Doc Martin returns

The ninth series of Doc Martin is upon us, with Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz reprising their roles as the grumpy GP and his wife living in a small Cornish town. The stars discuss the enduring appeal of the muchloved drama with Georgia Humphreys.

Seagulls are squawking above Port Isaac harbour. Signs for homemade Cornish pasties catch your eye. Hordes of eager fans line the narrow streets winding down towards the sea.

There's only one show this can be the set for - and that's Doc Martin.

Stars Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz are on a break from filming, sat in the bottom bar of the Golden Lion pub (better known to viewers as the Crab and Lobster).

Discussing the popularity of the ITV comedy drama - now in its ninth series - they reveal the elaborate gifts they receive from fans of the show.

"I've had quite a lot of knitwear - socks and gloves for all the family - which is very nice," says 57-year-old Clunes, also famous for Men Behaving Badly, Warren and Manhunt.

"Lego - there has been some lovely Lego figures," Manchester-born Catz, 49, chimes in.

Then there's the poetry, the songs and the paintings.

"Lots of paintings!" the DCI Banks star enthuses. "It gets quite interesting, the fan artwork is brilliant."

For anyone not in the know, the series centres around Clunes' character, grumpy GP Martin Ellingham, his wife Louisa (played by Catz) and their lives in a sleepy, beautiful hamlet in Cornwall (Port Isaac in real life, it's called Portwenn in the show).

The job is a family affair for Clunes, as his wife Philippa writes the show.

"It's an immense pressure getting eight scripts of the quality that we like together, that serve everybody's story arcs - all of our regular characters," Wimbledon-born Clunes confides gently.

"But it is worth it. I think once again, down to my wife and Mark [Crowdy, executive producer] and the various writers and everyone, they've really got it right. They're really good scripts and all of the cast are happy with their bits."

Storylines this series include the Doc coming up against the GMC (General Medical Council). They want to take his badge away, following complaints about his irascible approach to patients - and there's also his phobia of, erm, blood.

"It is a very serious threat and he is very annoyed by everything they [the GMC] throw at him because as far as he's concerned, he's fit to practise, and a little bit of vomiting here and there shouldn't necessarily get in the way of that," explains the father of one (daughter Emily was born in 1998).

Back at home, we can expect to see the Doc and Louisa in a "very healthy" place, with lots of lovely scenes with them and their young son, James Henry.

"We've explored the 'not getting on thing' quite elaborately, haven't we?" reflects Clunes, when asked how their relationship is now.

Plus, he points out, the couple have got their "own unconnected agendas"; Louisa is pursuing a career in child counselling, having left her job as headmistress at the local school.

"I thought I was going to really miss the school," conveys a smiley Catz. "But I've been in the playground loads, because the nursery has now moved to the school. So, Louisa drops James off and finds out what's going on behind the scenes.

"There's a really fun episode with a new headmistress, which has been really great. Louisa gets a bit protective and suspicious about what's going on, and then realises that the headmistress might have a very different approach.

"And then her curiosity gets the better of her, because she has sort of been shut out. I won't ruin it but there's an intervention that she does..."

"It's a very, very embarrassing episode for Louisa," she adds with a laugh. "She lets herself down a little bit!"

Meanwhile, the Doc is as irritable as ever, with the main causes, Clunes quips, being "patients and having to live with a dog!"

So, we can surely expect some comedic moments with the family's pet pooch Dodger (ironically, Clunes is a huge animal lover in real life - his own dog, Jim, sits cosily on his lap during our chat, before he starts throwing a ball for him to fetch).

Asked whether it's easy to slip back into character after so many years playing him, Clunes replies: "Funnily enough, no, because as I get older everything gets harder. So, it should be but it's not, because of the ageing. But it [Port Isaac] is always a nice place to be, isn't it?"

"A really nice place to be," agrees Catz, who has two children with her husband, actor Michael Higgs.

"When you walk on to the set and you're there in the house and in the surgery, all of a sudden everything starts to come back."

Doc Martin starts on ITV on Monday, September 23.