Few things in life can be relied upon, but the drama, humour and wildly disparate personalities of Doc Martin and Portwenn are always guaranteed to bring joy to viewers everywhere.

As we join the Doctor in this eighth season, we find his relationship with his wife Louisa back on a more even keel, although juggling their jobs with baby care is proving more challenging daily. Meanwhile Bert and Al Large face challenges of their own, with brewing whisky and running a B&B not quite turning out as they had hoped; Mrs Tishell suffers a terrible and unexpected setback in her life; and Penhale, already facing romantic challenges, faces a mini crime spree and decides to host a Police Open Day. Newcomers to the village include a new curate as well as Morwenna’s parents, Jack and Tara who worked as missionaries in Kenya; and the village sees the return of Beth, the American tourist and veterinarian Angela Sim.

And swimming through the maelstrom of it all is Doctor Ellingham, suffering humanity’s foibles with little tolerance and suffering literally with a newly adopted dog, against his better judgment, underfoot