Martin Clunes says he is ‘ok’ with the series ending
Actor Martin Clunes is most well known for playing Martin Ellingham in the long-running ITV drama Doc Martin.
However, after 18 years in the role, the beloved show came to an end during the festive special last year.
Since then, Martin has spent some time away from the limelight, although fans can expect to see him make his TV return soon in ITV’s upcoming thriller Out There.
Away from the cameras, the actor lives a pretty quiet life with his wife in the countryside.
As the soap star is celebrating his 62nd birthday this month, Express.co.uk are taking a look into the actor’s life
Famous dad
It looks as though Martin is from a line of people within the entertainment industry and has followed in his father’s footsteps.
The Wimbledon-born star has a famous parent as his dad Alec Clunes, was a well-known actor and theatrical manager.
Alec worked on a string of productions from 1940 to the early 1960s and featured in the likes of Shakespeare’s Richard III, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing and Tiger in the Smoke.
The actor died from lung cancer in March 1970 at the age of 57.
Sadly, it seems as though Martin didn’t have a close relationship with his dad as he told The Telegraph in 2012: “I keep finding things out about him as I get older.
“Yes, I think he probably was quite tortured. I think he gave a lot of people quite a hard time. He was a bit of a [expletive] actually.
“I don’t think he was very nice to my mum.”
Becoming Doc Martin
Martin’s acting career started in the early 1980s when he featured in Mikhail Bulgakov’s The White Guard for the BBC Play of the Month.
At the age of 22, he played the role of Nigel Crabtree in the sitcom No Place Like Home alongside the likes of Patricia Garwood and William Gaunt.
Although his rise to stardom came from appearing in Men Behaving Badly as Gary Strang, where he earned a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance.
The popular sitcom ran until 1998 and Martin starred in a string of shows after it came to an end.
However, six years later Martin landed the role of Martin Ellingham in the long-running drama Doc Martin.
Set in the fictional seaside village of Portwenn, ITV viewers kept up with the no-nonsense doctor for nearly 20 years.
Despite the show being loved by millions, it came to an end at the end of 2022.
Speaking about the decision to call it a day, the actor stated the show had run its course.
He told the Loose Women panel back in 2020: “All good things have to come to an end.
“I’m sure there are lots of people who aren’t fans of the show who think it’s terribly repetitive anyway, but we’re at huge pains not to repeat ourselves.
“I just think we’ve sort of done everything. I mean, it would be so great to just sort of carry on, but I don’t think we can keep it as good.”
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“Rotten” marriage
At the end of 1990, Martin married his first wife and fellow actress Lucy Aston.
The pair were married for three years, but since the split, Martin hasn’t held back and brutally referred to his first marriage as “rotten” in the past.
According to The Mirror, they decided to go their separate ways after a big bust-up in a restaurant.
Lucy claimed to the publication in the late 90s: “He told me I was boring and different and I just thought: ‘No more.’
“I stood up and said ‘Thanks for dinner – this is the end’ and stormed out. I sat in the car shaking with rage.
“Later I went back and Martin was sitting there, surrounded by takeaway cartons filled with our meal. He just looked at me.
“I took off my gold wedding ring, slammed it on the table, and walked out. We both knew it was over.”
The pair divorced in 1997 before he met now-wife Philippa Braithwaite, who he married later that year.
Family life
Once he married Philippa, who was a producer on Doc Martin, the pair welcomed their daughter Emily two years after getting wed.
Their daughter is an event horse rider who once lived on their 130-acre farm in Dorset before moving to Gloucester to study equestrian science.
On their rural farm, they own an array of animals including horses, chickens, dogs, and cats.
However, Emily briefly made an appearance in Doc Martin alongside her father back in 2009 during season four.
She featured in the eighth episode as a schoolgirl in one scene where she spoke to a teacher about the Harbour Day celebrations.
Although she only starred in the show in a minor role, it seems as though Emily was still emotional when Doc Martin came to an end.
Speaking to Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine, Martin said: “When she drove away from the cottage where we stay during filming she started crying because she knew it would be the final time she’d be going there and I felt guilty for bringing that on her.”
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