Doc Martin - Blood Is Thicker - 8:00 pm Friday, February 6 on ITV3

Martin Clunes (Actor) .. Dr Martin Ellingham

Born: November 28, 1961 in London

Best Known For: A string of TV hits, including Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin.

Early-life: Born Alexander Martin Clunes on November 28, 1961, in Wimbledon, south London, into a theatrical family. His father was the acclaimed classical actor Alec Clunes, who died of lung cancer in 1970. His mother used to work as Orson Welles's secretary, and his cousin was Sherlock Holmes star Jeremy Brett. Clunes left school at 16 with one O-level and wanted to be a carpenter before enrolling at the Arts Educational Drama College in London. He started out in theatre and won acclaim for directing The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Career: Clunes made his TV debut in a 1983 Doctor Who adventure, followed by a regular role in sitcom No Place Like Home. In 1990 he appeared alongside Sean Connery in The Russia House and two years later in the much-maligned comedy Carry On Columbus. He turned to directing again with comedy film Staggered, in which he also starred. Men Behaving Badly made him a household name - but not until original co-star Harry Enfield was replaced by Neil Morrissey and the series moved from ITV to the BBC. He has chalked up a major success for ITV as über-grumpy GP Doc Martin. Clunes has also presented several documentaries, and appeared in such series as William and Mary, A is for Acid, The Town and Reggie Perrin.

Quote: "I get contemptuous of my own acting and wish I had fewer chins."

Trivia: He won a British Comedy Award and BAFTA award for his performance on Men Behaving Badly.

Caroline Catz (Actor) .. Louisa Glasson

Stewart Wright (Actor) .. PC Mark Mylow

Ian McNeice (Actor) .. Bert Large

Born: October 02, 1950 in Basingstoke

Best Known For: Doc Martin.

Early-life: McNeice was born in Basingstoke in Hampshire in 1950. His acting training started at the Taunton School in Somerset, followed by two years at the Salisbury Playhouse. His childhood was hard, as the shy youngster struggled with a stammer, and he lost his older brother in a car accident. Determined to overcome his shyness, he stuck at acting and spent years in theatre, including a four-year career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a production of Nicholas Nickleby on Broadway.

Career: McNeice's TV breakthrough was in the drama series Edge of Darkness. He has also appeared in a number of films, including 84 Charing Cross Road, Day of the Dead, No Escape, From Hell and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. His breakthrough into American films occurred when he played opposite Jim Carrey as Fulton Greenwall in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). Other notable credits include Conspiracy (2001), Valkyrie (2009) and the HBO hit series Rome. Since 2004, he has played Bert Large in Doc Martin.

Quote: "In a funny kind of way, the problems that my weight and stammer created were also the foundations of my career as an entertainer."

Trivia: McNeice has played Winston Churchill in a number of projects, including Doctor Who and the stage version of The King's Speech.

Joe Absolom (Actor) .. Al Large

Born: December 16, 1978 in London

Best Known For: Playing Matthew Rose in EastEnders, and Al in Doc Martin.

Early-life: Born December 16, 1978, in London. He has an older brother, Dan, and younger sister, Cassie. After appearing in a school play as a runner bean at the age of 10, he took up acting professionally. His father sent photos of his three children to an agency just for fun, but Joe became hooked on treading the boards. His first TV appearance came in an advert for peanut butter. More commercials followed.

Career: Absolom made his drama debut in 1991's Antonia and Jane, and hasn't looked back since. He worked consistently throughout his teens - by the time he was 18, he had appeared on TV in the likes of The Bill, Silent Witness and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Touching Evil and Dangerfield followed, but he didn't become a famous face until he starred in EastEnders. He left in 2000 after three years in the soap. Since then he's starred in Extreme Ops, Stan the Man, Unconditional Love, Servants and PoW. He also has a regular role in ITV's comedy drama Doc Martin and featured alongside Kevin Costner and fellow ex-Walford resident Michael Greco in the Western series Hatfields and McCoys.

Quote: "Acting's not a career I contemplated. I thought I'd go to university and spend three years drunk, then try to start to live properly."

Trivia: In 2010, Absolom won a celebrity version of Total Wipeout, winning £10,000 for charity.

Stephanie Cole (Actor) .. Aunt Joan Norton

Born: October 05, 1941 in Solihull

Best Known For: Tenko, Waiting for God and Doc Martin.

Early-life: Patricia Stephanie Cole was born in Solihull on October 5, 1941. She landed a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre school when she was 15 and made her stage debut at the age of 17, playing a 90-year-old woman in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit (at the age of 63, she played the same role when the play was revived at the Savoy Theatre in 2004).

Career: Cole made her TV debut in an episode of Z Cars in 1968. She went on to make guest appearances in several TV shows but her big break didn't come until she was cast as Dr Beatrice Mason in Tenko in 1981. She played the kindly doctor for three series and a one-off special. Other notable roles include Mrs Featherstone in Open All Hours, Betty Sillitoe in A Bit of a Do, Diana Trent in Waiting for God and Joan Norton in Doc Martin. More recently, she played Sylvia Goodwin in Coronation Street and revived the role of Mrs Featherstone in Still Open All Hours.

Quote: "I laugh like a drain at most jokes, but then instantly forget them."

Trivia: In 2012, Cole won a British Soap Award for Best Comedy Performance for her role in Coronation Street. She was awarded an OBE in 2005.

Kathrine Parkinson (Actor) .. Pauline Lamb

Tristan Sturrock (Actor) .. Danny Steel

Selina Cadell (Actor) .. Mrs Tishell

Julia St John (Actor) .. Sandra Mylow

Nicholas Woodeson (Actor) .. Victor

David Dawson (Actor) .. Wallace

Born: September 07, 1982 in Widnes

Best Known For: A string of TV roles.

Early-life: David Robert Dawson was born in Widnes on September 7, 1982. During his time at school, he was a member of the Musketeer Theatre Company. At the age of 17, he wrote a play called Divorced and Desperate, which ran for three nights at the Queen's Hall Theatre, Widnes.

Career: After leaving Rada in 2005, Dawson's first professional acting role was as the understudy to Kevin Spacey in Shakespeare's Richard II. Since then, he has continued to perform on the stage in the likes of Nicholas Nickleby, The Entertainer, Comedians, The Duchess of Malfi and The Dazzle. In 2010, he drew critical acclaim for his portrayal of Tony Warren in the TV movie The Road to Coronation Street. Roles followed on the small screen in Luther, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Parade's End, Ripper Street and Dancing on the Edge. More recently, he has starred in Peaky Blinders, The Last Kingdom, Maigret and The Secret Agent.

Quote: "Clockwork Orange is one of my favourite films and I'd have loved to have done that."

Trivia: In 2008, Dawson was nominated for Best Newcomer in a Play at the Olivier Awards for his role in Nicholas Nickleby.

Del Synnott (Actor) .. Paddy

David Schaal (Actor) .. The Butcher

Ella Kenion (Actor) .. Boy's mother

Philippa Braithwaite (Producer)

Ben Bolt (Director)

Jack Lothian (Writer)

Doc Martin: Blood Is Thicker

8:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Today on ITV3 (10)

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Blood Is Thicker
Season 2, Episode 3

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