Animal Instinct: an interview with Martin Clunes

Actor, director, television presenter, author and farmer Martin Clunes speaks to Isabelle Blakeney about his new book, his travels with Neil Morrissey, and his strong connections to animals ahead of his visit to the Bath Literature Festival in May.

‘Farmer’ might not seem like the most natural step in the career of an award-winning actor whose work has seen him star as two of the most beloved characters on British TV. But for Martin Clunes, being a caretaker of both creatures and characters is totally a labour of love.

Martin Clunes hit the big time starring as Gary Strang in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998) alongside Neil Morrissey, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, which followed two beer-guzzling flatmates whose comedic camaraderie (despite the pair’s flailing inadequacies with women) firmly landed both the series and the stars a place in the canon of comfort-watching TV.

While for Martin, that role (which earned him a BAFTA in 1996) defined a decade, in 2004 he embarked on his second career-defining role as Doctor Martin Ellingham, the titular character of award-winning, medical comedy drama Doc Martin which stacked up a total of 10 series before coming to a close in 2022.

Alongside his acting, Martin has maintained a flourishing career presenting a host of nature and animal documentaries, including Martin Clunes: A Man & his Dogs (2008), Martin Clunes: Islands of the Pacific (2022) and the upcoming Martin Clunes: Islands of the Atlantic (2025), profiling his love of animals for those who feel the same, never afraid to get emotional (and shed tears) on camera in his interactions with them.

Naturally he doesn’t save his zoological interests for the telly, because home for Martin is a 130-acre working farm near Beaminster, Dorset, where he and his wife Philippa have five dogs, two cats, six horses and a miniature Shetland pony, nine hens and a handful of cattle.

When we speak, Martin has just returned from a walk with his dogs. Despite it being “absolutely freezing cold!”, he’s sounding very chipper.

“I’ve got a block of no work at the moment, which is just fabulous. I have a patchy day job, you know? So I’ve got a young horse that we’re bringing on who’s become a real project. We’re teaching him how to be a horse, so it’s great to have time to give him. We’re going to start him pulling stuff, too. I love to drive a horse and cart.”

In December 2024, Martin released his second book, Meetings with Remarkable Animals, which he’ll be discussing on 20 May at The Guildhall, as part of the Bath Literature Festival. The book profiles his own life-changing encounters with animals around the world, celebrating the intelligence, loyalty and companionship of the often extraordinary creatures who share and connect with human lives such as medal-winning pigeons and life-saving dolphins.

“There are amazing stories”, he tells me. “Like the story of a blind man with a guide dog who was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. They’d had a terrorist attack a few months before and they’d made everybody aware of the escape routes. And when the worst thing in the world happened, he and his guide dog headed straight for the fire escape, and as they were going down, he just said: “Look, my name is Michael. This is my dog. We know these stairs, stick with us and we’ll get you through.” And they did. I think, really, what he offered was the reassurance that the dog gave him.”

The [Dorset] farm is such an amazing place – w­e’re about 600 feet above sea level. We can see out to sea, which is 10 miles away, and I can’t see a single road. It’s pretty magical

Martin has always felt a connection with animals, and it became more of an everyday affair after his marriage to Philippa in 1997 when they got their own dog.

“We had cats growing up. And then later on, when my father died, we got a dog called Jemima. But when I was a kid, we were right on the edge of Wimbledon Common, and there was a dog called Jackie who’d come with us and just hang out and be our dog for the day, so I guess I grew up surrounded by animals.

“But when you’re younger, you’re so preoccupied with yourself. So when Philippa and I were married, we got a dog called Mary who just became everything to us. And I guess that’s when we got silly about it.”

The couple gradually made the move to Dorset from London, first spending weekends at a cottage they’d bought, and then, when their daughter Emily was a toddler, making the move down permanently before settling in the farm where they live now. “The farm is such an amazing place – w­e’re about 600 feet above sea level. We can see out to sea, which is 10 miles away, and I can’t see a single road. It’s pretty magical.”

His affinity for animals played out in Doc Martin, too, where his on-screen co-star was Buddy, played by Dodger the Jack Russell/Westie mix. But Dr Ellingham’s relationship with his canine companion was slightly less enthused than his own… how did he ever bring himself to be grumpy with the pup?

