This article is from the December 2023 edition of SDPB Magazine. See past issues HERE.
Beginning in 2004, Doc Martin has run ten seasons over 18 years. The beloved show combines medical wit & drama to create the character Doctor Martin Ellingham in the fictional seaside village of Portwenn. Martin Clunes, also known for Manhunt (2019), stars as the abrasive and tactless Dr. Martin Ellingham, a successful London surgeon who begins working as a General Practitioner after developing a problematic blood phobia. Doc Martin soon finds he needs all the allies he can get as he tries to negotiate his way around village life with hilarious consequences.
Dr. Martin Ellingham was originally a character from Nigel Cole's comedy Saving Grace (2004) named Dr. Martin Bamford. The character got a spin-off show of his own where creator Dominic Minghella developed the character viewers have come to know and love. Independent UK states in an article titled Grouching Tiger: How Grumpy Doc Martin became a TV phenomenon, "Not only is he [Doc Martin] vastly different from the cuddly figures Clunes played for most of his career, he is also a departure from the stereotype of the relatable hero. Curmudgeonly, lacking social skills, and indifferent to the feelings of others, Doc Martin has few antecedents on TV (his only true peer is another misfit television medic, Dr Gregory House, as portrayed by Hugh Laurie from 2004 to 2012). Those qualities were precisely what drew Clunes to Ellingham – much as they would later win over viewers. He relished playing an outsider who differed from him in every way."
Clunes confirmed in an interview that the indifferent, socially awkward character had a freeing sense about it.
"I really like the sense of liberation that I get just from playing someone who's never polite for the sake of being polite," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. "I really like that. I have to ask [the actors'] permission first, but the patients I have who are elderly or very young, I really like being rough with them."
Another thing Clunes enjoyed about the show was the opportunity to work with Caroline Catz, who played his love interest. Clunes has described the on-screen relationship as an "odd-couple" that started a bit rocky but turned into something that piqued the interest of the fans.
"I really think that Caroline Catz has carved such a niche for herself in that role," Clunes would tell the LA Times. "And those are the scenes I love doing. This love affair – when we were starting out, we would think, rather cynically, 'Well, she's just a really bright, really pretty girl, and there'll be a girl in it.' And then, very soon, that little journey was the most interesting thing. To judge by the things people said to me in the street here, obviously, that's what they were tuning in to see."
Caronline Catz continues in an interview with United Press International "[Martin and Louisa] do not get on at all. You can imagine nothing good would ever come from it, and then somehow, through these sort of jarring encounters over the years, they slowly fall in love with each other and have this very mismatched but passionate relationship."
Season 10 picks up one year after season 9. Martin resigned his medical license, and Louisa now sees patients out of the surgery for her child counseling practice. At the same time, Martin looks after James Henry and four-month-old Mary Elizabeth. When the mother of one of Louisa's patients presents with severe symptoms but refuses to allow Martin to examine her, he finally admits that he wants to be a doctor again.
SDPB1 will air the Season 10 premiere of Doc Martin on Thursday, December 14th at 9 PM Central (8 MT), with repeats the following Saturday at 8 PM. A new episode will air every Thursday. Farewell Doc Martin is available on PBS Passport, celebrating ten seasons across 18 years. This behind-the-scenes special shares the secrets of creating the beloved British dramedy. From the show's inception to its final days of filming, learn details about Doc and Louisa's love story, the inspirations for the medical cases, the real-life filming locations, and more through interviews with the cast and crew and on-set footage.