Created by: Dominic Minghella
Starring:
Martin Clunes
Caroline Catz
Ian McNeice
Joe Absolom
Selina Cadell
Jessica Ransom
Annabelle Apsion
Stephanie Cole
Katherine Parkinson
Louise Jameson
Eileen Atkins
Theme music composer: Colin Towns
Country of origin: United Kingdom
No. of series: 6
No. of episodes: 46 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s): Philippa Braithwaite
Running time: 38× 50mins, 1× 92mins
Broadcast
Original channel: ITV, STV, UTV
Picture format: 576i (2004 - 2009), 1080i (2009 - 2013)
Original run: 2 September 2004 – Present
Doc Martin is a British television medical comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in
the title role. It was created by Dominic Minghella after the character of Dr. Martin
Bamford in the 2000 comedy film Saving Grace. The show is set in the fictional
seaside village of Portwenn and filmed on location in the village of Port Isaac, Cornwall,
England, with most interior scenes shot in a converted local barn. Five series aired
between 2004 and 2011, together with a feature-length special that aired on Christmas
Day 2006. The sixth series began airing on ITV on 2 September 2013 and aired its last
episode "Departure" on 21 October 2013. A seventh series has been commissioned.
Synopsis
Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes), a brilliant and successful vascular surgeon at
Imperial College London, develops haemophobia (a fear of blood), forcing him to stop
practising surgery. He obtains a post as the general practitioner (GP) in the sleepy
Cornish village of Portwenn, where he spent childhood holidays with his Aunt Joan
(Stephanie Cole). Upon arriving in Portwenn — where, to his frustration, the locals
address him as "Doc Martin" — he finds the surgery in disarray. He inherits an
incompetent receptionist, Elaine Denham (Lucy Punch). In series 2-4, Pauline Lamb
(Katherine Parkinson), a new receptionist and later phlebotomist, replaces Elaine. In
2011, Morwenna Newcross (Jessica Ransom) takes up the post.
The show revolves around Ellingham's interactions with the local Cornish villagers.
Despite his medical brilliance, Ellingham is gruff and ill-mannered and lacks social skills.
His cold, abrasive manner offends many of the villagers. They perceive him to be short-
tempered and lacking in a bedside manner, whereas he feels he is performing his duties in
a professional and no-nonsense manner, not wasting time chatting with the villagers. The
villagers eventually discover his fear of blood and the frequent and debilitating bouts of
nausea and vomiting it causes. Ellingham's aunt, Joan Norton, provides emotional support
in the face of the disquiet his abrupt manner causes among the villagers. Ellingham also
finds it difficult to express his romantic feelings to primary school teacher Louisa
Glasson (Caroline Catz), often spoiling a rare tender moment with, for example, a
comment about an unpleasant medical condition or requesting a stool sample.
Original character
Martin Clunes originally played a character called "Dr Martin Bamford" in the 2000
film Saving Grace and its two made-for-TV prequels, Doc Martin and Doc Martin and the
Legend of the Cloutie, which were made by British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). The
prequels show Bamford, a successful obstetrician rather than surgeon, finding out that his
wife has been carrying on extramarital affairs behind his back. After confronting her
with the news, he escapes London and heads for Cornwall, which he remembers fondly
from his youth. Shortly after he arrives, he is involved in the mystery of the
"Jellymaker" and, following the departure of the village's resident GP, decides to stay in
Port Isaac and fill the gap. In these three films the village is not known as Portwenn.
The original deal was to produce two such television films per year for three years, but
Sky Pictures folded after the first two episodes were made, so Clunes's company tried to
sell the franchise to ITV. ITV felt the Martin Bamford character should be portrayed as
a "townie", out of his depth and uncomfortable in the country. They also wanted
something edgier, so Clunes suggested the doctor be very grumpy and socially inept. The
new doctor's surname was to be Ellingham, an anagram of the last name of the new writer,
Dominic Minghella, who was brought in to rework the doctor's background and create a
new cast of supporting characters.
Along with Clunes, the only actors to appear in both versions of Doc Martin are Tristan
Sturrock and Tony Maudsley.
Episodes
List of Doc Martin episodes
Six series totaling 46 episodes have aired on ITV in the UK between 2004 and 2013.
Episodes are 50 minutes, except the 2006 TV film which is 92 minutes. In the US,
American Public Television provides the 2006 TV film as a two-part episode with the
second episode airing the week after the first.
The first three series were broadcast from 2004-2007; subsequent series have aired
only in odd-numbered years.
Series 7
Clunes has confirmed that the seventh series will be shot in 2015, but because of the
difficulty in creating new storylines, the series may be the show's last.
Ratings
In the UK, Doc Martin has been a ratings success for ITV with the third series achieving
ITV's best midweek drama performance in the 9pm Monday slot since December 2004. The final episode of the third series was watched by 10.37 million viewers, which is
the programme's highest-ever viewing figure for a single episode.
In 2009, Doc Martin was moved to a 9pm Sunday time slot for the broadcast of Series
4. That change meant that it followed-on from ITV's The X Factor programme. Series 4
ratings were adversely impacted by STV not screening the majority of ITV drama
productions in Scotland. The final episode of Series 4 had ratings of 10.29 million
viewers. STV went back on its decision not to screen ITV drama in Scotland. Series 4 of
Doc Martin was broadcast on Sunday afternoons in August 2011.
Foreign adaptations
Notro Films produced a Spanish version under the title Doctor Mateo for Antena 3
Televisión. It aired in 2009 and was shot in Lastres, Asturias, with the fictional name of
San MartÃn del Sella twinned with Portwenn.
French television producers Ego Productions, in cooperation with TF1, have produced a
French version of the series starring Thierry Lhermitte as Dr Martin Le Foll, with the
series based in the fictional Breton town of Port-Garrec, twinned with Portwenn.
In Germany, Doktor Martin an adaptation of the original series, airs on ZDF with Axel
Milberg as Doktor Martin Helling, a surgeon from Berlin. The counterpart of
Portwenn was the real existing village of Neuharlingersiel in East Frisia.
In Austria the equivalent to Doc Martin is Der Bergdoktor which translates to The
mountain doctor. The doctor is called Dr Martin Gruber played by Austrian actor Hans
Sigl. It is set in the picturesque village of Ellmau in the Tirol region. Like Portwenn this
is a rural setting but in mountains rather than on the coast. The series began in 2008.
In Greece, Kliniki Periptosi an adaptation of the original series, was aired in November
2011 on Mega Channel with Yannis Bezos as Markos Staikos, a surgeon from New York.
In the Netherlands Dokter Tinus based on the original series began airing in late August
2012 on SBS6 with the main role being played by actor Thom Hoffman. The series was
shot in Woudrichem.
A Russian version is mentioned in the Series 5 bonus material.
In 2004 Doc Martin won the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Drama, having
also been nominated as Best New TV Comedy. In the same year, Martin Clunes won the
Best TV Comedy Actor award, primarily for his portrayal of Doc Martin
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