Inside Martin Clunes’ wild life – famous dad, bitter split and huge £14m fortune

2022-08-08

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It's the end of an era for Martin Clunes as he this week shoots his last ever scenes as Doc Martin.

The 60-year-old has played Dr Martin Ellingham, a sleepy Cornish village's grumpy GP, in the popular ITV comedy drama since 2004, but the next series of the long running show will be the last.

He's told how he'll miss Port Isaac, where it's filmed, and its local residents when it comes to an end after 18 years.

But with plenty of miles left in the tank, it's unlikely he'll disappear from our screens.

Last year Clunes starred in ITV series Manhunt: The Night Stalker. The series, based on the true story of the police investigation into a notorious serial burglar and rapist, saw him play Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton.

He previously starred as DCI Colin Sutton in the prequel series, Manhunt, which drew an average of 9million viewers and was the highest rated new drama on any channel in 2019.

Clunes drew praise for his portrayal of the top cop, a different kind of role in a more comedy focused career. He's perhaps best known for his role in Doc Martin and 90s sitcom Men behaving badly.

He was born on November 28, 1961 in Wimbledon, South West London, and is the son of famous Shakespearean actor Alec Clunes. It is reported that his mother Daphne also worked for Orson Welles.

Educated at the Royal Russell school in Surrey and then the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, West London, he made his television debut in popular sci-fi television programme Doctor Who in 1983.

He starred opposite Peter Davison's fifth doctor in the four part story Snakedance, as Lon, alongside actors including Jonathon Morris who would later star as Adrian in Carla Lane's comedy Bread.

In 1983, he also became a recurring character in the television series No Place Like Home as Nigel, one of four children who return to live at home with their parents Arthur and Beryl Crabtree, played by William Gaunt and Patricia Garwood.

However, one of Clunes' most memorable roles was as Gary in the BBC comedy Men behaving badly, a show about two flatmates in their thirties, from 1992 to 1999.

In the programme he starred alongside Neil Morrissey as flatmate Tony, and Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, as girlfriends Dorothy and Deborah.

Since 2004, Clunes has also played Dr Martin Ellingham in the ITV Series Doc Martin and has starred in programmes and tv films including Goodbye Mr Chips, Reggie Perrin and Arthur and George.

He also presented the documentary, Martin Clunes: My Travels and other animals in 2019 and has hosted programmes including Have I got news for you.

The actor's net worth is now estimated at £15million.

In 2015, Clunes was also made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama, charity and to the Dorset community, where he lives with his wife Philippa Braithwaite.

In 1997, he married executive and producer Philippa Braithwaite, who is known for producing television programmes and films including 1998's Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

He was previously married to the actress Lucy Aston, but their marriage came to a bitter end after seven years, with Martin branding the union "rotten".

Lucy hit back, telling the Mail: "I want Martin to stop telling everyone what a failure it was and what an awful time he had. In truth, I was the one who had a terrible time."

She added: "I'll always love Martin, but he needs to take responsibility for the collapse of our marriage instead of constantly dismissing it so scathingly in public."

Clunes and Braithwaite met while working together and have since worked on productions including Doc Martin and 2019's Manhunt.

They have a 23-year old daughter called Emily.

In an interview with the Irish News, Clunes said he proposed to Braithwaite after they were separated for a long period of time when he was filming in San Francisco and Hawaii.

Clunes said: "It was the longest we'd been apart, and I missed her so much that I proposed, while she was really jet-lagged and in such a strange place."

It is reported that the couple live on a 130-acre farm in Beaminster, Dorset with a variety of animals including 14 horses.

Clunes and Braithwaite worked together again on the ITV 2021 drama Manhunt: The Nightstalker.

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