Doc Martin: Series 4 - Episode guide

Martin Clunes returns to Cornwall for a new series of the ratings winning comedy drama Doc Martin for ITV1.

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Episode 1
Sunday 20th September 2009

Headmistress Louisa Glasson has left Portwenn, and Dr Martin Ellingham has begun to question what keeps him in Cornwall. It’s certainly not his relentlessly annoying patients. It’s certainly not the amorous advances of the infatuated local chemist, MRS TISHELL. Martin has realised that if he is ever to escape, he must conquer his worst fear: the blood phobia that ended his surgical career.

Martin’s AUNT JOAN suggests that her friend BARBARA might be able to help with Martin’s blood phobia, but it turns out Barbara is a specialist in a very different field. When Barbara is involved in a bicycle accident with CLIVE TISHELL, Mrs Tishell’s little-missed husband who has been sent home from his oil-rig job after going deaf, Martin is injured too.

Martin accompanies Barbara to hospital, and is stunned to meet EDITH MONTGOMERY, his old girlfriend from medical school days. She is now a top-ranking doctor with a flourishing private practice. She is surprised and disappointed at how low Martin has fallen. Edith books Barbara in for an operation, but when Martin discovers Edith did not perform a preliminary test that might rule out the need for surgery, he hurries to the hospital and takes matters into his own hands.

Mrs Tishell tries to cure her husband’s problems on her own, but when her efforts go disastrously wrong, Martin is able to find the surprising cause of Clive’s hearing loss. bMeanwhile, Martin’s scatterbrained receptionist PAULINE is struggling to cope with the effects of insomnia brought on by her brother ADAM’s snoring. Pauline’s on-off boyfriend AL LARGE sees an opportunity, and asks her to move in with him.

BERT LARGE, Al’s jovial father, is also looking for love. But will he accept sex instead? Martin learns there is a prestigious surgeon’s job coming free in London that is perfect for him if he can overcome his blood phobia. Does he want to be put forward for it?

All Martin’s thoughts of the future are turned upside-down when LOUISA unexpectedly returns to Portwenn. She wants nothing to do with Martin, but she has big news of her own. It’s not easy being the village GP in Portwenn as once again, Dr Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes) is the centre of calamity, drama and lingering gossip.


Episode 2
Sunday 27th September 2009

DR MARTIN ELLINGHAM struggles to deal with LOUISA’s news. But Louisa is adamant she does not want Martin involved. Martin’s first patients are Pauline’s UNCLE JIMMY and AUNT JENNIE. They are trying for a baby but cannot conceive. Uncle Jimmy gets inexplicably angry with Martin. Martin sends them to Truro so EDITH, who is a fertility specialist, can assess them.

Louisa applies for a teaching post at the local school, and is interviewed by the new HEADMASTER. She gets the job, but notices that the Headmaster is acting strangely. He has an arm that rises up into the air without him seeming to notice it. Martin’s AUNT JOAN is scathing of Martin’s attitude towards Louisa. But when Martin tries to talk to Louisa, he can’t help himself and angers her with his old-fashioned views.

Louisa also has a frosty encounter with MRS TISHELL, who disapproves of her.
The Headmaster comes to see Martin about his constipation, but starts acting in a paranoid manner. Martin notices the Head’s strange physical behaviour for the first time, but before he can complete his examination, the Head rushes from the Surgery.

Uncle Jimmy’s test results come back showing he has dangerous levels of testosterone in his blood, and after initial anger, Jimmy makes a tearful and surprising confession to Martin. Louisa goes to hospital for a routine check-up and discovers that Edith is going to be her doctor. Louisa learns something about Martin and Edith’s relationship during medical school that shocks her.

Louisa returns to her school and discovers that the Headmaster has taken her pupils down to the treacherous rockpools of Roscarrock Cove for a nature walk. Martin diagnoses the Headmaster’s illness with the unwitting help of PAULINE and, alerted by Louisa, rushes down to Roscarrock Cove to try and save the children.


Episode 3
Sunday 4th October 2009

DR MARTIN ELLINGHAM is shocked to find LOUISA and AUNT JOAN knocking at his door before the Surgery has opened. Louisa has had a medical scare and wants Martin’s reassurance that everything is fine.

