Doc Martin's Martin Clunes shares bad review of Trump hotel after checking out a day early
Martin Clunes, star of Doc Martin, has was not impressed by one of Donald Trump's hotels, an experience so memorable that he checked out a day early.
Martin, known for his role in Men Behaving Badly, was discussing the worst places he has stayed when he listed one of Trump's Scottish properties.
Speaking to The i newspaper about his acting and documentary-making career, the 63-year-old actor revealed his worst stay was "a trucker's shack in Madagascar".
He described it as a series of cells, with a light socket featuring protruding wires and matchsticks to wedge in plugs, and a cup full of condoms on the table.
A close second was one of Trump's hotels in Scotland. Remembering the experience, Martin recalled: "It has the atmosphere of Terminal Five at Heathrow. It's just bizarre. We checked out a day early."
This isn't the first time his Scottish properties have been a talking point, with some wedding celebrants saying they won't marry couples at Trump's buildings in the country unless their ownership changes.
Humanist celebrant Tim Maguire told the Daily Record: "It took a long time for humanists to win the right to conduct legal marriage in Scotland, and we won that right because we have certain distinctive beliefs.
'The change in leadership in the US represents a backward step for human rights and secular values, which has repercussions across the world. As Donald Trump continues to undermine the enlightenment values on which the US was founded, I feel I need to take a stand against him, small as it is."
Martin's comments come after it was revealed that Doc Martin is set to undergo a transformation for a US version of the show. However, it is not a remake that will feature the actor in his traditional lead role.
Instead, fellow actor Josh Charles will take on the character for the American rendition.
Fox Television Network's president Michael Thorn expressed his enthusiasm for the US adaptation.
He told Variety: "The story of Doc Martin has resonated worldwide with its humanity, originality, and humour, and with Best Medicine coming to Fox, that eccentricity gets a small-town America spin, complete with idyllic charm and absurdity.
"Liz, Mark, Philippa, Ben, and Rodney have done a terrific job adapting this signature character for the Fox audience, especially in casting the terrifically talented Josh Charles as our lead."
As Doc Martin gears up for an American revival, the UK is preparing to bid farewell to the series after a remarkable 20-year run and 10 seasons on television.
Ahead of the final UK season, star Martin and producer Philippa Braithwaite shared their gratitude with fans.
In a statement, they said: "When we launched the series in 2004 we could never have imagined how much our loyal viewers would take to the grumpy Doc like they have.
"The series has avid fans both in the UK and throughout the world and we are thrilled that Doc Martin has topped the ratings every time.
"However, after sixteen years we now feel that the time has come to say goodbye to Portwenn. We will be making the tenth and final series in 2021 and we are very much looking forward to returning to Cornwall to film it."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
23 minutes ago
- STV News
First look at Andrew Lincoln and Ewen Bremner in upcoming STV thriller Coldwater
New images have been released of Andrew Lincoln and Ewen Bremner, who are set to star in a new six-part Scottish thriller airing on STV and STV Player this autumn. Set in the fictional Scottish village of Coldwater, The Walking Dead actor Lincoln plays stay-at-home dad John, who relocates his family to Scotland amid an identity crisis. John is quickly befriended by next-door neighbour Tommy, played by Trainspotting actor Ewen Bremner, a charming, confident man and devoted husband to the local vicar Rebecca, played by Eve Myles. He is a man of faith, a pillar of the community and self-appointed leader of the village's all-male book group. Sister Pictures for ITV John (played by Andrew Lincoln) and Fiona (played by Indira Varma) relocate to Scotland with their family. Sister Pictures for ITV Sister Pictures for ITV While John is both impressed and slightly fascinated by Tommy, his wife Fiona, played by Game of Thrones star Indira Varma, despises him. When her husband's relationship with their enigmatic new neighbour becomes increasingly intense, Fiona's suspicions are aroused, unconvinced Tommy is all he seems to be. Sister Pictures for ITV Sister Pictures for ITV Sister Pictures for ITV When John's long-repressed rage comes to a head with disastrous results, he soon finds himself unexpectedly indebted to his new friend, unaware that Tommy himself is harbouring horrifying secrets. It's only after a series of unsettling incidents start to occur that John begins to wonder who the real Tommy actually is. Sister Pictures for ITV Sister Pictures for ITV The series is written, created and executive produced by David Ireland (The Lovers, Ulster American, Cyprus Avenue). Lee Haven Jones (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, Passenger, Doctor Who) directs the first three episodes while Andrew Cumming (Shetland, Payback, Cold Feet) directs the second half of the series. Coldwater will air on STV and STV player this autumn. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Palantir sees first billion dollars in quarterly sales amid US spending cuts
