Doc Martin Series 5

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The nation’s favourite grumpy medic, Doc Martin, with his tactless and brusque bedside manner and a phobia of blood, is returning to ITV1 next year.

　
Martin Clunes will reprise his role as Dr. Martin Ellingham in eight new episodes of the enormously successful drama produced by Buffalo Pictures and set in the idyllic, sleepy hamlet of Port Wenn in Cornwall.

　
Filming will begin next spring on location in picturesque Port Isaac with all regular members of the cast returning to the popular series.
　
　
Doc Martin averaged 10.6 million viewers and a 37% share of the audience and peaked at 10.9 million when it last screened on ITV1 in 2010. Audience figures since the series was introduced in 2004 have averaged in excess of 9 million viewers.

　
Returning to the series, Caroline Catz will play Doc Martin’s long-suffering love interest and local schoolteacher, Louisa Glasson, who had a baby boy, James, with the doctor during the last series and is desperately trying to make a go of their relationship in spite of Martin’s tendency to be incredibly rude and obstinate.

　
Eileen Atkins plays Doc Martin’s no-nonsense, formidable Auntie Ruth who splendidly berates her nephew for his lack of personal skills, but clearly possesses his personality traits. She doesn’t suffer fool’s, just like her nephew, and doesn’t think twice about taking on her neighbours and creating confrontation.

　
Ian McNeice returns as local restaurateur and handyman, Bert Large, a character he has played from the beginning of the series. His tolerant and loveable son Al, played by Joe Absolom, who frequently has to cope with his fair share of Bert’s madcap schemes, will also reprise his role.

　
John Marquez has played eccentric local police officer PC Joe Penhale, who often panics when faced with an emergency, since series three. John returns for the new series and will no doubt create more problems than he solves as he attempts to instill law and order into the community.

　
Jessica Ransom, who became the doctor’s latest receptionist, Morwenna Newcross, in the last series, also returns to create chaos in the surgery and hopefully keep the doctor in line.

　
"I’m thrilled to be going back to the beautiful North Cornish coast to shoot series six of Doc Martin," said Martin. "Our challenge this season will be to force Louisa and the doctor to live together with Baby James which as far as I can see has disaster written all over it…..And then there’s the dog and Dame Eileen but not necessarily in that order!"

　
Created by Dominic Minghella, who gifted the main character Martin Ellingham with his surname as an anagram of his own, Doc Martin was an instant success and hit with viewers, winning a place in the hearts of the audience despite Doc Martin’s lack of social skills.

　
Philippa Braithwaite will produce the series and Mark Crowdy will executive produce.

　
Doc Martin has been recommissioned for ITV1 by Drama commissioning team Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes.

　
"Doc Martin is one of our most loved and valued dramas and I’m so pleased that we’re returning to Port Wenn to spend more time with the irascible Doctor, his family and patients," said Laura.

　
Doc Martin is screened worldwide including in Africa, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Russia, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, Uruguay and Venezuela amongst other countries.
　

[Perdita]

Monday, 2nd September, 9.00 - 10.00pm

Wedding bells are ringing for the Doc and Louisa. But will the marriage finally go ahead? The Doc is irritated by PC Penhale, who wrongly presumes he is best man, plus Louisa is late... The Reverend has his doubts as to whether she will turn up, putting Martin on edge. But she does, looking beautiful and at long last they tie the knot.

Later at the wedding reception Martin is even more irritated by the swarms of villagers who have turned up to celebrate; he thought it was going to be a small wedding. Louisa gets defensive; she thinks it is lovely that the villagers have turned up to wish them well. They try to sneak off early from the party, but Bert reveals he is driving them to a secret location for their wedding night. Louisa is thrilled thinking that Martin has arranged the surprise. But it is actually a present to them from the villagers. Ruth offers to look after baby James Henry for the night.