PC PENHALE, still officially the world’s worst policeman, has an unexpected visitor: the older brother he has always idolised, SAM. Trying to show off in front of his brother, Penhale injures a tourist, and when they take the tourist to Martin, Sam learns from PAULINE that the Surgery needs re-painting. Sam volunteers for the job.

Martin and EDITH go to a restaurant to discuss her medical research, which she wants Martin’s help with. It isn’t a date, but Edith teases Martin playfully. When she drops him off outside the surgery afterwards, Edith gives Martin a kiss. BERT notices that Pauline is going stir-crazy living with AL, and tries to offer the younger man some relationship advice. But when Al tries to act on the advice, his ham-fisted efforts make the situation even worse.

Martin is called to the home of MR ROUTLEDGE who is complaining of chest pains. But Mr Routledge is a nuisance-caller and there’s never anything wrong with him. Mr Routledge wants Martin to put him into a nursing home so he can be looked after all day long. Martin refuses. Martin notices that Sam has some problems with his memory and co-ordination. It’s probably just a virus, but when Martin takes Sam’s family history, he decides there is a very small possibility that Sam has a rare genetic disease.

When Sam tells his brother, Penhale becomes convinced that he has the disease too and is going to die. Penhale takes his brother for a tearful farewell drink at the Crab & Lobster. Louisa visits Edith for a check-up, and Edith elicits a very personal and embarrassing piece of information from Louisa.

Tired of renting, Louisa is looking for somewhere to live in the village. Aunt Joan suggests she visits Mr Routledge to ask him about his plans, but when Martin discovers Louisa there, something unexpected happens. Sam’s blood tests reveal he does not have the genetic disease, but Martin diagnoses a different illness that will change Penhale’s opinion of his brother forever.


Episode 4
Sunday 11th October 2009

Dr Martin Ellingham is called to Louis's new home after she has a dizzy spell while shifting furniture. Martin urges her to slow down, but is shocked to learn that Louisa has applied to be her school’s headteacher again. As a school governor, Martin is asked to join the interview panel for the headteacher position, but when he makes it clear that he thinks Louisa is now unsuited for the role, his invitation is withdrawn.

Martin’s first patients are an elegant elderly couple, Mr & Mrs McLynn, who want a disabled person’s parking permit so they can park near the shops. But when Martin attempts to assess Mr McLynn’s paralysed legs, he inadvertently stabs a needle into Mr McLynn’s hand and draws blood. The McLynns vow never to return.

AL needs some money fast for a mysterious reason, and offers to sort out all Louisa’s household and plumbing problems if she can pay him before the weekend. Sally, the School Secretary, comes to Martin complaining of hayfever, but when Martin wants to examine her, she makes an excuse and leaves. Aunt Joan is driving in the village when she is involved in a car crash with Mr & Mrs McLynn. When PC Penhale rushes to the scene and tries to impose his authority, he is ignored by both drivers.

Edith visits Martin for some advice on her medical research, and Martin reveals he has applied for the prestigious surgeon’s job in London. He has been invited up to London to discuss it. Their growing intimacy is interrupted by Louisa, who wants to confront Martin about his attitude towards her and the headteacher position. Louisa is taken aback to find Edith already there.

Martin visits Aunt Joan and discovers that she is in severe financial difficulties with her farm. Pauline becomes suspicious of Al’s secretive behaviour, and when she hears that he has been spotted semi-naked in Louisa’s house, she fears the worst. Louisa gets good news about the headteacher job, but Sally is looking increasingly unwell. When Sally returns to Martin’s Surgery, she has a surprising confession to make about her recent holiday in Ibiza.

Martin sees Mr & Mrs McLynn behaving oddly in the village, and makes an astonishing diagnosis. PC Penhale is nearly injured in the process. Al finally reveals to Pauline why he has been so secretive, and Edith brings Martin an ingenious gift to help him get the surgeon’s job in London, but it has unexpected consequences.


Episode 5
Sunday 18th October 2009

Dr Martin Ellingham is in London to meet with Robert Dashwood, who is leading the selection process for the prestigious London surgeon’s job that Martin has applied for. Robert can tell that Martin is excited to be back in the world of surgery, and is pleased that Martin has finally conquered his debilitating blood phobia. Robert is confident that Martin will get the job.

