[To arrange media interviews with Martin Clunes, please contact VisionTV. See contact information below.]

“There are two ways we can determine whether you’re having a heart attack. You can shut up and let me do the ECG. Or you can prattle on and we can see if you die in the next couple of minutes.” – Dr. Martin Ellingham

Gentleness, compassion and tact are the qualities we all look for in a family doctor.

Dr. Martin Ellingham has none of these. As the GP for the sleepy seaside village of Portwenn in England’s picturesque Cornwall, “Doc Martin” tends to his patients with all the warmth and charm of a rabid badger.

With award-winning actor Martin Clunes in the title role, the hour-long comedy/drama series Doc Martin has become one of Great Britain’s most popular programs.

Now, Canadian fans can catch the long-awaited third season of Doc Martin on VisionTV. New episodes premiere on Wednesdays, starting Jan. 9, at 9 p.m. and midnight ET/6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT.

Season three of Doc Martin premiered in the UK on September 22 (on ITV1) and proved a ratings smash, dominating its Monday night slot. The season finale earlier this month drew nearly 10 million viewers, for a 40 percent audience share.

Clunes, who made his name starring in such popular shows as Men Behaving Badly and William and Mary (and in a memorable recurring role on Jeeves and Wooster opposite Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry) delivers an impeccable performance as the icy and abrasive Dr. Ellingham, a man whose gift for treating illness is inversely proportional to his skill in dealing with human beings.

Caroline Catz co-stars as Martin’s on-again, off-again love interest, schoolteacher Louisa Glasson: one of the few people in Portwenn who can sense a warm heart beating somewhere far beneath the doctor’s stony exterior. Their relationship takes a dramatic turn in season three, setting the stage for an unpredictable climax.

Ian McNeice (Rome) plays local plumber Bert Large, who decides this season to hang up his wrench and pursue a new venture, with disastrous consequences. Katherine Parkinson is Martin’s receptionist Pauline, who acquires new responsibilities, a new Vespa, and a new addiction that threatens to ruin her life.

The distinguished cast also includes British Comedy Award winner Stephanie Cole (Waiting for God) as Martin’s Aunt Joan, Joe Absolom (EastEnders) as Bert’s son Al, and newcomer John Marquez as Portwenn’s narcoleptic police constable Joe Penhale.

Doc Martin was created by Dominic Minghella. The series is written by Ben Bolt, Richard Stoneman, Nick Vivian, Jack Lothian and Keith Temple. The producer is Philippa Braithwaite (Sliding Doors). The director is Ben Bolt. The executive producer is Mark Crowdy.

For fans of Martin Clunes and Doc Martin, VisionTV offers an added bonus: on Wednesdays, starting Jan. 9 at 8:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. ET/5:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. PT, the network presents the popular 1980s Britcom No Place Like Home, featuring a young Martin Clunes in his first regular series role. William Gaunt and Patricia Garwood star as a middle-aged couple face difficulty getting their grown children (Clunes among them) to leave the nest.

For more information on VisionTV programming, please visit www.visiontv.ca.