20 October 2007 | Dek Hogan | Digital Spy

It’s heartbreaking to see a much-loved favourite TV character being faced with their own mortality. When Doc Martin’s Aunty Joan was diagnosed with osteoporosis it looked as if the bottom had fallen out of her world. We needn’t have worried. She soon bounced back. Bounced back several times in fact, with the aid of a kitchen table and the bloke who’d come round to do her decorating. Of course the Doc walked in in the middle of the act. He was shocked by what he saw. I don’t blame him; I was slightly taken aback myself.

Surprise at this scene was obviously expected by the programme-makers, because after the ad break we were treated to an action replay of the deed just in case we hadn’t quite believed it had been graphically depicted the first time.

Now this could have been quite a tacky storyline to tackle but somehow – no doubt helped along by the more than impressive comic talents of Martin Clunes and Stephanie Cole – the whole thing managed to stay just on the right side of decency if not good taste, but what can you expect from a show where the hero turns up to a birthday party with a dead dog under his arm.

Somehow though, the charm of the setting just makes you forgive excess and this remains one of the best-made and frankly original shows on any channel at the moment. If only more British shows could be like this and feel like less like they’ve churned off the production line like tins of beans.