Martin Clunes hints at Doc Martin return as he cryptically says ‘maybe’

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes has not ruled out a return to the hit ITV show four years after it last aired, saying ‘maybe’ to the prospect of a future Christmas Special

Popular television series Doc Martin hasn’t been broadcast since the 2022 Christmas Special, concluding an impressive 18-year run.

Audiences might have assumed that was the final appearance of the affable GP who relocates to Cornwall, but the programme’s leading man, Martin Clunes, hasn’t completely ruled out a possible comeback.

The actor, alongside the show’s production team, explained the series concluded to prevent it from growing tired after 10 series on ITV and a television film.

However, Martin, speaking on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast, didn’t entirely dismiss the prospect of a future Christmas Special.

Gyles enquired: “18 years of it, was it? And you’ve abandoned it now, it’s all over? Or there may be the odd Christmas Special, like Men Behaving Badly?” reports the Express.

Martin responded simply: “Maybe.”

The well-liked actor, 64, has previously discussed the potential for a feature-length Doc Martin film.

He explained: “There was talk from one of the movie distributors about making a film version of Doc Martin, and my answer at the moment, two years on from finishing the 10th and final series, is never say never – it could happen.”

Meanwhile, those keen to satisfy their Doc Martin cravings will need to look across the Atlantic, as an American adaptation launched Stateside earlier this year.

The programme, titled Best Medicine, centres on Dr Martin Best, a top surgeon from Boston who, as in the British original, develops a phobia of blood. He then relocates to a private practice in a small fishing village in Maine.

Martin suitably takes on the role of the main character’s father.

Speaking on the podcast, the actor revealed: “I guest as his father. But he’s great, Josh Charles plays the doctor and he’s really good. And it’s sort of, it’s all in Upstate New York. It’s weird as hell.”

Martin’s professional schedule has been particularly hectic of late. In an unusual move into cinema, the actor took on a substantial supporting part in Emerald Fennell’s interpretation of Wuthering Heights earlier this year.

He also portrayed discredited BBC newsreader Huw Edwards in the Channel 5 programme Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards.

The actor has also spoken candidly about his personal life, confessing “I miss her” after a significant family development. He described the part as “weird”.

The Men Behaving Badly star shares one daughter with his producer wife Philippa Braithwaite. The pair welcomed Emily in 1999, their sole child.

Following her departure to pursue equine veterinary nursing at Hartpury University in Gloucester, he acknowledged the adjustment proved challenging.

He remarked: “I miss her. She left home.”

When questioned about his parenting abilities, Martin replied: “You’d have to ask her. I think I am, yes. I’m doting, adoring.”