The actor announced the passing on BBC’s One Show
Martin Clunes as Doc Martin(Image: ITV)
Actor Martin Clunes shared the sad news of a former co-star’s passing from the ITV series Doc Martin. He fondly remembered his “fantastic” colleague, with whom he had worked for over a decade.
Martin is well-known for his role as the grumpy GP Martin Ellingham, alongside canine star Dodger, who portrayed his loyal dog Buddy in the show. Doc Martin enjoyed a successful run of ten series from 2007 to 2022, with Dodger joining the cast in its fourth series and staying until the ninth series.
Dodger’s retirement was announced after he developed dementia, leading to his absence from the show’s tenth and final series broadcast in 2022.
While chatting with Alex Jones and Roman Kemp on the BBC‘s One Show, Martin revealed Dodger has passed away. The dog’s trainer had previously confirmed the sad news on social media in 2023, and Martin took the opportunity to pay homage to Dodger on the talk show.
It was later announced that Dodger had retired, due to having dementia, and that he wouldn’t be in the tenth and final series, which aired in 2022, reported Mirror.
Whilst on the One Show, Martin revealed to hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp that Dodger has since died. He paid tribute to the dog – whose trainer announced his death on social media in 2023 – on the BBC talk show.
Martin Clunes with Dodger(Image: Publicity Picture)
Host Roman said in the interview: “Your character was always irritated by his dog but you had quite a good way of getting around that.” Martin replied: “Oh Dodger, oh yeah! He was fantastic that boy. Sadly no longer with us.”
Martin went on to discuss his character, who wasn’t particularly keen on dogs. The actor said: “That was the joke I thought … ‘Who hates dogs?’ … that someone who hates dogs, but they all love him, and they just hang out with him.”
Speaking about Dodger, he shared with the One Show’s two presenters: “So I had to yell at him, throw him around, do all sorts of things but I never shouted really at him. I just waved my lips around and added in the shouting later.”
He continued: “Me and Sonia Turner, his trainer, and Dodger, we just had such fun on that, y’know? Pushing the limits of what we could do with him and he was fabulous.”
Sonia is understood to have announced Dodger’s death on Instagram in 2023. She later expressed gratitude for the condolences that she had received over the news.
She wrote in a post on the platform: “A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to remember Dodger and send their condolences. Tom and I are truly touched and amazed that our little chap has been taken to heart by so many people, both here and abroad. Bless you, Dodger.”
Martin had previously confirmed that Dodger had retired. Speaking to Yours in 2022, he said that the character Buddy had been replaced in the final season of Doc Martin. The actor shared: “Dodger who played Buddy is still with us and he’s happy. It’s just that his trainer Sonia decided to retire him because he has doggy dementia.”