Doc Martin - Series 7 on ABC in AUSTRALIA - Finally!!

Recently renewed UK drama Doc Martin is finally back for its seventh season on ABC next month.
It moves from Saturday to Sunday nights from 7:40pm February 7.

In the first episode Martin is in Portwenn, but his wife Louisa is not. After their tumultuous time last series, Louisa has gone to visit her mother in Spain: she wants some time to think and to get some perspective on their relationship. Martin is faced with two questions: will Louisa come back
to him, and what can he do to make sure that she does? He knows he needs to change for the sake of his marriage, and has promised Louisa he will see a therapist in order to help him do so.

Found HERE at TV Tonight.

Doc Martin series 8: Martin Clunes comedy confirmed to return for final outing

THERE were fears that it was getting axed but Doc Martin is returning for an eighth and final series, ITV has announced.

The last-ever run of the comedy drama, following the travails of Martin Clunes’ socially inept Doctor Martin Ellingham, is set to be broadcast next year.

Doc Martin star Ian McNeice, who plays Bert Large, revealed that the cast were told about series eight after they were invited to a dinner hosted by ITV.

The broadcaster held the event to celebrate the programme’s high ratings that were said to be “on a par with Downton Abbey”.

“Everybody in the cast was there and then the Head of ITV gets up and says ‘We love Doc Martin and as a vote of confidence we would like to give you one more show’,” the 65-year-old actor explained.

He continued: “The future is rosy. We would all like to do more with Martin and God bless them ITV have said they are going to do more.”  

Ian also confessed that he thought at the wrap party for series seven that the show would be drawing to a close, however he was pleased when it turned out his fears were misplaced.

“We had a cast and crew photograph and we had never had that before, and it was slightly unnerving that the end of this series we wrap things up nicely. But it is not over and we are thrilled,” he told The Mirror.

Keep reading HERE at the Express.

‘Doc Martin’s’ Martin Clunes on His Character’s Season 7 Arc: ‘We Never Want to Cure Him’

The doctor is in, once again. Season seven of fan-beloved British dramedy “Doc Martin” makes its U.S. debut on Thursday, and star Martin Clunes is excited for his American fans to see what’s in store for the dwellers of Portwenn in the episodes to come.

Clunes stars as the grouchy Dr. Martin Ellingham on the ITV series, bringing his medical services to a sleepy Cornish town after he must leave his post as a top London surgeon when he develops a fear of blood. Season six ended on a question mark as Ellingham’s beloved Louisa (played by Caroline Catz) and their baby were headed for Spain without him.

Calling in from his home in Dorset, Clunes spoke to Variety about the future of the series, the (vast) difference between the show’s British fans and its American ones, and whether Doc’s rudeness ever goes too far.

Season seven of “Doc Martin” makes its U.S. network debut Jan. 14. Southern California residents can find “Doc Martin” at 8 p.m. on KCET.

Doc has been on quite an emotional trip through the first six seasons. After that cliffhanger, what can we expect for his emotional state?
 
He’s in a bad place at the end of season six. When we meet him, he’s really lonely, really sad, but aware that he needs to make a change. With the help of his aunt, he’s got enough self-awareness to know that he needs some kind of therapy. But he’s sort of in denial about that because it doesn’t sit well with his beliefs. I start seeing a therapist, who quite soon asks if she can meet Louisa as well.

What did you think when you got that script?
 
We have to be medically accurate in this country. If you’re going to put it on the TV, it has to be correct procedurally. We hired a therapist who was a friend of one of our producers to sit in and have discussions with the writers. She turned out to be a fan of the show. She said, “Never mind him getting therapy. What about her?”

We just knew that Caroline would enjoy playing that. “What do you mean me?” Sure enough, they were a real joy to play, all the therapy scenes, both with and without Caroline.

Keep reading HERE at Variety.

ITV orders Doc Martin Series 8

ITV has ordered an eighth series of Doc Martin.

The hit comedy drama stars Martin Clunes as a grumpy medic living in a picturesque Cornish fishing village.

Ian McNeice, who plays Bert Large, confirmed the news whilst speaking to The Mirror.

