Peter Mullan as Michael was the master of longing, while Lesley Manville captured Cathy as a woman at long last putting her own happiness first. What do Cathy and Michael love about each other? Just this week, someone stopped me and said: “Oh I love Mum, it was my favourite!” Keep it simple, just a little bit of good, honest, basic to and fro, love, romance. I’ve got a little Cathy doll with a striped T-shirt, which Cathy wore quite a lot.