The honeymoon lodge is in the middle of nowhere and is perfect, apart from Bert driving off with their suitcases. They light a fire and settle down to enjoy a glass of champagne, but smoke fills the room, the chimney is blocked. They manage to put the fire out, but the room is ruined. Martin charges off into the night to find some help; Louisa teeters behind him in her wedding dress and heels, trying to keep up. As time ticks by, it is getting darker and Martin and Louisa start to bicker; Louisa is adamant they are lost. They hear a blood curdling scream and a man shouting. Martin is terrified, but Louisa is a country girl and knows it is just a farmer scaring off foxes. She perks up; where there is a farmer, there must be a farm house, and a phone.

Ruth is having a hard time looking after James. He refused to eat his dinner and he won’t settle, crying continuously. To make matters worse, they have a power cut. Ruth calls Al out, but he is unable to fix the problem. Al calls a mate to help. PC Penhale notices the candle burning at the Doc’s and comes to see if everything is alright, trying (uselessly) to help. Bert comes round to see how Al is getting on; it’s a full house Finally Al’s mate, Mike Pruddy, arrives - he was an electrician in the army. The lights are fixed and Mike is a dab hand with children. He points out to Ruth that James is teething and some vanilla essence applied to the gums soothes him. James falls asleep, much to Ruth’s relief.

Instead of a farmhouse Martin and Louisa find an old, shambolic caravan. In the dark Martin stumbles over a chicken hatch, breaking it and the chickens escape into the woods. A crazy old man called Bellamy orders them to sort out his coop, waving a shot gun. Nervously Martin tries his best, whilst Louisa runs about trying to collect the chickens. Martin does such a bad job that Bellamy takes over. Martin has to hold the pole in place, but as Bellamy is swinging his hammer, Martin moves. Bellamy over shoots and pulls his shoulder out of its socket. Martin quickly puts his shoulder back in place. But then Martin knocks over the front porch of the caravan which collapses onto Bellamy. Blood is pouring from the wound and Martin has to perform emergency surgery with Louisa by his side. They save Bellamy’s life, and the disaster brings them closer together.


Cast list:

Martin Clunes - Dr Martin Ellingham
Caroline Catz - Louisa Glasson
Eileen Atkins - Ruth Ellingham
Ian McNeice - Bert Large
Joe Absolom - Al Large
John Marquez - PC Joe Penhale
Jessica Ransom - Morwenna Newcross
Felix Scott - Mike Pruddy
David Ryall - Vicar

Series overview:



Wedding bells are ringing in Portwenn as Martin Clunes returns to Cornwall to play the nation’s favourite grumpy medic in a brand new series of Doc Martin for ITV.

Martin Clunes reprises his role as Dr. Martin Ellingham, the GP with a brusque bedside manner and a phobia of blood, in eight new episodes of the enormously successful drama produced by Buffalo Pictures and set in the idyllic hamlet of Portwenn.

All the regular members of the cast return for this popular series, filmed in the picturesque North Cornwall village of Port Isaac

[Perdita]

9th September

Episode two: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

It is Louisa’s first day back at school and their new child minder, Mel, is late for work. When Mel finally does arrive Martin is dubious about handing James over to this woman who is constantly scratching. That evening Martin has to go to the school concert. He tries to be sociable and ends up inviting Dennis Dodds over for dinner. Dennis is the chairman of the school’s board of governors and in Louisa’s opinion he is a pain in the neck.

The next day Martin insists the new nanny has a medical appointment to diagnose the cause of the itch. When he tells Mel the cause is aninfection which is common in fat people, she is furious and hands in her notice leaving Martin holding the baby. Martin has to look after James whilst trying to see to patients. Mike Pruddy turns up to check on the electrics, he is a natural with James and Martin gets Mike to look after James for the rest of the day.

Ruth has been roped into doing a phone-in programme on Radio Portwenn with Caroline the DJ. A listener called ‘Cliff’ phones in saying he finds it difficult to make friends. ‘Cliff’ is really PC Penhale, but Ruth is unaware of this. Ruth gives Cliff some advice: to make friends you have to be nice to people, so Penhale goes into NICE overdrive.

