Martin Clunes, 63, has issued a heartfelt tribute to his co-star Louis Ashbourne Serkis ahead of the debut of their new series Out There.
The pair play a father and son who find themselves embroiled in the treacherous underworld.
Out There will be Clunes first return to screens since leaving behind the cozy world of Doc Brown in 2022, where he had starred in since 2004.
The new show centres around Clunes’ character Nathan Williams, a widower farmer, and his son Johnny (Ashbourne Serkis) after he gets involved with a drug dealing gang.
Clues describes Out There as covering the “collision” between world of rural farming and the drug trafficking underworld
It deals with the growing threat of “County Lines” crimes, where narcotics are transported across police and local authority boundaries.
Out There follows father and son Nathan and Johnny Williams played by Clunes and Ashbourne Serkis
ITV
Clunes explained that his next project “couldn’t be more different from Doc Martin. It’spretty dark, but definitely a story worth telling.”
The burden of fronting a show outside of Clunes’ comfort zone was made easier by the presence of his 20-year-old co-star who he describes as “a real discovery”.
Ashbourne Serkis is the son of Andy Serkis, famed for his role as CGI character Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film series, and Lorraine Ashbourne, who starred in Sherwood and Bridgerton.
“Louis is brilliant, he shows the vulnerability of his character so well. He is terrific,” Clunes glowed about Ashbourne Serkis.
Clunes had nothing but praise for his co-star
ITV
He continued: “For a 19-year-old he is a really accomplished actor.”
Clunes added: “He has a very easy charisma to him that makes him hugely watchable… I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
The 63-year-old also spoke about his co-star outside of their craft, identifying him as “clearly well parented”.
Clunes began again: “He’s the nicest lad, a real gent.”
“He has impeccable manners. He is polite and courteous to everyone and conducts himself so well,” the Doc Martin star enthused.
Ashbourne Serkis also reflected on the actor playing on-screen father, who he describes several times as a “true legend.”
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Ashbourne Serkis had similar praise for Clunes
ITV
“Martin is an absolute legend, I felt so honoured that I was able to play his son,” he gushed about Clunes.
The 20-year-old continued: “He is a lovely soul and I have learned so much working with Martin and being on this production.”
“He is one of a kind and I really respect him and have a lot of time for him,” Ashbourne Serkis concluded warmly.