Martin Clunes

Martin Clunes rose to the top of the U.K.'s comedy scene in the 1990s on the groundbreaking situation comedy "Men Behaving Badly" (ITV/BBC, 1992-99) and went on to equal his success as the title character of the network's light drama "Doc Martin" (2004- ). A third-generation thespian, the London-born Clunes cut his teeth in the theater and on some short-lived sitcoms in the 1980s before beginning a running collaboration with comic mainstay Harry Enfield. In 1992, he and Enfield were paired on ITV's comedy of ne'er-do-wells, "Men Behaving Badly," and the show kicked into more ribald gear once picked up by the BBC in 1994, with Neil Morrissey taking over as his flatmate. It made Clunes a crossover star, expanding his CV with dramatic turns in telefilms such as "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (ITV, 2002) and periodic supporting parts, as with his turn as small-town doctor in the sleeper indie hit "Saving Grace" (2002). The film spawned two spin-off telefilms prefiguring his character, Doc Martin, as a London physician simplifying his life; he would reinvent the character as an inveterate curmudgeon for ITV in 2004 in what would become the long-running series franchised into international phenomenon. He kept his hand in series comedy with the well-regarded sitcom "William and Mary" (ITV, 2003-05) and the less successful outing "Reggie Perrin" (BBC, 2009-2010). From behaving badly to being one of his country's better regarded personalities, Clunes made a career spinning ratings gold for U.K. broadcasters.