He didn't cut it as the socially inept Doc Martin on ITV. And now star Martin Clunes has made a pretty dire prediction for the terrestrial TV drama: it will be killed by streaming giants like Netflix.
Clunes, 62, says a drama he had just finished filming in Wales only survived because the actors' strike in America meant production crews were available to work in Britain.
He adds that it was unlikely the show would have happened otherwise because the workers would have been lured by jobs on a high-paying streaming platform.
Clunes, pictured below as grumpy Dr. Martin Ellingham in the Cornish comedy, in which he starred in ten series over 18 years, reckons most one-off dramas have ground to a halt for broadcasters due to a lack of funding. He adds that full series often only get the green light if they sell the content to foreign broadcasters in advance in order to be able to afford filming.
Martin Clunes, pictured with Caroline Catz (right), played Dr. Martin Ellingham in the ITV drama set in Cornwall over a decade
He said streaming giants like Netflix were willing to pour money into a project and squeeze terrestrial TV channels out of the market
Clunes says: “It costs a fortune and the problem, particularly for ITV, is that these streamer platforms, international platforms, have really deep pockets and have said their modus operandi is we're going to spend money on it.”
Clunes says: “It costs a fortune and the problem, particularly for ITV, is that these streamer platforms, international platforms, have really deep pockets and have said their modus operandi is we're going to spend money on it.”
The star, who didn't name the drama he filmed in Cardiff, added: “The job we just finished, thank God there was that actors' strike in America because Cardiff is a big filming centre, and that's what he would have done.” It was difficult to get a crew together because they're all on the dollar and the ITV budget doesn't allow that.
“An ITV budget isn’t enough to produce the programs we produce – we also have to pre-sell them overseas to get enough to make them good.”
“It's an expensive process and the better you do it, the more expensive it is.” “The most expensive thing is time – you have about 100 people and the meter is running.”
Clunes, who rose to fame in the 1990s in the BBC comedy Men Behaving Badly, has starred in numerous ITV shows including Goodbye Mr Chips, William And Mary, Arthur & George and Manhunt. .
Clunes, who rose to fame in the 1990s in the BBC comedy Men Behaving Badly, has starred in numerous ITV shows including Goodbye Mr Chips, William And Mary, Arthur & George and Manhunt. .
When asked whether creativity suffers from commercialism, he said on the Beyond The Title podcast: “I don't think commercialism stops creativity – and if used correctly, it can boost creativity.”
“I work almost exclusively for a commercial television station, so I like the clarity that if no one likes it, it won't happen again. So you have to make sure people like it.”
He joked: “But then there's the danger that at some point you'll get insulted – and at some point I'll be insulted, you know.”