Jimmy says: "Shooting takes place in November, but the broadcast date is out of
my hands. My guess would be early spring although it could be ready by the end of January."
He adds: "Apart from Fitz, there will be many other faces from previous Crackers, including Fitz's wife, Judith, and Penhaligon.
"It's nine years since the last one (the first one-off special, which wasn't written by Jimmy) and it's interesting to go back to Fitz to see how much he's changed.
"But his lifestyle hasn't changed - he's still drinking and smoking. And he's suffering more because of it, because he's getting older.
"He's been out of the country a long time and now he's realised it's almost impossible to afford to live in this country. And he doesn't recognise Manchester any more because it's full of trendy bars and hotels."
Cracker, which began in 1993, was a phenomenal critical and commercial success, but Jimmy stresses: "It wasn't an overnight one. The first story, which I thought was the best (The Mad Woman In The Attic), was a two-parter and the audience was about 10 million.
"That was considered to be just OK, not a huge hit - although now the TV companies would kill for that. "Then there was a three-parter (To Say I Love You), for which the audience hit 14 million. But I was too busy working on other things, including Hearts And Minds, to really notice. I was working hard and living hard, so I took it in my stride."
Then the awards - endless awards - were handed out and the whole world, including even Jimmy, knew what an impact it had made.
