Doc Martin’s Martin Clunes slams Labour as his farm faces inheritance tax raid

It’s not easy being serious when you’re chatting with Martin Clunes. There is an innate humour to the man, which is, of course, why he’s made such a success of comedy creations including beer-guzzling idler Gary in the nineties sitcom Men Behaving Badly and crotchety Dr Martin Ellingham in drama-comedy Doc Martin.

But he can do serious, too, as he proved when he took on the role of real-life Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton in two series of crime drama Manhunt.

And it’s the serious stuff we happen to be mulling over – farming, to be precise. Martin and his TV producer wife Philippa Braithwaite bought their 130-acre farm in Dorset 18 years ago for £3million, meaning it will be liable for inheritance tax under new government legislation.

Unlike some in his profession, Martin’s not known for wading into politics, but this issue is too personal, too raw, for him to stay silent. When asked for his thoughts about the Government’s controversial measure, which the Daily Express has been campaigning against through our Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade, there is a pause – followed by a sigh.

“It’s sad that many farms that have been in the same family for generations will have to be sold,” he says. “Farming is largely overlooked. I’m not sure how focused this Government is on matters rural, or ever has been. Traditionally, farming has not been that important to Labour. There’s something else that upsets me more than the inheritance tax thing, though.”

Politically or just in general? It turns out it’s the former.

“It’s the impact of national insurance rises on employers,” he continues. “I’m involved with the Weldmar Hospice down here in Dorset, and I’m a patron of our Julia’s House children’s hospice. That’s about a quarter of a million pounds they’ve now got to take away from their services to pay the contributions and money is tight as it is.

“I’d love to have heard the conversations where people thought that was OK, in a sector that only gets 30 per cent of its support from the NHS. Coupled with the farming inheritance tax issue, it all looks a bit ‘f*** off and die’. Anyway… sorry, where were we?”

Farming! It forms the backdrop of his latest ITV drama Out There, set in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Martin plays a widowed farmer who takes on the county lines drug dealers exploiting vulnerable teenagers in his community.

The term “county lines” refers to the transportation of illegal drugs across local authority boundaries by gangs who coerce youngsters or vulnerable people into doing it to evade detection by police. Martin’s on-screen son Johnny – played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, the son of actor Andy Serkis – is sucked into this dangerous world.

Martin confesses he didn’t know a lot about the worrying practice until television bosses asked him to document it on screen in a drama.

“I’d heard about the phenomenon, of course, but when Ed Whitmore, the writer, and Marc Evans, the director, approached us with it as an idea, it seemed like a story worth telling,” he says. “We researched the whole county lines problem together.

“While Out There is a work of fiction, the way that business model operates is represented accurately, because the research was so thorough. It’s shocking – especially the stabbings.

“There is a story of at least one county lines-connected stabbing every day in the news, and the way these kids are used as a disposable work force is chilling and very frightening. It’s a very well thought-out, very nasty business – and it’s hidden in plain sight.”

Can he elaborate?

“It’s a kid in a hoodie on a bicycle. That’s what it looks like. That’s why it’s so clever. Almost subliminal. Unless you sit in a car and watch the movements of that kid on a bike, you presume it’s just a kid on a bike – but it might not be,” he says.

“Many of the kids who are recruited are vulnerable and, or, have conditions like autism. What I didn’t realise – and what many people may not know – is that these kids aren’t seduced by the ‘glamour’ of crime. They get tricked and trapped – like they do in our story – and then worse goes on.”

He references the practice of cuckooing, where a gang takes over the home of a vulnerable person who is living independently. “It’s endemic across the country and it’s terrifying,” he says.

Martin hopes Out There will bring the county lines phenomenon to the forefront of people’s minds. But it’s clear from talking to him that he’s just as passionate about standing up for farmers.

And that’s because he knows from first-hand experience how tough such an existence it is. When he first bought his farm, he tried to run it as a proper working concern.

