STILL IN HEALTH
THE NINTH SERIES OF DOC MARTIN IS UPON US. STARS MARTIN CLUNES AND CAROLINE CATZ DISCUSS THE ENDURING APPEAL OF THE MUCH-LOVED DRAMA WITH
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, sitting 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 Martin, also famous for Men Behaving Badly, Warren and Manhunt.
“Lego – there has been some lovely Lego figures,” Manchesterborn Caroline, 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 Martin’s character, grumpy GP Martin Ellingham, his wife Louisa (played by Caroline) and their lives in the sleepy, beautiful hamlet of Portwenn (Port Isaac in real life) in Cornwall.
The job is a family affair for Martin, as his wife Philippa produces 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 Martin confides.
“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 General Medical Council (GMC).
They want to take his badge away, following complaints about his irascible approach to patients – and there’s also his phobia of 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).
The short-fused medic is less than impressed when Dr Rebecca Hedden (played by Hermione Gulliford) arrives to observe his surgery.
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?” Martin reflects, 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