On the train back to Cornwall, Martin is annoyed to be seated next to one of his patients, a sheep farmer named Jim Selkirk. Jim is a noisy eater, and when he falls asleep, he slumps on to Martin’s shoulder. But when Martin tries to rouse him, he discovers that Jim has died of heart failure.

On his arrival in Portwenn, Martin is immediately summoned to Aunt Joan’s farm. Louisa has taken some schoolchildren there on an educational trip, but one of the boys, Theo Wenn, has been naughty behind her back, and Aunt Joan has punished him by locking him inside the chicken coop. The boy, Theo, is having a panic attack.

In his Surgery, Martin is visited by Jim’s widow, Mrs Selkirk. She is looking for emotional comfort, but Martin is not the person to provide it. Theo gets ill in Louisa’s class, and is taken home. When Martin arrives, Theo’s parents – Juliet and Richard Wenn – are certain that their child picked up the illness in Joan’s chicken coop, and Martin cannot deny it is a possibility. The Wenns announce their intention to sue Aunt Joan.

Despite what he allowed Robert to think, Martin has not fully conquered his blood phobia, and he must visit Dr Milligan, a highly-rated cognitive behavioural therapist recommended by Edith. The session does not go according to plan, but Dr Milligan is charm personified, even when Martin walks out. Mrs Selkirk returns to Martin’s Surgery, and tells him she is now seeing visions of her dead husband. Martin orders her to get some rest.

Joan receives a threatening letter from the Wenns’ solicitor and, on top of all her other financial difficulties with the farm, it causes her to collapse. Martin attends, but once he has left, Joan hurries to the Wenns’ home to try and make things right. The Wenns are unsympathetic, and Joan – on the spur of the moment – lies to them about Theo’s medical test results clearing her of any responsibility for his illness. Martin is furious with Joan when he discovers she has lied.

Martin receives a CD recording by Dr Milligan to help overcome his phobia. When Mrs Selkirk is found collapsed in her sheep pen, Martin is able to uncover the medical reason behind her hallucinations, and when he receives Theo’s test results, they do point to Joan’s innocence and Martin is finally able to identify the real source of Theo’s sickness.


Episode 6
Sunday 25th October 2009

Dr Martin Ellingham meets Portwenn’s new midwife, Molly, who will be looking after Louisa. Martin is dismissive of her profession, and the two of them do not hit it off. Bert and Al have a new cook at their restaurant, Marigold, and she surprises them both one morning by bringing in some dead pheasants she claims to have caught in a snare. Although married, Marigold is very flirty towards Bert, and Bert is smitten.

Marigold cuts her finger, and Bert protectively rushes her to Martin’s Surgery. When Marigold tells Martin her sister has glandular fever, Martin orders her to take extra hygiene precautions around the food she cooks. Martin visits Louisa’s school to perform hearing assessments on the children, and Louisa reveals that she is having a few ‘toilet troubles’. Martin is quick to diagnose an urinary tract infection, and writes her a prescription to collect from Mrs Tishell.

Louisa encounters Molly at Mrs Tishell’s chemist shop. Molly is disapproving of Martin’s prescription for antibiotics, advocating a more natural, holistic approach to health, and she urges Louisa to reject the medicinal route. Louisa follows her advice. Martin finds that Dr Milligan’s cognitive behavioural exercises are a great help with his blood phobia. Martin is able to take blood from PC Penhale without reacting. But this makes Pauline highly suspicious – what is Martin up to?
Martin visits Aunt Joan at her farm, and breaks the news that he is intending to become a surgeon in London again. She is supportive, but urges him to tell Louisa.

Bert buys Marigold a special gift for her birthday, and is devastated when she does not turn up for work. He drives to her home, and discovers that her husband, Michael, is very ill. Louisa develops a temperature, which Molly tries to sooth with herbal remedies. Martin is furious when he discovers this – Molly’s homespun ideas are seriously endangering Louisa’s health. Martin and Molly have their final stand-off.

Before Martin can tell Louisa about returning to London, Bert calls Martin to Marigold and Michael’s house on the moor. Martin treats Michael, and makes a surprising discovery that explains Michael’s illness and why Marigold thought she had glandular fever. Martin’s unexpected detour to Marigold and Michael’s place means that he cannot attend a planned meal with Edith and Robert Dashwood, but when Edith returns later that night, she has big news for Martin: Robert is going to offer him the prestigious surgeon’s job in London. Louisa overhears Edith telling Martin this.