When Louisa learns that Martin got a stranger to look after James, she is furious. The argument erupts just as Dennis and his wife Karen arrive for dinner, both looking like they have had a bit to drink. The dinner is a little awkward and Martin looks down on both Karen and Dennis for drinking, which irritates Louisa. When James starts crying Louisa goes up to check on him, telling Martin to come with her. Louisa admonishes Martin for being rude to their guests, but admits that both Dennis and Karen are annoying and have a drink problem. As they head downstairs they enter a stoney cold silence and twig that the baby monitor is on... Dennis and Karen heard everything!

Morwenna is feeling lonely, she misses living with her grandfather. She is also struggling to pay the bills, so she decides to advertise for a lodger. But when Crystal and her boyfriend turn up or the room Morwenna quickly turns them down as completely unsuitable. Bert drops a bombshell on Al; he has rented out Al’s room to visiting tourists and Al is going to have to share a room with his old dad. After a sleepless night next to a snoring Bert, Al realises he needs to find somewhere else to live. He hears Morwenna is looking for a lodger.

The next day PC Penhale is on his charm offensive in a bid to win friends. He flatters Dennis and even continues to be nice after Dennis accidentally crashes into his police car. Penhale presumes that Dennis is drunk as he is slurring and stumbling and asks him nicely to do a breathaliser test, but a furious Dennis won’t cooperate. Mr Nice Guy Penhale snaps and forces Dennis to do the test, which turns out to be negative.

Louisa feels tries to apologise to Dennis for the night before; but Dennis is full of anger after crashing into PC Penhale’s vehicle and being falsely accused of drink driving. They have an argument and Dennis falls off his balcony. Louisa calls Martin. Dennis isn’t seriously hurt, but Martin realises that Dennis has slow reflexes and has Parkinson’s disease, not a drink problem.

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Episode three: The Tameness of a Wolf

Two fisherman wake the Doc and Louisa at the crack of dawn -they found a man collapsed on the beach. Martin examines the mystery man. His name is Robert Campbell. When Robert realises the Doc is Dr Ellingham, he starts to probe Martin about his family. Martin doesn’t engage. After examining the man he gives him some rehydration salts and asks Morwenna note his details for the results, but Robert disappears before she has the chance.
It’s Mike’s first day looking after James. Louisa is frosty with him. When she gets to school she can’t help but feel uneasy and sneaks back home to check up on Mike - they are fine. Al moves into Morwenna’s.

Robert is in the village and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Ruth. Later when she is having a coffee with Caroline (who is trying to persuade her to do another radio show), Robert is spying on her. When Ruth returns to her car she finds a red rose on the windscreen. she is unsure who it can be from and is a little unnerved. Robert follows Ruth up to her farm. Ruth isn’t sure why, but she is feeling uneasy.

Martin examines Becky Wead, she has an upset stomach and blames it on a meal she ate at the Large restaurant. Becky has written all about it in an article for the school newspaper and goes to press without Louisa proofreading the article. Becky hands out copies of the school newspaper to the whole village. Bert and Al are furious. They go to see Louisa wanting something to be done, but Louisa really doesn’t need this stress. As they head home Bert sees someone he used to know trying to get into the chemist. Jennifer Cardew is the new locum pharmacist and is staying at the Crab and Lobster. But Bert manages to persuade her with the offer of cheap lodgings to come and live with him.

The next day Ruth leaves the farm early for the radio phone in. She pops in to see Martin, it’s her birthday and arranges to have lunch with him later that day. Robert is in the local shops and hears that Ruth will be on the radio. Knowing that she is at the radio station, he phones into the show from her house. Robert asks Ruth if he should tell the woman he loves that he loves her. Ruth tells him yes.

Martin tells Becky Wead that her stomach pains are from an ulcer not food poisoning. The article she wrote was a complete lie.