“I never shouted at him!”, exclaims Martin. “I couldn’t. I mouthed at him, and we would add in the shouting later. He was a brilliant dog. The doctor hated dogs, but dogs adored him. Dodger was such a joy to work with. Sonia, his trainer, and I just had so much fun with him. He could do all kinds of tricks, like cock his leg on command – he wouldn’t actually wee, but we just added the sound later. Dogs are so smart. Other than spaniels [of which Martin has several] – there’s this saying that a Labrador is born half trained and a spaniel will die half trained.”

I’ve had so many letters from people who just say [Doc Martin] was a great comfort, I think because a bossy, posh man came in and fixed everything.

Doc Martin became a TV phenomenon and a cult classic, dominating our screens for 18 years, but after so long Martin was ready to say goodbye. “It was great, but I don’t miss it. It just felt like a natural time to stop. I’m 63 now, and GPs have to retire at some point.

“Port Isaac is gorgeous – when acting for cameras, there’s a lot of hanging around and waiting. So there we were, staring out to sea. I think I’ve stood outside the cottage that was the surgery, staring out to sea for more hours there than I have anywhere in my own garden! It was a really lovely gig, because virtually nobody was living at home while we were shooting it. So the crew were all staying in holiday cottages, rather than everybody desperately racing back to London every weekend. It was an amazing show.”

The show was a real comfort to so many of its viewers, explains Martin. “People say that they reach the end and go back to the beginning. A lot of people who are undergoing chemotherapy, actually. I’ve had so many letters from people who just say it was a great comfort, I think because a bossy, posh man came in and fixed everything.”

Martin and his wife, producer Philippa Braithwaite – whose credits include romantic comedy Sliding Doors (1998), Doc Martin (2004) and Manhunt (2019) – collaborate frequently, having founded Doc Martin’s production company Buffalo Pictures together.

Buffalo Pictures’ most recent production is the ITV drama Out There, which aired in January this year. The series takes a much darker turn from his previous work, and follows Welsh farmer Nathan, played by Martin, whose life is thrown into disarray after his son is drawn into a ruthless county lines drug trafficking ring.

“We wanted to look at the very real threat of county lines drug dealing and that struggle, along with the farming side of things. And I guess there aren’t that many actors who can drive a tractor, so with me we were killing two birds with one stone.”

Working together professionally with TV producer Philippa has been pretty smooth so far. “We work together really well. In fact, it’s how we met. The thing is we don’t do the same kind of job, so we’re not treading on each other’s toes, but she’s a really, really good producer.”

While his work has taken him far from his role as the laddish 30-something Gary in Men Behaving Badly, this character persists as one of his best-loved characters. “That show was a huge laugh, because that was the first time people learnt my name, I guess. I still get people writing to me about that, or they come up and tell me that they grew up watching me which I find a bit ageing!”

After 27 years Neil Morrissey and Martin have recently reunited in a show called Neil and Martin’s Bon Voyage, a new three-part TV road trip adventure through France with Neil, 62, showing Martin, 63, around the country Neil now calls his second home.

‘We ate. A lot. Neil has a place in the south, but we went all over – we went to these extraordinary caves with really beautiful stalagmites in Le Gouffre de Padirac in the Dordogne, and to Biarritz where we fished for some tuna which we then took to a restaurant and had cooked for us.”

“We were friends before, so it was great hanging out with him because he usually just comes down here for a weekend, or we go France, so to hang out with him for three weeks was pretty amazing.”

Martin’s documentary work has taken him to Madagascar, Greenland and Australia, and, in May he’s coming to… drum roll please… Bath!

“I love Bath – it’s a beautiful city. I’ve toured twice through Bath. But it’s really cramped backstage at the Theatre Royal! I mean, being on tour for weeks and weeks you get used to your timings, but then you’re coming down from the dressing room and you realise you can’t get behind the stage because it’s so small. Once I was late on stage because I was having to run underneath it!”

Does he have any plans for the rest of the day?

“I’ve got to train this horse. And I have a cow with an eye infection to deal with.”

It really is a farmer’s life for Martin.