He explained: "We were all invited by ITV to a dinner to thank us for the ratings we have had in October and November and they were the best we have had so far with seven million viewers - on a par with Downton Abbey and everybody was thrilled about that.

"Everybody in the cast was there and then the Head of ITV gets up and says 'We love Doc Martin and as a vote of confidence we would like to give you one more show'."

He concluded: "So there will be Series 8 and we will make it in the year 2017, because we always have a break in between. The future is rosy. We would all like to do more with Martin and God bless them ITV have said they are going to do more."

It is not clear whether the "one more show" quoted from the ITV executive means that the next series of Doc Martin will be the final run. As one of the highest rated shows on TV it seems unlikely the network would willingly axe the format at present, however the cast have been worried for some time that the show will end soon.

Talking about Series 7 - which concluded an eight-episode run in November - Ian McNeice said: "We all thought that was going to be the end.

Keep reading HERE at the British Comedy Guide.

Doc Martin’s Ian McNeice Confirms There Will Be More of the Hit Series

Who says keeping your fingers crossed doesn’t work? It certainly has for Doc Martin fans, as series costar Ian McNeice has confirmed that more of the hit dramedy is coming!

Ian McNeice was back in the US this past Monday, as the special guest for the KCET sneak peek of Doc Martin: Season 7 and station fundraiser, held at the residence of British Consul General Chris O’Connor in Los Angeles.

Since I couldn’t be there in person (yes, I sobbed into my tea at having to decline the invitation), KCET kindly arranged a phone interview with Ian for me. My fingers were crossed that he would have good news about Doc Martin, and did he ever!

If you’ve read my earlier interview with him, you’ll recall that Ian calls farmer Robert (whose warehouse is home for the Doc Martin sets) around this time of year about whether he has a job portraying Bert Large for another season. So my first question for Ian this time was, “Have you called the farmer yet?” He replied:

“Instead of calling the farmer, I was actually just able to tell the farmer something…
“It was at Christmastime I got an email from Philippa, the producer, to say that ITV, the company that makes [Doc Martin], wanted to take us out to dinner. Everybody. So that included all the cast, all the heads of departments… We had a very swanky dinner in a big hotel in London, and we were all thinking, ‘This is gonna be it. This is gonna be over. It’s all going to end.'”

But the head of ITV gave the gathering a bit of brilliant news, indeed. The network was commissioning more Doc Martin. As Ian exclaimed during our chat:

Keep reading HERE at The British TV Place.

Martin Clunes (aka Doc Martin) Proves That Laughter Is, Indeed, the Best Medicine

Having lived a good deal of my young life in Devon and Cornwall in southwest England, I was immediately drawn to a quirky television show on KCET called “Doc Martin.” In this outstanding comedy/drama, the beautiful and almost idyllic fishing village is really one of the main characters along with the protagonist, Doctor Martin Ellingham. Now about to launch season seven, this side of the pond, Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) took a few minutes to talk with us about the zany, albeit, brilliant buffoon of a doctor.

What makes this irritating doctor so bloody marvelous? That depends on who you ask. But for this reporter, it is just plain brilliant acting and writing, combined with a dash of cheekiness, all baked carefully into one a scrumptious Cornish pasty.

“Doc Martin” is a catchy comedy/drama that stars Clunes (“Men Behaving Badly”) as Martin Ellingham, whose truculence and tactless manner causes mayhem in a small Cornish community. The series details the trials and tribulations of the brash Ellingham, once a celebrated London surgeon who left his job after developing a phobia to blood. After retraining as a general practitioner, he gets a job in the beautiful but sleepy village of Portwenn, replacing their deceased local doctor – but his abrasive personality does not exactly mesh with the pace of the Cornish Village where time has stood still since the 15th Century … that is, until now.

Beacon Media (BM): Are you surprised by the global popularity of “Doc Martin?”

Martin Clunes (MC): We were really surprised and delighted to see so many countries embrace “Doc Martin.”

BM: When you are shooting in Port Isaac, Cornwall, how long are you there?