Ruth arrives home from the radio interview to find a birthday cake on her kitchen table. She presumes it was Martin. But it wasn’t. Ruth admits to Martin that she thinks she has a secret admirer who is putting her a bit on edge. Martin is shocked that she could have an admirer at her age. Martin confesses to Ruth that his hemophobia is back. Ruth tells him it is because he never dealt with it properly in the first place.
Martin gets the results in from Robert’s blood test, he has diabetes and needs to be contacted immediately. Morwenna doesn’t have his details. She calls Penhale who is checking a car blocking an entrance to a field . It’s Robert’s car and Penhale finds a copy of Ruth’s book inside, with obsessive notes written all over it. Martin realises something is wrong and races to the farm.

At the farm Ruth hears something upstairs, the bath is running. She goes to investigate and Robert reveals himself. Robert is a former patient of Ruth’s and is in love with her. Ruth calmly tries to deal with the situation. Martin arrives which spooks Robert and causes him to barricade the door so no one can get in. Martin breaks through, explaining to Robert he has diabetes and needs treatment. Penhale arrives which stresses Robert out even more. Ruth tells Martin that perhaps he needs to give Robert some sedative drugs, rather than diabetic drugs first. There is a tussle and Martin is cut by a knife but Ruth manages to jab Robert with the sedative.

[alan45]

Episode three: The Tameness of a Wolf

Two fisherman wake the Doc and Louisa at the crack of dawn -they found a man collapsed on the beach. Martin examines the mystery man. His name is Robert Campbell. When Robert realises the Doc is Dr Ellingham, he starts to probe Martin about his family. Martin doesn’t engage. After examining the man he gives him some rehydration salts and asks Morwenna note his details for the results, but Robert disappears before she has the chance.
It’s Mike’s first day looking after James. Louisa is frosty with him. When she gets to school she can’t help but feel uneasy and sneaks back home to check up on Mike - they are fine. Al moves into Morwenna’s.

Robert is in the village and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Ruth. Later when she is having a coffee with Caroline (who is trying to persuade her to do another radio show), Robert is spying on her. When Ruth returns to her car she finds a red rose on the windscreen. she is unsure who it can be from and is a little unnerved. Robert follows Ruth up to her farm. Ruth isn’t sure why, but she is feeling uneasy.

Martin examines Becky Wead, she has an upset stomach and blames it on a meal she ate at the Large restaurant. Becky has written all about it in an article for the school newspaper and goes to press without Louisa proofreading the article. Becky hands out copies of the school newspaper to the whole village. Bert and Al are furious. They go to see Louisa wanting something to be done, but Louisa really doesn’t need this stress. As they head home Bert sees someone he used to know trying to get into the chemist. Jennifer Cardew is the new locum pharmacist and is staying at the Crab and Lobster. But Bert manages to persuade her with the offer of cheap lodgings to come and live with him.

The next day Ruth leaves the farm early for the radio phone in. She pops in to see Martin, it’s her birthday and arranges to have lunch with him later that day. Robert is in the local shops and hears that Ruth will be on the radio. Knowing that she is at the radio station, he phones into the show from her house. Robert asks Ruth if he should tell the woman he loves that he loves her. Ruth tells him yes.

Martin tells Becky Wead that her stomach pains are from an ulcer not food poisoning. The article she wrote was a complete lie.

Ruth arrives home from the radio interview to find a birthday cake on her kitchen table. She presumes it was Martin. But it wasn’t. Ruth admits to Martin that she thinks she has a secret admirer who is putting her a bit on edge. Martin is shocked that she could have an admirer at her age. Martin confesses to Ruth that his hemophobia is back. Ruth tells him it is because he never dealt with it properly in the first place.
Martin gets the results in from Robert’s blood test, he has diabetes and needs to be contacted immediately. Morwenna doesn’t have his details. She calls Penhale who is checking a car blocking an entrance to a field . It’s Robert’s car and Penhale finds a copy of Ruth’s book inside, with obsessive notes written all over it. Martin realises something is wrong and races to the farm.

At the farm Ruth hears something upstairs, the bath is running. She goes to investigate and Robert reveals himself. Robert is a former patient of Ruth’s and is in love with her. Ruth calmly tries to deal with the situation. Martin arrives which spooks Robert and causes him to barricade the door so no one can get in. Martin breaks through, explaining to Robert he has diabetes and needs treatment. Penhale arrives which stresses Robert out even more. Ruth tells Martin that perhaps he needs to give Robert some sedative drugs, rather than diabetic drugs first. There is a tussle and Martin is cut by a knife but Ruth manages to jab Robert with the sedative.

