BRINGING UP BABY
MARTIN CLUNES has new additions to the family as he returns to Portwenn for the last time
Doc Martin
Wednesday, 9pm, ITV
MARTIN CLUNES IS packing up Doc Martin’s medical bag for good – 18 years after making his debut as grumpy doctor Martin Ellingham.
The new series of the much-loved show will also be its last, and viewers will be sure to miss the winning mix of medical mysteries, family life, and stunning Cornwall settings.
We asked Clunes, 60, what the final run holds in store…
WHAT’S NEW IN PORTWENN WHEN WE CATCH UP WITH THE DOC? When we left off, he’d resigned from his job. At the beginning of this first episode, we find him twiddling his thumbs. His wife, Louisa [Caroline Catz], has moved into his consulting room, because she’s a practising child therapist, and a certain Fay Ripley turns up as a guest star, playing a woman with a medical condition that only the Doc can fix.
WHAT ELSE CAN FANS EXPECT? The Doc and Louisa have had another baby, Mary Elizabeth, and he is a happy parent. The family also has a new dog, which the Doc tolerates!
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS BEING THE LAST-EVER SERIES? I’m in a numb denial at the moment. In the final episode, we see the Doc and Louisa packing up their house to leave Portwenn for London. Seeing the boxes and the bare set for those scenes was very moving.
HAVE YOU HAD FEEDBACK FROM THE FANS ABOUT THE SHOW COMING TO AN END? A lot of the fans say they love the show but know we have to finish it. We all know that. It’s time to close the book. I will never get a job as good as this again, in terms of the sheer joy of it. But it has to be done now, otherwise we would be repeating ourselves.
DO YOU HAVE YOUR EYE ON ANY
SET SOUVENIRS? I’m very fond of the RSPCA charity spaniel that sits outside Mrs Tishell’s chemist’s, but
I don’t know if the prop house will sell it to me. We’ll have to talk!
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENTS? Abseiling down a cliff wearing a suit and carrying a medical bag sticks in my memory. I actually did the abseiling. Walking over the edge of the cliff was quite alarming! The Doc and Louisa’s wedding was pretty spiffy, too.
WHAT WILL YOU MISS MOST ABOUT PLAYING THE DOC? I’m going to miss all sorts of things. I’d like to have his order and precision. In reality, I’m quite chaotic and messy, so a bit of his neatness and ordered route through life appeals. But it’s not going to happen!