MC: Well we are there generally about five and a half months and I always pop home to the farm on Fridays for the weekend to be with my wife and daughter in Dorset.

BM: The incredibly quirky characters absolutely make the show and the writing is brilliant.
This year “Downton Abbey” has a float in the Rose Parade … any chance we may see a “Doc Martin/Portwenn Float” in a future Rose Parade here in Pasadena?

MC: What is “Downton Abbey,” never heard of it (laughing)? Actually, I had never really thought of it but I would not rule it out. That is funny.

BM: Season seven is rumored to be the last, is this true?

MC: No, definitely not. We are having way too much fun in Cornwall. I just love it there.

Keep reading HERE at Pasadena Independent.

Producer promises more to come from ‘Doc Martin’ beyond new season

Dr. Martin Ellingham, that blood-phobic, irascible village physician, isn’t done insulting his patients just yet. Season 7 of Doc Martin, premiering in January on public television, won’t be the last.

“There are lots of stories we want to explore, and we want to do them well,” series producer Philippa Braithwaite, wife of star Martin Clunes, told Current. “I think we’ll know when it’s time to end the show.”

That’s great news for fans, so crazy for the hit Britcom that they call themselves “Clunatics.”
Their passion for the quirky characters that populate the fictional English fishing village of Portwenn has catapulted the title to multiple adaptations worldwide: In Austria, there’s Der Bergdoktor; the Netherlands, Dokter Tinus. 

A U.S. version for commercial TV is now in the works, from Executive Producer Marta Kauffman (Friends, Grace and Frankie).

But fans — as well as the cast and crew — are constantly playing a nervous guessing game as to when the original British series could end.

New episodes are filmed every other year from March through July in scenic Port Isaac, a sleepy burg in Cornwall. On its home network of ITV, Doc Martin remains the highest-rated Monday show outside of longtime soap operas.

Braithwaite said each season is created so that it could be the last. “We never know when we finish if we will make another” season, she said, “so we finish deliberately so we could leave it right there.”

She admitted that Season 6 was the exception. Viewers were left with an emotional cliffhanger: Martin’s frustrated wife Louisa (played by Caroline Catz) had retreated to Spain with their infant son James to visit her mother, with no planned return date. Martin was left to wonder if, given his personality quirks, he should be married at all.

Keep reading HERE at Current.

EXCLUSIVE: Martin Clunes Talks on No. 7 for ‘Doc Martin’

HOLLYWOOD—Martin Clunes returns as the brash yet brilliant titular village physician in Britain’s “Doc Martin.” The long-awaited seventh series (season, as it is referred to in the U.S.) of the popular medical comedy premieres Thursday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. on some PBS stations. In Los Angeles, it airs on KCET, a non-commercial education independent television station. American Public Television distributes the series in the U.S., and PBS stations may carry it. Visit your local station’s website for updated schedule information and other bonus content.

Clunes, 54, has been playing Dr. Martin Ellingham since the series premiered in 2004. The series airs every two years thanks to a comfortable schedule that allows the show’s writers and producers (including Clunes’ real-life wife Philippa Braithwaite) a generous amount of time to write and film the series on location in Port Isaac in Cornwall (which stands in for the fictional seaside village of Portwenn, home to colorful villagers).

As Dr. Martin Ellingham, Clunes plays a GP whose combative attitude and tactlessness regular creates mayhem in the sleepy seaside community. In the season six cliffhanger, viewers watched as Martin saw his beloved wide, Louisa (Caroline Catz) and young child leave him. Season seven season picks up with his plan to win them back.

The award-winning actor apologizes profusely by phone because a train delay has pushed back his interview time just days before Christmas.

“I actually live out in the country,” the seasoned actor says. “Right now, it’s pretty grim here: dark, wet and windy.”

Unlike his iconic TV character, Clunes is personable and has an easygoing manner. He laughs easily and clearly enjoys playing his curmudgeonly character.

Q: The setting for your series couldn’t be a more perfect advertisement to visit Port Isaac. I can see why you’ve been doing this 11, going on 12 years.

Clunes: (He laughs.) Yeah, until we get found out.

Keep reading HERE at Front Row Features.