TEN YEARS after Mum first introduced viewers to widowed Cathy and the quietly devoted Michael, Lesley Manville and Peter Mullan say the show is still the one people stop them in the street to mention.

Stefan Golaszewski’s sitcom opened on the day of Cathy’s husband Dave’s funeral, with her suburban house packed with family chaos: son Jason and his new girlfriend Kelly, Cathy’s brother Derek and his partner Pauline, plus Dave’s parents. In the middle of it all was Michael — an old friend of Cathy and Dave — turning up with flowers, and very carefully keeping his feelings under control.

Across three series, the romance built in tiny, ordinary beats: a hand grab, a garden-centre trip, Cathy’s doubts about whether she was just missing Dave. It culminated in Michael’s declaration of love in the rain, before the pair wandered off with crisps and a bottle of bubbly.

Mullan calls the rain scene his favourite romantic moment — and says he loved finally letting Michael “bring all of this forth” after holding it in. Manville singles out an earlier flicker: their fingers connecting during fireworks, saying simple touch can be “the most erotic thing.”

Both actors say fans were hooked on the “will they/won’t they” tension — and not just viewers of their own age. Manville says strangers regularly tell her Mum is their favourite and ask, “Are you gonna do any more?” Mullan says he gets the same question every couple of weeks.

Off camera, they’ve stayed close too. Manville says the core cast still has a WhatsApp group that’s active, while Mullan calls it the only job he’s done where everyone kept in touch afterwards.

IIf Mum came back, would you want Cathy and Michael’s love story picked up where it left off — or left perfectly alone?