Will Mellor and Sheridan Smith spent their formative years playing sometimes lovers on Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
Set in the North West, the cult classic was Runcorn's answer to Friends - only with more booze and tracksuits.
But Strictly Come Dancing star Will, 46, claims that their friendship didn't last off-screen, alleging that his phone calls to Sheridan, 41, went unanswered for years.
"I don't know what happened, she won't reply to my calls or text messages at all," Will, who played Gaz in the long-running show, told The Morning After With Paul Danan podcast in May 2020.
And despite being keen to get his cast mates back together for a reunion, Will said he was scuppered by Sheridan, insisting he wouldn't do it without her.
"Sheridan just won't talk about it," he continued.
"It's like she just won't pick up the phone about it. There is just no point in going down that route.
"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."
Late last year, Will - who found fame as Jambo in Hollyoaks - claimed their estrangement was ongoing and was further solidified when Sheridan allegedly didn't reach out following the sudden death of his father Bill in April 2020, although sources say Sheridan and Will are now back in contact.
The last time Will saw his dad, they heartbreakingly couldn't hug because of Covid restrictions. Bill died just weeks later from lung cancer that had spread to his brain.
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Touching on his friendship with Sheridan, who played Janet in Two Pints, Will claimed that he offered his support when her dad died from cancer in December 2016, and realised where their friendship was at when she apparently didn't do the same.
"I haven't spoken to her in about six years. I tried calling her for about a year but she never got back to me," he told OK! magazine.
"I offered her my support when her father died, but she never reached out when my dad passed away, which was quite significant for me as we were very close and she knew my family. That said a lot to me."
However, he insisted there were no hard feelings, adding: "I wish her well with her career and life though."
After Two Pints, Will went on to play a womanising salesman in EastEnders and also starred in Merlin, Waterloo Road, Broadchurch and Line of Duty. He is also a regular guest on Celebrity Juice.
Sheridan's career sky rocketed, and the actress has received critical acclaim for her performances in a string of TV dramas including Mrs Biggs, Cilla, The C Word and The Moorside.
She is also a star of the stage, and has performed on the West End in Little Shop of Horros, Legally Blonde, and Joseph. She has two Olivier Awards to her name, along with a BAFTA, an NTA and two International Emmy Awards.
And in April this year, an insider claimed Sheridan is now back in touch with Will.
"In recent weeks she's reached out to Will and Ralf, who are currently on the Two Pints Live! tour together, and started following them both on social media," the source told The Sun on Sunday.
And she has insisted there's nothing but love between her and her former cast mates, adding that she would definitely be open to a reunion.
"I mean that would be brilliant, Gavin and Stacey did their special which I thought was brilliant, we might end up getting the Two Pints gang back together, I certainly wouldn't rule that out one day if everyone's schedules worked out," she previously told Metro.
"We all got really close — we were in it for nine years so it was a big part of my life. Definitely don’t rule out that there would be a reunion one day, although it would be weird because we are all so much older.
"It would be quite funny to see where Janet ended up. She’d probably have about 20 kids or something, still in the pub!"
Meanwhile, Will and Ralf have been working on proposed scripts for a sequel series which they want to call Two Pints: Last Orders.
Will revealed: "It's been brought up to the modern day but Gaz and Johnny are still very old school and sit in the pub talking about pies and beer."
And while the BBC has declined to revisit it, Will said they're exploring other options. "There's a massive audience for this," he added.
* Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight at 7pm on BBC1
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