Martin Clunes has left his iconic role of Doc Martin behind and is embracing the darkness in new drama series Out There on ITV
Martin Clunes has swapped the quaint Cornish setting of Portwenn for the rugged landscapes of rural Wales in his latest gripping drama series Out There. At 63, Martin dives into the role of Nathan Williams, a local farmer facing a harrowing ordeal as his son Johnny becomes tangled in the dark web of county lines drug trafficking.
The move comes after Doc Martin’s impressive 18-year run, yet Martin insits he never plotted this new direction. “I just go where my wife tells me! ” he chuckles, crediting his spouse and TV producer Philippa Braithwaite, whom he’s been wed to since 1997.
Working outdoors is always a boon for Martin. “I go for the next thing, and I never have a plan, but I like being outdoors. I’m happiest when everything’s off a lorry and in a field. This was a very physical job, but we felt it was important to show that constant labour of farming. There’s always something to do.”
Taking up the challenging role of young Johnny is the rising star Louis Ashbourne Serkis. The 20 year old son of famous actors Andy Serkis and Lorraine Ashbourne has an impressive back catalogue with performances in Endeavour, Allelujah, and The Queen’s Gambit.
Louis always counts on the support of his famous parents, reports the Mirror. He says, “It’s been great to watch my work back with my parents, even though I did feel some pressure but at the end of the day they’re my mum and dad and when you’ve got something that you’re proud of it’s nice to sit down and watch it with them.”
“I was never obliged to take part in what they do and they never forced acting on me, but I love it. I love bringing joy through that. When you get the opportunity to tell a story and to inspire people, I think you should take it.”
“Louis’ parents came to our cast and crew screening – they were very proud of him,” adds Martin, who became a household name after starring in the 90s sitcom Men Behaving Badly.
In the six-part series, Nathan and Johnny are living on their farm, trying to carry on with their lives two years after a tragic death in the family. “Nathan’s got this unrelenting life on the farm, every single day there’s stuff that needs doing, there’s no downtime, but at the same time he’s being a diligent father,” says Martin.
“He’s putting the lasagne in the microwave and taking Johnny to and from school. It’s a little sad because it’s only two years since Nathan lost his wife and Johnny’s mother, so that wound is ever present.”
Disaster strikes when Johnny is left to his own devices and is asked by a “friend” to look after a parcel, and the actors tease that everything spirals from there.
“Johnny’s going through everything that a boy of his age should be going through, and then the horrible industry tricks him and seizes him away,” Martin hints. “You do hear parents of kids that have been subsumed by this industry saying that, talking like they’ve lost their child. When Nathan first comes across the county lines, he doesn’t even know that’s what it is, he thinks it’s just drug dealing. Nathan thinks he can deal with it by being taller and stronger than the people involved, but he very swiftly learns that’s not the case.”
Also tangled up in the county lines trouble is Sadie (Carly-Sophia Davies), the girl Johnny has a crush on, which Louis insists is another reason why Johnny goes along with the task.
“When there’s someone that you adore and that you have a crush on; if she asks you to do something like minding a package, Johnny’s going to do it,” says Louis. “Johnny also doesn’t have many people in his life, he has his father, he has Sadie and that’s about it. So when he gets asked to mind the package, I don’t think he knows what he’s getting himself into. Actually it’s him doing a good deed that gets him into all of this, it catapults him into a series of unfortunate events.”