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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Magdalene Dalziel & Kyle O'Sullivan

Sheridan Smith's former co-star says she won't 'answer' the phone or respond to texts

Love it or loathe it, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps had a mighty fanbase by the time it finished up in 2011.

The BBC comedy following five twenty-somethings in Runcorn was one of the most popular shows on the channel during its 10-year reign.

Viewers have even been demanding a comeback of the hit series - but the plans have been scuppered so far by one cast member.

A host of familiar faces played the main characters, a group of pals who were forging their way in life and all the drama that comes with it, with a particular focus on their local pub.

Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor and Ralf Little all cut their teeth on the programme during the early days of their career.

Across nine explosive series there were fights, cheating, the tear-jerking death of one of the main characters and even a ground-breaking episode where viewers got to decide what happened next, reports the Mirror.

(BBC)

But it's a reunification the fans really want - and could be set to miss out on.

Will Mellor, who played typical lad Gaz, revealed that he had not spoken to Sheridan for a number of years because she wouldn't answer his calls.

Across the nine series, Will's character was madly in love with Donna but the pair split when he had a one night stand with her best pal Janet, played by Sheridan.

They got back together after a road accident and finally got married, but on their wedding day Gaz discovered he was the father of Janet's son.

(BBC Studios)

Donna left so Gaz and Janet could be together, but then returned in series 8, with viewers voting for Gaz to choose Donna, so Sheridan's character moved away to Milton Keynes.

But in recent years all the drama has been off-screen as Will has been unable to get hold of his former co-star.

Speaking on The Morning After With Paul Danan podcast in May 2020, Will said: "Sheridan just won't talk about it. She's not spoken to me in over three years now.

"It's like she just won't pick up the phone about it. There is just no point in going down that route.

"I don't know what happened, we last spoke about three, maybe four years ago and since then she won't reply to my calls or text messages at all.

"I wanted to be there but she's just not interested so there is no point in going there. We can't get a Two Pints reunion together without her."

After Two Pints, Will starred in EastEnders, Merlin, Waterloo Road, Broadchurch and Line of Duty.

The actor, who is also a regular guest on Celebrity Juice, even hosted a podcast with former co-star Ralf Little called 'Two Pints with Will and Ralf' to talk about the good old days.

Sheridan's career has gone from strength to strength and she's received critical acclaim for her performances in a string of TV dramas including Mrs Biggs, Cilla, The C Word and The Moorside.

She has also starred in a range of stage shows, performing on the West End in Little Shop of Horros, Legally Blonde, and Joseph, and has won two Olivier Awards, a BAFTA, an NTA and received two International Emmy Awards.

Last June, Will revealed he had been inspired by the Friends reunion and wanted to get back in touch with his former Two Pints co-stars.

(BBC)

"I saw that Friends thing the other day and I thought we could have done something like that – talk about the old days, show some clips for fans of the show – but, to be honest, some of the people I don’t speak to any more," he told The Mirror.

"I’ve not seen Sheridan or spoke to Sheridan in four years. I rang her for a while and just nothing, so I don’t know her any more.

"I wish her all the best, but she hasn’t called me in years."

Will previously explained that working on the series "wasn't like hard work" as it just felt like "being with your friends" and the cast would go out together at weekends.

In 2019, Will revealed he had been speaking to show creator Sue Nickson about a reunion after fans got in touch on social media

Will told fans: "Well, I have been listening and reading your messages and I think we are going to get a Two Pints special off the ground.

"I spoke to Susan Nickson (the show's creator) and we are hopefully going to try and get a Two Pints special going. Just to say thank you for all the support of people who love the show and got behind it.

"Watch this space, just got to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's and hopefully a Two Pints special will be on the way."

Will, who was most recently on our screens as Corrie villain Harvey Gaskell in Corrie, still speaks to Ralf and co-star Natalie Casey.

But claiming he would only want a reunion if the whole cast came back, he said: "To be honest, I don’t think it’s doable any more.

"I would be well up for it because I really respect the fans for what they’ve given us, and coming back together to say something like thank you would be great, but I can’t see it."

However, there was some good news in July last year when Sue confirmed that she had been in talks with the BBC about a reboot.

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps creator Susan Nickson has confirmed the hugely popular comedy series is set to make a return to television.

The hit series originally ran from 2001 to 2011 and Susan has admitted that she is in talks with the BBC about it's return.

She revealed that both Will and Ralf are keen to work on a new series and are currently waiting for the BBC to give it the official go ahead.

Speaking on the Drama School Dropout podcast, Sue said: "We are talking to the BBC. They are a corporation and in a corporation there are many cogs and those cogs move extremely slowly.

"So basically what you've got, it's me, Will, Ralf and all three of us are just going 'yeah, we're here, we'll do it' and the BBC are going 'ah brilliant, yeah let's do it' and I'm sort of sat here going 'ok, when?' and they go 'well, we don't know'.

"So, what we've got is a corporation that has no idea."

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