The Real Portwenn
Port Isaac is famous as the setting for the fictional fishing village of Portwenn from the popular TV show Doc Martin, now adapted for American audiences as Best Medicine which is set in Port Wenn, Maine, USA, and premiered on January 4th this year on the FOX network.
Doc Martin was a comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes that ran on ITV for ten series between 2004 and 2022. Clunes played the character of Dr. Martin Ellingham, a leading surgeon from London who developed a fear of blood (haemophobia) and subsequently moved to the sleepy Cornish fishing village where his aunt lives to take a job as the village’s only GP. He is grumpy, abrupt, lacking in empathy and lacking in social skills, and is initially not well received by the locals, and the show follows his journey to acceptance with his new community – and finding love, in spite of his shortcomings.
The character and concept for Doc Martin were developed from a character in the independent British comedy film Saving Grace, also filmed in Port Isaac, written by Mark Crowdy (who lives in Polzeath) and Craig Fergusson (who also starred) about a local widow (Brenda Blethyn) who turns her gardening talents to growing cannabis to settle her late husband’s debts and keep her house.
Port Isaac is no stranger to TV and film screens, from the original adaptation of Poldark in the 1970s through to The Fisherman’s Friends film, but as a long-running series Doc Martin has been a big part of village life over the past two decades. The cast and crew of Doc Martin were regulars for many years when the show was being filmed, and filming was a big event that (for better or worse!) often consumed the centre of the village. As soon as the show hit screens, and ever since, Doc Martin has attracted fans to Port Isaac from all over the world who are eager to see “the real Portwenn” and enjoy the various filming locations for themselves.
Doc Martin also aired internationally and developed a significant fan base in countries including Australia and New Zealand, and has been adapted into native language versions in France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Its new American adaptation, Best Medicine, is set in Maine but was filmed in the town of Cornwall (a remarkable naming coincidence!), which sits on the Hudson River in New York State. It stars Josh Charles as Dr. Martin Best and follows the same core story as the original UK version, reimagined for American audiences. Fans of the original will be pleased to know that Martin Clunes is due to guest-star, playing the role of Dr. Robert Best, the father of Josh Charles’ character.
Doc Martin Filming Locations and Port Isaac Bay Holidays
There are very few parts of the village and surrounds that haven’t featured in Doc Martin at one point or another, and the same goes for a lot of locals who often acted as extras, or were simply in the background of a shot as they went about their daily lives!
Fern Cottage on Roscarrock Hill, sandwiched between The White House and Folly 1, was the setting for the Doctor’s surgery and is one of the most visited locations. Everybody wants to get their photo taken outside the surgery door!
We are also delighted to now be able to offer “Aunt Ruth’s house”, aka Homelands on Dolphin Street, as holiday accommodation. Waypast on Fore Street posed as the Police Station in series 1, and our original booking office at the garage on New Road was also Martin Clunes’ Green Room!
If you are a fan of Doc Martin, then a visit to Port Isaac to walk the streets of Portwenn is a must – you can explore the village yourself and stumble across so many unexpected filming locations that you will recognise, or even stay in a property that the TV show used for filming! If you’re here for just a day, or if you want to get some inside knowledge from a local guide, we would recommend joining one of the excellent Port Isaac Walk & Talk Tours.
Filming outside Homelands, captured by our friends @port.isaac
