Martin Clunes returns to play the curmudgeonly Dr Martin Ellingham whose truculent and tactless manner upsets the convivial community of the picture postcard village of Portwenn, Cornwall. In this fourth series school headmistress Louisa has left the village, and Doc Martin is starting to question whether he wants to stay too. He sets out to conquer his blood phobia for good, but he finds this task easier said than done. To complicate matters the Doc discovers an old medical school acquaintance, Dr Edith ZMontgomery, is now working at the local hospital and when he questions her diagnosis of one of his patients the sparks fly. But there's an even bigger surprise in store for the grumpy GP...