[alan45]

Episode four: Nobody Likes Me by Charlie Martin

Family life is invading Martin’s once tranquil existence, clutter and noise is everywhere. Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James. She arranges for Martin to take James to play group and has to sing songs with the other mums whilst the annoying Millie shoves a dirty sock puppet in James’ face. The parents have to pair up, James and the Doc are put with mum Trace and daughter Shona. Trace confides in Martin, she is worried about Shona as she is slow at grabbing objects. Martin infuriates Trace by saying that Shona is probably just backward.

Al helps Ruth move into a cottage in the village. She meets her new neighbour, Mr Moysey, a grumpy old man who doesn’t want Ruth pestering him. When Mr Moysey goes to get a repeat prescription for his asthma. The Doc checks Mr Moysey over and notices that his breathing has worsened. Mr Moysey is irritated, he just wants his prescription, not to be poked and prodded. Whilst he is at the Doc’s his nose starts to bleed. Martin advises him to stop using nasal decongestants.

Al admits to Ruth he wants a girlfriend. Later that night Al asks Morwenna if she has any single friends who may be interested in dating him. Morwenna asks her friend Janice if she would like to go on a date with Al, but Janice is less than impressed with this suggestion. He decides to sign up to Cornish Couples... a dating website.

Mrs Eddy comes in to see the Doc with a “malignant mole”, she is sure it is going to kill her. Martin says it is actually a raised lymph node, caused by a localised infection, which for some reason has a dark colour to it. He discovers that Mrs Eddy has a home made Do Not Resuscitate tattoo which has become infected, the dye has travelled to the lymph node staining it blue. Her elderly friend Ethel has done the same. Whilst the Doc examines Ethel he notices she has a rodent ulcer on her neck. Rodent ulcers are cancerous, but luckily easily removed.

Bert helps Jennifer move into his place. Everything is going well until he catches her with a needle in the bathroom. When he questions her about it she fobs him off by saying she is diabetic, but this doesn’t add up to Bert, she has lots of sugary food in the fridge. Bert thinks Jennifer could be a drug addict and investigates. Jennifer is acting strangely and has started wearing an eyepatch, when pushed by Bert, she is forced to reveal a droopy eye. Bert is worried for her, she could have had a stroke or have a brain tumour. He makes her go to see the Doc. The Doc examines Jennifer, her eyelids won’t close which could lead to an ulcerated eye. After seeing a puncture mark on her skin, the Doc realises the stupid woman has paralysed her eye muscles by giving herself botox. Jennifer feels a fool but Bert takes her for a drink, telling her she is still as pretty as the day he met her.

Ruth’s ceiling collapses and she calls Al out. He discovers there is a slow leak in the roof coming from her next door neighbour -Mr Moysey. They go round to his house to see if they can stop the leak, but Mr Moysey shuts the door in their faces. Ruth enlists the help of Penhale and they finally gain access. Al manages to find the leak and they discover that Mr Moysey’s house is filled with piles of paper, plastic and tin cans everywhere. He is a hoarder.

Mr Moysey goes back to see the doc. He is still getting the nose bleeds and is feeling tired, exhausted, like a bus has run over him. The doc prescribes some anti inflammatories and tells him to come back in a week if the symptoms persist.

Penhale asks the Doc if he can borrow Buddy to train him to be a sniffer dog. Buddy proves to be a naughty little rascal, running off with the decoy stuffed toy.

Millie drops round a photo of the Doc and James with Trace and baby Shona taken at playgroup. The Doc takes one look at the photo and spots that baby Shona has a cataract in one eye (as one eye has red eye - the other doesn’t). He refers her to an opthalmology unit to have it operated on.