“We had loads of sheep and cattle and I loved it, but I just couldn’t do it and still have my day job,” he admits with a glum face. “I had to face the economics of it, square on. What you see on Jeremy Clarkson’s Clarkson’s Farm programme is pretty much on the money.

“His portrayal of farming makes farmers feel they’ve been heard, but I wish more people were listening to them. There is not

a huge appetite for understanding rural life.”

Martin was born and bred in London but has found contentment in the countryside, especially on his own land.

“It’s my favourite place in the world. I can go for weeks without leaving the farm,” he says.

“I like being connected to the seasons in a real way. Making hay, worrying about the grass, watching the leaves come and go, caring for the animals. I am really happy there and never get lonely. I like travelling, and am lucky enough to have been to and worked in some amazing places, but I’ve always got an eye on coming home.”

He and Philippa are parents to Emily, 25, an event horse rider who is studying to become an equine vet. But he also has a growing brood of four-legged and feathered friends running free at home. He lists them all. “I’ve got five dogs, two cats, nine hens, seven horses and three cattle on the farm.

“We’re going to get some more cattle soon. I really enjoy producing – as well as eating – beef and I’ll be going to market and getting more cows. Proper cattle farming makes me feel like part of the community down here.”

When Martin moved to Bridport, one of the first people he met was local butcher Phil Frampton. Farming relies on a healthy eco-system to thrive and Martin enjoys ensuring his cows are happy. “I know my cattle are well looked-after,” he explains. “They get a vet when they’re sick and they’ve got a lovely view, and we grow nice grass for them to eat, too. So, they have a really, really great life. Then one bad day riding in a trailer.”

Martin and Philippa married in 1997 and have an equally fruitful relationship away from the farm. All of Martin’s TV dramas and travelogues are made by the couple’s production company Buffalo Pictures. For some couples, working together causes problems within their relationship, but Martin seems to thrive on it.

“That’s because I just do what she tells me,” he laughs. “Seriously, it’s the way it’s always been for us and it’s fine. We met because we were working together. All I know is that I’m happiest when Philippa’s by my side. The subject of work does crop up at home at times, but we do very different things on the shows we work on and we’re also partners in so many other things.”

He adds: “There’s so much else that goes on between us to talk about – our grown-up daughter Emily, the farm, our animals.”

Martin will, of course, be forever remembered for the perennially popular Doc Martin. Over a period of 18 years, 10 series of the Cornwall-based comedy drama were broadcast, plus a Christmas episode.

Considering the runaway success of the recent Gavin and Stacey festive episode, is he at all tempted to bring the Doc back? Even if it’s just for a seasonal special?

He shakes his head.

“It was probably the best job I’ve ever had, but it was time to end it when we did. We cancelled it ourselves. We didn’t want to start repeating story lines,” he smiles. However, Martin tells us he’s recently revisited Men Behaving Badly “in a roundabout way”. What? He’s made an Old Men Behaving Badly?

“God, no!” he exclaims. “We can never ever go back there. I’m 63! It would be tragic.

“No, Neil Morrissey and I have made a three-part travel show for U&Gold called Neil and Martin’s Bon Voyage.”

It turns out Neil lives in France and, in the show, he shows Martin around.

“We travelled around south west France and did all kinds of cool things – met a Pyrenees Mountain Dog in the Pyrenees, ate in Michelin-starred restaurants, fished for tuna, rode horses in the Camargue, and drove around in a car trying to make each other laugh,” he continues.

“We succeeded. We always make each other laugh. Always did. When we see each other, we just pick up where we left off. It was also great complaining about our aches and pains and what we can and can’t do.”

There’s also another travelogue in the can, The Islands of the Atlantic, which will be shown at some point this year. And, wait for it… he’s also about to start work on a big-budget movie!

“I’m very excited. I can’t say anything about it yet, but it’s a massive production and to think that this old bloke off the telly is in it is just brilliant,” he enthuses. “One of the biggest stars in the world at the moment is in it, too. And, er, I don’t mean me!”

• Out There starts at 9pm on January 19 on ITV and ITVX