the perfect moment for him too, saying: “I was toying with the idea of panto, playing the dame at the Stockport Plaza, and my agent said ‘I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. Are you sitting down?’ I said ‘Yeah, I’m on a train.’ He said ‘Cold Feet’s coming back’.”

The cast of Cold Feet in their younger days
The cast of Cold Feet in their younger days (ITV)

James told the mag: “I do care what the critics say because Cold Feet means a lot to me. We’re all very hopeful that people are kind and will enjoy and embrace it. There will be critics out there who cannot wait to hammer it.”

He also revealed a sideline to acting, saying: “I own all the trailers for Game Of Thrones – make-up trucks, the works – because I bought a facilities company called G&H Film & Television Services three years ago. That was clever.”