Ruth hears Mr Moysey collapse next door and gets Penhale to break into Mr Moysey’s. Martin is called round and discovers contusions on his chest. He is confused, then sees cans everywhere. He questions Mr Moysey about his diet, he only eats food from tinned cans, no fresh fruit or vegatables. Martin checks Mr Moysey’s gums, they are swollen and spongey. Martin can’t believe it, Mr Moysey has scurvy!

[alan45]

Episode four: Nobody Likes Me by Charlie Martin

Family life is invading Martin’s once tranquil existence, clutter and noise is everywhere. Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James. She arranges for Martin to take James to play group and has to sing songs with the other mums whilst the annoying Millie shoves a dirty sock puppet in James’ face. The parents have to pair up, James and the Doc are put with mum Trace and daughter Shona. Trace confides in Martin, she is worried about Shona as she is slow at grabbing objects. Martin infuriates Trace by saying that Shona is probably just backward.

Al helps Ruth move into a cottage in the village. She meets her new neighbour, Mr Moysey, a grumpy old man who doesn’t want Ruth pestering him. When Mr Moysey goes to get a repeat prescription for his asthma. The Doc checks Mr Moysey over and notices that his breathing has worsened. Mr Moysey is irritated, he just wants his prescription, not to be poked and prodded. Whilst he is at the Doc’s his nose starts to bleed. Martin advises him to stop using nasal decongestants.

Al admits to Ruth he wants a girlfriend. Later that night Al asks Morwenna if she has any single friends who may be interested in dating him. Morwenna asks her friend Janice if she would like to go on a date with Al, but Janice is less than impressed with this suggestion. He decides to sign up to Cornish Couples... a dating website.

Mrs Eddy comes in to see the Doc with a “malignant mole”, she is sure it is going to kill her. Martin says it is actually a raised lymph node, caused by a localised infection, which for some reason has a dark colour to it. He discovers that Mrs Eddy has a home made Do Not Resuscitate tattoo which has become infected, the dye has travelled to the lymph node staining it blue. Her elderly friend Ethel has done the same. Whilst the Doc examines Ethel he notices she has a rodent ulcer on her neck. Rodent ulcers are cancerous, but luckily easily removed.

Bert helps Jennifer move into his place. Everything is going well until he catches her with a needle in the bathroom. When he questions her about it she fobs him off by saying she is diabetic, but this doesn’t add up to Bert, she has lots of sugary food in the fridge. Bert thinks Jennifer could be a drug addict and investigates. Jennifer is acting strangely and has started wearing an eyepatch, when pushed by Bert, she is forced to reveal a droopy eye. Bert is worried for her, she could have had a stroke or have a brain tumour. He makes her go to see the Doc. The Doc examines Jennifer, her eyelids won’t close which could lead to an ulcerated eye. After seeing a puncture mark on her skin, the Doc realises the stupid woman has paralysed her eye muscles by giving herself botox. Jennifer feels a fool but Bert takes her for a drink, telling her she is still as pretty as the day he met her.

Ruth’s ceiling collapses and she calls Al out. He discovers there is a slow leak in the roof coming from her next door neighbour -Mr Moysey. They go round to his house to see if they can stop the leak, but Mr Moysey shuts the door in their faces. Ruth enlists the help of Penhale and they finally gain access. Al manages to find the leak and they discover that Mr Moysey’s house is filled with piles of paper, plastic and tin cans everywhere. He is a hoarder.

Mr Moysey goes back to see the doc. He is still getting the nose bleeds and is feeling tired, exhausted, like a bus has run over him. The doc prescribes some anti inflammatories and tells him to come back in a week if the symptoms persist.

Penhale asks the Doc if he can borrow Buddy to train him to be a sniffer dog. Buddy proves to be a naughty little rascal, running off with the decoy stuffed toy.

Millie drops round a photo of the Doc and James with Trace and baby Shona taken at playgroup. The Doc takes one look at the photo and spots that baby Shona has a cataract in one eye (as one eye has red eye - the other doesn’t). He refers her to an opthalmology unit to have it operated on.

