Fay makes a loud announcement

CANDLES, music and a romantic meal for two seems like the ideal setting for a wedding proposal, but actress Fay Ripley nearly ended up spending the night in a police cell on the evening she agreed to say "I do".

The 35-year-old actress’ boyfriend, actor Daniel Lapaine, had arranged to take her to an exclusive restaurant while they were on holiday in Spain so he could pop the question.

But Ripley reveals that things did not turn out the way her boyfriend had originally planned when they managed to upset some other customers at the upmarket eating place.

"We went to a quiet, posh restaurant and Daniel proposed to me," says Ripley. "I got very excited and I wanted to ring my mum, my dad and everybody that I had ever met to tell them that we were going to get married.

"I just started using my mobile phone to tell everybody the news. But because it was such a posh restaurant this upset a few people. This German couple stormed out and said they were going to call the police.

"Daniel approached the woman to try to explain that it was the best day of his life because he had just proposed to his girlfriend. He grabbed hold of her and she thought he was attacking her.

"So, it all went rather wrong. Because it was in Spain nobody could understand what was happening. The staff were just yelling at us to get out.

"They told us we were disruptive and they pointed out that it said no mobile phones on the menu, which we hadn’t read because we were so excited, but it was an amazing night." If the marriage proposal did not go as planned the wedding day itself did live up to all of Ripley’s expectations.

She recalls: "It was an amazing day. We had a very small wedding in Italy. It was simply the best day of my life."

The unpretentious Ripley is good company - warm and with a great sense of humour about herself and life in general.

Although the Surrey-born actress is in no doubt she has found love in real life, it’s a very different story for her latest on-screen character. She plays Grace Bingley, a singer and single mother, in the romantic comedy I Saw You, which begins on ITV1 on Tuesday.

Ironically, her real life husband Lapaine, who shot to fame in the Australian movie Muriel’s Wedding, plays an old flame in her latest TV project. He is one of a number of men who vie for Grace’s affections.

After Cold Feet, once again Ripley is playing a single mum - and once again her relationships with the opposite sex are decidedly rocky.

"You need things not to run smoothly to write a decent script," she says. "You just give people hurdles - it’s more interesting to watch. I didn’t like it when I used to pick up the Cold Feet script and it was my Everything’s Fine episode and I’m doing the washing up."

The actress did her own singing for I Saw You and has since been approached by several record companies. Singing is something of a family tradition for Ripley as her aunt is the singer Twinkle, who had a hit in the 60s with Terry. She says: "I sang seven songs in the show and I really enjoyed it.

"I must admit that I had a lot of insecurities about the singing. I’ve been asking everyone who has seen the previews whether they approve or not. I felt totally nerve-wracked about the experience.

"Singing properly in front of a decent band is something that I have fantasised about all my life. I’ve only ever sung in the bathroom or in front of a mirror with a hairbrush. Now, believe it or not, there have been some tentative approaches for me to make a CD.

"It may come to fruition if we make some more of I Saw You. Seven songs isn’t enough is it?"

Although Ripley is now in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose her acting roles, she still remembers all her years as a struggling actress.

"I’m happier now than I have ever been in my life before," says Ripley. "I spent my twenties doing bits and bobs, working to prove myself in this business. I learned to be very loud and demonstrate to people that this is Fay Ripley, who has something to say. At last, people are sitting up and taking notice."

Her sudden rise to fame can be attributed to one role - the feisty Jenny in Cold Feet. She left the popular show at the end of the last series when her character went to live in New York.

Despite her departure, she admits that she is still a regular viewer of Cold Feet and she is not ruling out the possibility of a return to the drama at some point in the future. "They thought of lots of ways to write me out entirely and, in fact, I requested a death, or at the very least the loss of a limb as a perfect way to go," she jokes.

"Shall I go back? Who knows? Maybe, I haven’t made my mind up yet."

On Tuesday, meanwhile, Ripley plays mother and nightclub singer Grace, a woman with attitude - and a sharp tongue - who is mixed up in an unstable relationship with Ben (Paul Rhys). This chap may be charming, but he’s accident-prone in the extreme.

ITV broadcast a pilot last year, testing the water for its appeal. It followed the fortunes of Ben, who had a mishap resulting in concussion. However, he remembered meeting the woman of his dreams on the way to the hospital, and, determined to track her down, placed an ‘I Saw You’ ad in a dating magazine.

What he didn’t remember was blacking out twice, and as a result a second lady replied to his lonely heart note.

Grace and Ben met, became partners - and now it’s getting complicated. In the first episode of this new three-part drama series Grace meets aristocratic bachelor Peter at a society wedding. He takes a shine to the feisty entertainer, they dance, she gets drunk, he accompanies her home and tries to kiss her.

Peering out of the flat window is Ben, he sees the near-kiss and tempers flare. As events go from bad to worse, they split up - but that’s only the beginning of a complex and gripping story.

I Saw You begins on ITV1 on Tuesday, 9.30pm