Doc Martin: Series 4

This doctor is way out! Martin Clunes (Men Behaving Badly) heads a prestigious cast, including Stephanie Cole (Waiting for God), as a phobic physician whose lack of bedside manner causes mayhem in a small Cornish hamlet. If his patients are expecting tea and sympathy from their curmudgeonly GP-messages from beyond the grave, money and midwife problems aside-they are going to be disappointed!

Better the Devil - The Doc is taking steps to cure his Haemophobia as part of a plan to leave Portwenn. Whilst accompanying a patient to Truro, he bumps into an ex-girlfriend of his, who he soon knocks heads with. Meanwhile, with Louisa out of the way, Mrs Tishell is hoping to win the Doc's affections - but her husband's announcement of early retirement from his job on an oil rig is spoiling her plans.

Uneasy Lies the Head - The Doc struggles to cope with Louisa's surprise news. Louisa has her own struggles when her return to the school is made difficult by the increasingly erratic behaviour of the head master.

Perish Together as Fools - Edith seems to be moving in on the Doc, but a scare over Louisa's pregnancy and a subsequent scan seem to be thawing him. PC Penhale has a scare, too, when it appears that his visiting brother may have a hereditary condition.

Driving Mr McLynn - The Doc is appalled to discover that Louisa is moving furniture and even further angered by her decision to interview for her old job as head teacher. Aunty Joan is having money problems, as is Al - who's cash-in-hand work for Louisa sets tongues wagging in the village. Meanwhile, an elderly couple raise the Doc's suspicions over their motives for needing a disabled car badge.

The Departed - When one of the Doc's patients dies, the man's widow is convinced that her husband is trying to pass on a message from beyond the grave. Louisa takes a school trip to Aunty Joan's farm, but it goes wrong when one of the boys misbehaves and Joan takes his punishment into her own hands and it seems that she may have caused the child to fall ill. Determined to conquer his phobia and return to a surgical position, the Doc tries therapy.

MidWife Crisis - The Doc clashes with the new district midwife, whose insistence on natural methods put Louisa's health at risk. Bert takes a shine to a new employee at the restaurant, but her culinary preferences leave something to be desired. Edith tries to help the Doc secure a return to London.

Do Not Disturb - Pauline finds out that the Doc is going to leave Portwenn, and starts a work to rule when she receives her somewhat terse reference. Auntie Joan's new lodger has a somewhat unusual affliction and Bert organises a baby shower for Louisa. The Doc goes on a trip to a conference in London with Edith that both shows what each of them wants from their relationship and that he can deal with blood again.

The Wrong Goodbye - It's the Doc's last day in Portwenn, and it seems that everyone wants to wish him goodbye. Another of Bert's money-making schemes goes wrong, resulting in Louisa going into premature labour. Will the baby be alright, and will the Doc's growing doubts about his decisions concerning Louisa and the baby change his mind about the future?

Directed by Ben Bolt, Minkie Spiro
Written by Dominic Minghella, Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson, Jack Lothian, Richard Stoneman
Produced by Mark Crowdy
Executive Produced by Philippa Braithwaite
Original Music by Colin Towns
Cinematography by Chris Howard, Simon Archer
Film Editing by Nick McPhee, John Stothart, Catherine Creed
Costume Design by Les Lansdown, Lindsey McLean

Martin Clunes interview

Published: Thursday, 21 June 2007, 12:08PM

British actor Martin Clunes revels in the surliness of Dr Martin Ellingham, the GP with no bedside manner. While Martin loves being back in Cornwall filming series three, some of his fans are not so keen.

"Ladies of a certain age who liked me as William in ITV1's William and Mary don't like me being the nasty doctor," he laughs. 

"But you are not really meant to like the Doc. Heaven forbid that anyone should warm to him. He comes a cropper all the time, and he doesn't try to redeem himself in this series." 

Martin shed the cuddly image of William Shawcross to play the slick, sharp-suited surgeon. 

"Dr Martin Ellingham is very different to cuddly William Shawcross, which is one reason I wanted to play him." Indeed Martin was so convincing in the role of Dr Martin Ellingham that he was asked for a medical diagnosis for real. 

He recalls "On set the crew called me Doc all the time. I have learned a lot about medicine form making the series, but I'm no expert, " says Martin whose character was forced to give up his glittering career and become a GP in a sleepy Cornish hamlet after developing a blood phobia.

"One day an extra came to me complaining of tightness in his chest. I told him I wasn't qualified to suggest what might be the problem, and then proceeded to try to diagnose his symptoms. It is infectious stuff this medicine business. But I think it is best left to the professionals." 

Martin admits he couldn't wait to return to North Cornwall to make the third series of Doc Martin, especially after the ratings success of the first two. 

"It would have been a battle to keep me away from making another series, after the way people took to the first two. It was very gratifying.

"I love working on Doc Martin; being in Cornwall, and being able to work with my wife Philippa, who is the producer. At the end of the day's filming we were able to go back to a beautiful house along the coast from Port Isaac, which has stunning sea views. 

"And it means I was home before my daughter Emily had to go to bed, which doesn't happen when I am filming in London. We had our two spaniels in Cornwall with us too; Mary and a puppy Tina. 

"When we were filming in Cornwall last year we did consider buying a property because we loved the place so much. We are still looking, and if we found the right property we would buy. It would be a perfect holiday retreat. The trouble is we loved the place we rented during filming, but it is not for sale." 

"But the third series is not just about romance, even though a lot of people have asked whether the doctor and the teacher will get together. You have to wait and see." 

Doc Martin is made by Martin's own production company, Buffalo Pictures. He went solo ten years ago with the intention of optioning a J.P.Dunleavy novel to make into a television series.

He and Philippa, who he met while they were working together on the feature film Staggered, are now directors of Buffalo. 

Caroline Catz interview

Published: Thursday, 21 June 2007, 12:13PM

Caroline Catz couldn't wait to find out whether love blossoms between the grumpy doctor and the pretty primary school headmistress when she agreed to make the third series of Doc Martin.

 "I wanted to make another series because I wanted to find out if Louisa and the doctor resolve their differences, " says Caroline.

"At the end of the last series Louisa and the doctor were further away than ever."

 "There is still this flicker of intrigue about the doctor that won't go away. In spite of herself Louisa keeps having this interest in him. She's impressed by him, even though she is offended by the things he has said to her.

 "Louisa keeps hoping things will change with the doctor, that is possibly where her heart is. But things keep happening between them to stop them getting together. Whenever it looks as if there will be a breakthrough there's a misunderstanding or mis-communication which leads them into deeper, hotter water.

"So she has two men she is interested in, but she doesn't trust either of them."

 The romantic fortunes of the doctor and Louisa weren't the only reason for Caroline returning for a third series of Doc Martin. She has fallen in love with Cornwall.

"It was lovely to be in Cornwall for the summer. We filmed for four months, and I lived in a cottage in the heart of the village. When I wasn't filming I went to the beach, and explored the area. I fell in love with the place. It would be lovely to have a little bolt hole there. Who knows, maybe?"

After the first series of Doc Martin, mother of two Caroline went back to the role of slick city suited cop, Detective Inspector Kate Ashurst in Murder In Suburbia.

Caroline's other television credits include The Vice, In Denial of Murder, Real Men, The Bill, Preston Front, Look Me In The Eye and The Guilty.