Martin Clunes has said he will be “put down” by the entertainment industry when his time is up.
Clunes has predicted the end of his acting career, despite his continued appetite for work.
The star of Doc Martin and the upcoming crime drama Manhunt, based on the investigation into the murderer of Milly Dowler, said that he has enjoyed a busy year in show business.
But Clunes, who has swapped light comedy for drama in the upcoming series, said that offers for work can stop at any time, whether retirement is wanted or not.
He said: “We talk about retiring in the abstract, but I’ve had the busiest year of my life this year. I’m really lucky to be able to do what I do.
“The natural order is the requests stop coming. They’ll put me down before I’m done.”
#Manhunt starring Martin starts Sunday 6th January on ITV. pic.twitter.com/uyVA4WOZ1l
— Martin Clunes OBE (@MartinClunesTV) December 17, 2018
Clunes’ next project sees him in the role of DCI Colin Sutton, who led the police investigation into the death of Amelie Delagrange, which was traced to Levi Bellfield.
The killer was ultimately revealed to have murdered Marsha McDonnell and Milly.
Clunes said such a serious role was new to him, but he was intrigued to test the dramatic part.
He said: It’s a story worth telling, they come along every now and again, very seldom in my direction, but it certainly felt like that because of the content, because of the way the crimes were solved.
“It was news to me how a murder squad operates like that so I thought that was interesting and maybe other people will too.”
Manhunt is due to air on ITV on January 9.