Ruth hears Mr Moysey collapse next door and gets Penhale to break into Mr Moysey’s. Martin is called round and discovers contusions on his chest. He is confused, then sees cans everywhere. He questions Mr Moysey about his diet, he only eats food from tinned cans, no fresh fruit or vegatables. Martin checks Mr Moysey’s gums, they are swollen and spongey. Martin can’t believe it, Mr Moysey has scurvy!

[Perdita]

Airs Monday, 23rd September

[Perdita]

30th September 2013

Episode five: The Practice Around the Corner

Louisa is having problems sleeping. She is worried about Mrs Tishell coming back to the village and presumes this is why Martin is up too. Martin tells Louisa she shouldn’t be worried about Mrs Tishell’s return, but this doesn’t put Louisa’s mind at rest. The next day she goes to see Ruth, who eventually agrees to pop in on Mrs Tishell.

Penhale embarks on a survival course in the middle of the Moors in his bid to be selected for an elite police squad. With just his initiative and Buddy the dog, he has to find his way back to Portwenn. But Buddy deserts him and in trying to shoot a rabbit for dinner he accidentally shoots himself in the foot. Using a tip from an out of date survival book he dresses the wound with moss, but that makes it worse. After a night on the moors and in increasing pain Penhale makes his way back to Portwenn by hitch hiking. He gets dropped off at the Doc’s, who is aghast to find the spaghum moss packed tightly into Penhale’s wound. The spores could have caused blood poisoning.

Lorna Gillott has trodden on a shard of glass whilst beach combing. The doc notices that Lorna’s ankles are a little puffy and tells her to lay off the salt. He also chastises her brown skin and tells her to wear some sun screen.

Mrs Tishell returns to the village and frostily meets Jennifer, the locum pharmacist. Mrs Tishell goes upstairs to her room and is confronted by her homage to the Doc, she pings an elastic band on her wrist and slowly takes down the pictures. Later that day Ruth comes to see Mrs Tishell, who notices the elastic band, part of Mrs Tishell’s Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Louisa goes to check Mrs Tishell out for herself. It is awkward, Mrs Tishell is still weird, but no weirder than before. It puts Louisa’s mind at ease. Mrs Tishell can’t stand to be supervised by a locum pharmacist and asks the Doc to contact the Pharmaceutical Board to say she is safe to return to work, without supervision. The Doc refuses, he is not her psychiatric doctor. Something snaps in Mrs Tishell and her burning flame for Martin is snuffed out and turns into hatred.

Al and Morwenna are getting along well living together. Things are looking up for Al on the love front, he has an internet date that evening. Bert, inspired by Al’s internet date, asks Jennifer out on a date too. Al goes to meet his blind date and randomly bumps into Morwenna at the pub, they have a lovely chat but it slowly dawns on them that they are there to meet each other! Things get very awkward, very quickly and they make a hasty exit. Things are just as bad the next morning and Al decides to move out. He plans to go back to his dad’s, but when he sees Bert having a cosy date with Jennifer he realises that he can’t go back home. Penhale offers Al his spare room, which Al reluctantly takes.

Lorna goes to the chemist to get something for her energy levels, she is feeling tired all the time. Mrs Tishell notices that her ankles are swollen and tells her to see the Doc, her cut could be infected and swelling up. Martin examines the cut, it isn’t infected, but her ankles are definitely swollen. He tells Lorna that she could have something wrong with her heart or liver. Lorna has been bottling up her health worries and cracks when the Doc tells her this. Her joints are really painful, she has been feeling so tired and she is worried she has arthritis, which crippled her mother. She needs to use her hands to make jewellery.

Ruth visits Martin. She thinks his blood phobia and insomnia could be related and recommends a doctor he could speak to. Louisa overhears and is hurt that Martin confided in his aunt and not her.

Lorna collapses on the beach. Her blood results show she has a high level of ferritin in her blood. The excess iron has burnished her skin, put a strain on her liver or heart which resulted in her swollen ankles and collected around her joints. Her condition can be cured by draining the blood - something which Martin struggles to do.

[Snagglepus]

Well the first three episodes have been disappointing with pointless storylines.