Rachel Bradley
Rachel Louise Bradley is a fictional character portrayed by Helen Baxendale in the British comedy-drama television series Cold Feet.
It was originally planned for Rachel and Adam to adopt a child during the fourth series, but Helen Baxendale's real-life pregnancy meant the storyline had to be rewritten.
Rachel's diagnosis with Asherman's syndrome in the fourth series drew criticism from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which had been consulted during the writing of the storyline.
When the series ended, there was a 20% increase in the number of people taking out life insurance policies with one provider, Tesco Personal Finance, which a spokesperson for the company attributed to Rachel's premature death.
[dubious – discuss] Rachel Bradley was devised by writer Mike Bullen as one of the two central characters in the pilot episode of Cold Feet, the other being Adam Williams.
Helen Baxendale, then popularly known for her starring role as Dr Claire Maitland in the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest, became available halfway through the casting process of the pilot, and was invited to audition.
Executive producer Andy Harries persuaded her that she had already performed black comedy in Cardiac Arrest, and so would be well-suited to the part of Rachel.
[5]The character's backstory is presented in Cold Feet: A Man's/Woman's Guide to Life, which was compiled by Jonathan Rice from Mike Bullen's scripts.
When both returned to England, Karen married David Marsden (Robert Bathurst) and Rachel began a career in the advertising industry.
[15] She then has a brief flirtation with David's younger wayward brother Nick Marsden (Stephen Moyer) before getting back together with Adam after learning he has had treatment for testicular cancer.
[19] After spending several thousand pounds on IVF treatment, Rachel's doctor informs her that she is infertile due to Asherman's syndrome, most likely caused by her abortion.
[22] She and Adam begin an application process for an adoption, and are soon paired up with eight-year-old Laura (Katie Riddoch), the daughter of a drug addict.
[24] The original Series 4 story arc for Adam and Rachel was radically different, and had to be changed considerably after Helen Baxendale learned she was pregnant.
[25] Though heavily pregnant, Rachel's doctor advises her that it is safe to fly to Australia for Pete and Jo's (John Thomson and Kimberley Joseph) wedding in Series 4, Episode 8.
After Adam abruptly leaves Matthew's naming ceremony, feeling unable to love his child because he is coming between him and his wife, Rachel reveals that the baby fell off the kitchen table when she left him unattended for a matter of seconds.
[27] Baxendale said of the story, "Rachel's take on motherhood is quite real in my experience because she's had such trouble conceiving for a start and then all the problems with the birth [...] She becomes obsessed with the baby and excludes Adam from everything.
"[28] However, Observer television reviewer Kathryn Flett criticised the plot as unrealistic: As an obsessive new mother who has spent many an hour hovering over my son with a thermometer and a pre-emptive bottle of Calpol, Rachel's contention that she didn't want to go out for dinner with Adam because she couldn't bear to leave three-month-old Matthew in the care of their best friend's children's nanny was just one niggling implausibility too far.
After three months of being on baby duty 24 hours a day, every woman I've ever come across has, ordinary guilt aside, all but wept with joy at the prospect of a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine consumed somewhere other than Babyville.
[33][34] In 2011, Baxendale told Digital Spy that she had been involved in discussions with Cold Feet's creative staff about how to incorporate Rachel into a possible revival of the series.
In the Daily Record, Kathleen Morgan wrote that Baxendale had lost her edge since playing Dr Maitland in Cardiac Arrest; "Instead of making a triumphant return to British television as a tough-talking woman, she has been cast as another spineless character.
"[38] Sara Villiers wrote in The Scotsman, "Rachel is so unfeasibly bland and nice that she has consigned Baxendale to the title Most Irritating Woman on the Telly.
Ann Furedi of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which had supplied information to the writing team during the research stages, stated that there had not been a recorded case of Asherman's syndrome in the United Kingdom since the second world war.
Christine Geraghty, then senior lecturer in film and TV at Goldsmiths College, countered that the factual accuracy of the storyline depended on how the producers wanted to portray the issue to viewers.
She was also materialistic, unfaithful, self-absorbed, tricky and had not the first clue about men [...] Yet her death, caused by a moment of carelessness behind the wheel, was powerful and shocking, a tribute to the extent to which we have invested and believed in her.
[44] Tesco Personal Finance recorded a 20% increase in people taking out life insurance policies, which a spokesman attributed to the accident scenes being "portrayed in such a dramatic and realistic way".
