A look back at Doc martin TV series, cast, plot, viewing figures and more

The trials and tribulations of Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes), a socially challenged doctor who moves from London to the picturesque village of Port Wenn in Cornwall.

Doc Martin season 10 and Christmas special will see Martin Clunes play Portwenn’s grumpy Dr Martin Ellingham for the last time.

Sadly, Doc Martin season 10 is the final ever series of the Martin Clunes hit TV series

Doc Martin is a British television medical comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role of Doctor Martin Ellingham.

So, it will be bittersweet for fans when the show returns on ITV later in 2022, ending with a Christmas special. 

The drama set in the Cornish village of Portwenn has been a regular part of the ITV schedules since 2004 and is popular around the world, from Spain and Italy, to Scandinavia and Australia. 

Doc Martin season 10: cast, what happens, and all about the Cornish drama’s final ever series in 2022.

Martin Clunes who’s played grumpy Dr Martin Ellingham for nearly two decades says: “I have loved going to Cornwall to make Doc Martin over the last 18 years, and I have looked forward to returning to this beautiful county this year for the tenth and final series. The people of Cornwall, and Port Isaac in particular, have always been so helpful to us when we are making the series.

“We have some great story lines for the new series, and for the Christmas special, which I hope Doc Martin fans will love.  I shall miss Cornwall, and all the lovely people we have worked with. But it is the right time to say farewell to the Doc, and Portwenn.”

So here’s everything you need to know about Doc Martin season 10…

Doc Martin the worldwide hit

The first seven series of Doc Martin have been produced locally in seven territories worldwide — the UK, Germany, France, Greece, Netherlands, Czech Republic/Slovakia and Spain — and the drama has been sold to 138 countries in total. Various fishing villages in each of those countries becoming the equivalent of Portwenn. 

Doc Martin season 10 release date

Doc Martin is hopefully going to land on ITV late in 2022. Filming is now well under way on the new series.

We believe it highly likely that the eight-part series will launch this autumn, and there may well be a celebratory documentary about the series to accompany it but this is yet to be confirmed. The “last hurrah” Christmas special will then arrive in December 2022 and will be a Christmas TV highlight. We shall also update with its US and worldwide air date when we hear.

Doc Martin season 10 plot

At the end of the last series of Doc Martin in 2019, the Doc decided, after having his medical career scrutinised by the General Medical Council because of his blood phobia, that he would resign from being Portwenn’s GP. So this final series of Doc Martin sees the Doc making efforts to overcome his phobia, and beginning to question whether he made the right decision about resigning. He and wife Louisa have also welcomed a baby daughter, Mary Elizabeth, a sister for four-year-old James Henry, so we’re guessing their household will be pretty raucous in this series.

There have also been some new filming shots which show Martin beside a car on the edge of a cliff! It’s unclear exactly what happens in the scene but there’s also a shot of a woman at the bottom of the cliff.

Doc Martin season 10 cast

In Doc Martin season 10, Martin Clunes is back starring as Dr Martin Ellingham, the grumpy local GP in the fictional Cornish seaside village of Portwenn who has a very brusque bedside manner and a phobia of blood. In recent years Martin Clunes has starred in a number of hit dramas including playing DCI Colin Sutton in Manhunt and Manhunt season 2 on ITV. He’s also presented a number of travel shows on ITV including Martin Clunes Islands of the Pacific

Caroline Catz also returns to plays Doc Martin’s wife, Louisa Ellingham, who resigned from her job as headmistress at the local school to pursue a new career in child counselling. Other returning regular cast include Dame Eileen Atkins who plays Doc Martin’s formidable Aunt Ruth. Ian McNeice is back to play Bert Large, with Joe Absolom as his son Al. John Marquez is again playing PC Joe Penhale, Jessica Ransom is the doctor’s receptionist Morwenna Newcross and Selina Cadell is the local pharmacist Mrs Tishell.

More about the Doc Martin Christmas special

Talking about Doc Martin Christmas special, ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill says: “If this really has to be the final series of Doc Martin, we thought we’d also commission a Christmas special! It’ll be sad to see the series come to an end after entertaining audiences on ITV for the last 18 years, but we’ll make sure the finale is memorable and befitting such a success story.  Our thanks to Martin Clunes, Philippa Braithwaite and the amazing cast and crew for creating such a special series.”

Filming Doc Martin in Port Isaac, Cornwall

The huge popularity of Doc Martin has brought thousands more tourists to the pretty hamlet of Port Isaac, and the surrounding areas of the north coast of Cornwall, to see where the series is filmed and all the local hotspots made famous by Doc Martin. This boost to tourism was recognised by Cornwall Tourism which presented a special award for outstanding contribution to tourism to the Doc Martin team. Over the years Buffalo Pictures has made regular contributions to Port Isaac’s village funds. The funding has been used by the villagers to help and support a range of local facilities.