The stock rose above 170 dollars (£127) before the opening bell on Tuesday, which would be a high for the company that has already notched record highs four times this year, the most recent on July 25 when its stock closed at 158.80 dollars (£119.53). Since going public in 2020 when it posted a 1.17 billion-dollar (£0.88 billion) annual loss, the artificial intelligence software company has swung to a profit. Profit rose 33% to 327 million dollars (£246 million) in the second quarter. Its one billion dollars quarterly revenue haul was fuelled by a 53% spike in government sales, despite massive spending cuts under President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), once led by the world's richest man Elon Musk. 'Doge has had zero negative impact on Palantir's US government business, which achieved its fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2021,' wrote William Blair analysts Louie DiPalma and Bryce Sandberg. 'Palantir is clearly benefiting from AI industry momentum across its government and commercial customer bases.' The company also recorded a 93% jump in business sales. Overall US revenue surged 68% to 733 million dollars (£551.7 million). Late Monday, Palantir raised its revenue expectations for 2025 to between 4.14 billion dollars and 4.15 billion dollars (£3.12 billion). It also raised its US commercial revenue guidance to more than 1.3 billion dollars (£0.98 billion), which would mean that Palantir achieved a growth rate of at least 85%. 'This was a phenomenal quarter,' chief executive Alex Karp said in a statement accompanying the earnings release. 'We continue to see the astonishing impact of AI leverage.' Mr Karp believes AI will benefit everyone, saying during a call with industry analysts on Monday that Palantir is 'bullish on all aspects of American life, including and especially people in the blue collar'. He said Palantir wants to 'arm the working class or blue collar workers with AI agency enhancing skills', and said that the company will work with labour leaders to help familiarise workers with the technology. 'People with less than a college education are creating a lot value and sometimes more value than people with a college education using our product,' Mr Karp said. Palantir, headquartered in Denver, specialises in software platforms that pull together and analyse large amounts of data.
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
What do this year's exam results mean for the future of the Scottish education system?
Around the time that Scottish school pupils were sitting their preliminary exams in February, people in the SNP were whispering in my ear that the Education Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, was vulnerable to being moved from her post in a Scottish Government reshuffle. Today, alongside many young people north of the border, the education secretary will be relieved at this year's exam results. She will see them both as a vindication of how she is doing her job – and the fact that she kept it. Overall attainment is up, with 30.8 per cent of pupils who sat a Higher exam receiving an A grade and 75.9 per cent passing their tests. That is a slight increase on last year and – in the case of top grades – a decent bump on the 2019 results, which were the last set of exams sat before the Covid-19 pandemic. The awards handed out during the various lockdowns were higher than usual as pupils had high-stakes exams removed. In 2020, they were based on heavily moderated teacher estimates before a series of smaller assessments were then used to determine grades the following year. These latest set of results were a key test after a series of controversies last year: from falling pass rates, to blank emails being sent to thousands of pupils instead of exam results, to controversy over how some exams were marked. Chaos, in other words. It had to go smoothly this year and, so far, it has for Gilruth. So, that's the good news. The downside is that the SNP is still being judged on a pledge made a decade ago by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. 'My aim - to put it bluntly - is to close the attainment gap completely,' she said in a 2015 speech. 'It will not be done overnight - I accept that. But it must be done.' The following year, the Scottish Government's programme for government said ministers were aiming to 'substantially eliminate the gap over the course of the next decade'. Well, we're 12 months out from that deadline, and while the gap has narrowed a little year on year, it is largely stuck at the same level as it was pre-pandemic. Indeed, it has widened for advanced highers. Gilruth, a former modern studies teacher, who was appointed to her cabinet post in 2023, believes that the key to progress is by focusing on what goes on in classrooms and listening to those leading them. Her family and friends still work in the profession, meaning she is left in no doubt about concerns from those on the frontline. She is determined to work with teachers and that has informed her approach to the new body, Qualifications Scotland, which will run next year's exams. Donna Stewart, Scotland's chief examining officer, is a former deputy headteacher, and others are being moved straight from classrooms into senior positions. Teachers at the sharp end say this is filtering down to them with a 'very positive' Curriculum Improvement Cycle, which was set up in 2021 to help develop how subjects are taught, listening to those in classrooms and being unafraid to criticise the outgoing Scottish Qualifications Authority. The SQA is being scrapped – and replaced by Qualifications Scotland – because of a series of exam controversies. The biggest of these was the decision to use an algorithm to use schools' past performances to change some pupils' grades when exams were first scrapped during the 2020 lockdown. After public protests from pupils and teachers – and a vote of no confidence being tabled in the education secretary of the day – 124,000 exam results were reinstated. So who was that education secretary, who survived that vote on his future only after U-turning on the original policy? It was the current First Minister, John Swinney. If these exam results are signs that a mess is being cleared up, his successor could argue that much of the untidiness is of her boss's making.