Episode 7
Sunday 1st November 2009

Dr Martin Ellingham seeks out Louisa to talk about his new surgeon’s job in London, but they are interrupted by Bert, who wants to plan a baby shower for Louisa. To solve her farm’s money problems, Aunt Joan starts a small Bed & Breakfast business. Her first guest, unexpectedly, is another local farmer, Ted, who has also got into financial difficulties. Initially they’re a good match, but Joan soon finds that Ted is far from the perfect guest.

Pauline's suspicions are confirmed when she steams open a confidential letter addressed to Martin and discovers his contract offer for the London job. Suddenly insecure about her own future, she confronts Martin, who offers her no reassurances but will write her a reference.

PC Penhale learns of Martin’s plans to leave him behind in Portwenn, and offers to transfer to London’s Metropolitan Police so they can still be together. Pauline is very disappointed by Martin’s reference, and urges Al to use his influence to change Martin’s mind. When Al fails in this mission, Pauline tries to demonstrate her worth, but her plan backfires and Martin ejects her from the Surgery.

Martin struggles to run the Surgery on his own. Joan brings in Ted, who she suspects has had a mild heart attack at her farm. Martin examines Ted, and finds a mysterious lump in his abdomen. Martin books Ted in for some hospital scans. Pauline and Al enjoy an impromptu afternoon by the seaside, but Pauline is stung by a jellyfish and must seek out Martin for his help.

Joan calls Martin to her farm because she is increasingly worried about Ted. When Martin discovers some bald patches on Ted’s scalp, he is able to make a remarkable diagnosis about Ted’s illness. Louisa finds it hard to enjoy her baby shower because everyone wants to talk about Martin leaving Portwenn, but Bert makes an emotional speech that nearly saves the day.

Martin joins Edith at a hotel where she is giving the keynote speech to a medical conference about her research. Edith has booked them into one bedroom. Martin notices that their room service waiter appears to have the symptoms of a condition that could make him blind, but when Martin attempts to warn the waiter, a shocking and bloody accident is caused. Martin deals with the accident without hesitation, proving to both him and Edith that his blood phobia is completely cured, and he is now fully able to be a surgeon in London again.


Episode 8
Sunday 8th November 2009

It's Dr Martin Ellingham's last day before his Surgery in Portwenn closes and he moves to London. Dr Martin Ellingham and Pauline are surprised by the number of patients coming to see him on the last day before his Surgery closes and he moves to London. Edith comes to see Martin to discuss the previous night’s events in the hotel. Edith says she will see Martin again when he is settled in London.

Taxi driver Tommy delivers a patient to the Surgery, but complains of migraine headaches himself. Martin checks him for any serious brain conditions, and tells him to make an appointment with the new doctor if the headaches continue.

Martin visits Louisa at the school to finalise financial arrangements for after the birth. Louisa’s teaching assistant Tasha is rehearsing a musical number that the schoolchildren will be performing at tomorrow’s Harbour Day celebrations. Bert has cooked up a new scheme to recycle the used vegetable oil from the restaurant. Al has his doubts, but Bert is adamant he is helping save the planet.

Aunt Joan visits Martin in the evening to help him finish packing. Martin is surprised when Pauline arrives the next day, but she is getting the Surgery ready for the new doctor, who is keeping her on. Martin helps one of his removal men, Will, with a minor medical condition, and pays a final visit to Mrs Tishell, raising her hopes of a romantic parting. She has made a unique leaving gift for Martin.

Tasha leads the schoolchildren down for their Harbour Day performance, but Louisa will not be able to attend because she has a routine hospital appointment. Tasha appears a little dizzy, and Martin is concerned. He tells her to make an appointment with the new doctor.

Martin is driving out of Portwenn with the removal men when he sees Tasha fall from the Harbour Day stage. With a little bit of help from a guilty Bert and Al, he is able to diagnose Tasha’s medical condition, and is shocked to learn that she is married to taxi driver Tommy, who is driving Louisa to her hospital appointment. Louisa’s life is in danger. Martin rushes after Louisa, finding her safe at the scene of a road accident caused by Tommy. Martin and Louisa help Tommy to a nearby inn where his medical condition can be treated. Martin stabilises Tommy successfully, but due to her exertions, Louisa goes into premature labour.