ON THE COVER Martin Clunes “I’m A Happy Man”
He’s one of our best-loved and most successful actors, but away from the showbiz glitz and glamour, DocMartin star Martin Clunes just can’t resist the calm of the countryside
Mar tin Clunes has picked up more than his fair share of awards during his star-studded career, but as proud as he feels when he’s suited and booted at red carpet events, the popular actor is never happier than when he’s strolling through the fields with his dogs.
Home for the Doc Martin star is in deepest Devon, 150 miles away from the bright lights of London. And although he grew up in the capital, he can’t envisage living in a city ever again.
“Never! Never, never, never,” he says emphatically. “I was born in London and I lived there for 30-odd years, so the countr yside is a real change, but it really suits me.
“It keeps me tapped into nature – the different colours and the seasons; watching the leaves – ever y day, things change. We’ve stopped farming animals so much, and we now make hay and haylage for the equestrian community.
“I’ve lived on the farm for
12 years now. We’d lived in Dorset for nine years before that, but moving to the farm definitely changed ever ything – it defines you.
“I absolutely love it. I walk around the farm with the dogs ever y day and that’s me happy. I guess it’s because I get a lot of space and air around me, whereas when I’m at work I don’t have any space. I don’t mind, because they’re all nice, but there are people literally patting your face!”
It’s difficult to imagine the irascible Doc Martin allowing anyone to get that close, but then Martin and his screen character are a world apar t. While softly-spoken Martin is warm, amusing and eminently calm, the grumpy GP can be prickly, to say the least…
“I love playing him,” Mar tin, 57, says. “I like the fact that he’s got this super power with his medicine and I think viewers like the fact that he doesn’t suffer fools.
“He’s not grumpy for the sake of grumpy, he just gets to the point and he’s not tolerant. We all possibly get like that as we get older, or we’d like to. I’d like to. I’d like that freedom, but I don’t have it!”
Since Doc Martin began 15 years ago it’s been sold to 138 countries around the world, with adaptations as far afield as Greece and the Czech Republic. The French version features Dr Mar tin Le Foll, in Spain it’s Doctor Mateo and in Germany Doktor Martin.
Set in the fictional Cornish village of Por twenn and filmed in picturesque Por t Isaac on the Cornish coast, Doc Martin is now back for a ninth series.
During filming Mar tin rents a Cornish cottage with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite, who works on the show as a producer.
“Now our daughter Emily is at university, Philippa was down in Cornwall the whole time with all the dogs, which was lovely,” Mar tin beams. “We have four dogs and Philippa has a little office in a grain barn and they hang out with her there, although if I get a bit of time off between scenes I’ll take
“Living in the country keeps me tapped into nature – every day, things change”
them for a walk.”
In the new series the doctor’s future is under scrutiny from the General Medical Council following complaints about his approach to patients.
“In the first episode he has to have another doctor sit in on his consultations with his patients, which doesn’t go down well,” Mar tin explains.
“She follows me into an emergency situation and
accidentally falls into an electric cable. Her hear t stops and I save her life. Listen, you’ve only got to come on this show and I’ll save your life!” he adds with a chuckle.
When he turned 50 Mar tin lost three stone following the 5:2 diet, which involves two days of fasting a week, while eating normally on the other five days. Now he stays in shape by walking. “Four dogs and a hill farm and the horses will cer tainly do it,” he explains.
Next up for Mar tin is a new ITV series The Islands of the Pacific, but other wise he insists he has no game plan. “I do quite well at pleasing myself and I’m really content just to bimble along into what comes up next,” he says. “It’s gone pretty well that way so far.”
So could that bimbling lead him towards a 10th series of Doc Martin in a couple of years’ time? “It’s rather up to ITV, but it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it!” he smiles.