Wedding bells are ringing for the Doc and Louisa, but Martin attends to his patients prior to the ceremony.*The Doc is irritated by PC Penhale, who wrongly presumes he is best man, plus Louisa is late. It seems everyone in the village turned up for the ceremony. The Reverend has his doubts as to whether Louisa go through with the wedding, putting Martin on edge. Following the ceremony, Bert Large drops Martin and Louisa off at a honeymoon lodge with no telephone, no noise, and in the middle of nowhere. He also drove off with their luggage. Unfortunately, the fireplace chimney is blocked, causing the room to fill with smoke when Martin lights the fire. Louisa and Martin flee in their wedding clothes, and come across an old man named Bellamy (David Sterne) living in the woods, who points a gun at them. Louisa grabs Bellamy's gun and starts ordering him around. Bellamy's porch collapses with him underneath, and Martin performing surgery to save his life. Afterwards, Martin and Louisa end up hitching a ride with a trucker, finally making it back home. Meanwhile, his aunt Ruth is looking after baby James Henry. The baby refused to eat his dinner and he won't settle, crying continuously. To make matters worse, they have a power cut, and Al Large shows up to try to restore the power, as does PC Penhale. Electrician Mike Pruddy (Felix Scott) arrives to assess the electric problem. Pruddy helps Aunt Ruth to calm the baby.[39]

Aunt Ruth has been roped into doing a phone-in programme on Radio Portwenn with radio personality Caroline Bosman, and a listener called 'Cliff' (PC Penhale) phones in saying he finds it difficult to make friends. It is Louisa's first day back at school and their new child minder, Mrs Paris (Rosie Ede), is late for work. When she finally does arrive, Martin is dubious about handing James Henry over to this woman who is constantly scratching. Martin diagnosis her as having underarm fungus, from being too overweight. Upset with Martin, she quits. Meanwhile, electrician Mike Pruddy (Felix Scott) has a gift for handling the baby. Martin and Louisa have the head of the school board Dennis Dodds (Richard Cordery) and his wife Karen (Katie Lyons), and are accidentally heard over the baby monitor calling them drunks. Bert sees income opportunity by renting out son Al's bedroom to tourists. Al rents a room from Martin's receptionist Morwenna Newcross.[40]

Two fishermen (Julian Seager and Tony Cottrell) wake the Doc and Louisa at the crack of dawn, having discovered Robert Campbell (Paul Moriarty) unconscious on the beach. Campbell is a former patient of Aunt Ruth's. After being revived by the doctor, Campbell starts asking Martin about his family. Aunt Ruth, who has been giving advice over the radio, tells Martin she believes she has an amorous stalker, but he is not interested. Meanwhile, it's Mike Pruddy's first day looking after James. Louisa is chilly towards him. When she gets to school she can't help but feel uneasy and sneaks back home to check up on Mike. PC Penhale finds Campbell's car, which it appears Campbell has been sleeping in. Inside are photos and newspaper clippings of Auntie Ruth, as well as diary entries that are alarming signs of an obsession with Ruth. Campbell believes Ruth confessed on the radio that she loves him. Martin arrives in time to rescue her, and he tells Campbell that he has Type 2 diabetes and needs an injection. Bert Large rents a spare room to Jennifer Cardew (Annabelle Apsion), who is Portwenn's chemist in Mrs. Tishell's absence. Martin dislikes Jennifer immediately. Al moves into Morwenna's flat. Ten-year-old student Becky Weed (Lily Laight) writes a newspaper review of Bert's restaurant, mistakenly blaming him for her stomach illness, which Martin diagnoses as an ulcer.[41]

Louisa wants Martin to engage more with James, so she arranges for him to take their baby to a library playgroup, where he has to pair up with a mother and daughter and sing songs. Meanwhile, Al signs up to a dating website, and Morwenna unsuccessfully tries to pair him up with one of her girlfriends. Bert is suspicious when he catches his new boarder, local chemist Jennifer Cardew, in the bathroom with a needle. He forces her to see Doc Martin, who finds out she's been injecting herself with botox. Aunt Ruth moves into a cottage in the village, but soon has a spot of trouble with her grumpy new next door neighbour John Moysey (Ronald Pickup). After her ceiling caves in, Al is brought in for the repair job, necessitating access to Moysey's loft. When he refuses, they enlist the help of PC Penhale, who threatens Moysey with a search warrant and employs the dog always in Martin's office as an official police "sniffer dog". Al and June discover evidence of compulsive hoarding by Moysey. Meanwhile, Martin also investigates the hoarding after Moysey becomes his patient, leading Martin to diagnose scurvy. Since Moysey's wife died, he's only been eating canned foods, and no fruits or vegetables. Mrs Eddy (Vilma Hollingbery) believes she has a melanoma, but Martin says it's a raised infected lymph node, brought on by an infected "Do Not Resuscitate" tattoo. She and her friend Ethel (Carol MacReady) tattooed each other, and are both diagnosed with spending too much time in the sun.[42]

Mrs. Tishell's return is the talk of the village, and she wears an elastic wrist band as part of her Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. All Martin's family is on edge and remembering the day she flipped and kidnapped baby James. Tishell's obsessive affection for Martin quickly disappears when he refuses to pass her fit for work. As if he didn't have enough on his plate, Martin must also face his fear of blood when tests show that Lorna Gillett (Julia Swift) has a high level of ferritin, due to her taking iron tablets, and which is placing a strain on her heart and liver. Meanwhile, Penhale hopes to be selected for an elite police squad by taking part in a survival training course with Buddy the dog. Things go horribly wrong when he shoots himself in the foot. By the next day, Penhale has managed to hitch hike back to Martin's clinic in town. During his ordeal, Penhale packed his wound in moss, which in turn resulted in blood poisoning. Al Large has been visiting online dating sites under an alias identity, and unbeknownst to him, Morwenna has also been at online dating sites under an assumed name. When they separately make dates with their online connections, it turns out they were connecting online with each other. Al breaks up with Morwenna, moving out of his flat and ending up living with Penhale. Bert Large makes a date with local chemist Jennifer Cardew [43]

Penhale and Al adjust to different wake-up times and styles. Penhale is ready to conquer the day, and Al wants more sleep. Al is unhappy living with Penhale, and thinking about how to get out of it distracts him from his daily work with Ruth. Encouraged by Ruth, Al decides to make changes in his life. Martin's sleep patterns make it difficult for Louisa to get a good night's sleep, so upon the advice of Jennifer, she sprinkles lavender around. Martin's mother Margaret Ellingham (Claire Bloom) delivers the news that his father has died.*The Pharmaceutical Council, which earlier kept Jennifer on as their watchful eye over Mrs. Tishell, now believe Mrs. Tishell no longer needs the supervision. Bert pops the question to Jennifer, and she agrees to marry him. Ruth finds fault with Al's business proposal. Mike dates Morwenna, but their attempts at conversation don't go well.*Malcolm Rayner is struggling with his breathing and Martin asks him if he has ever worked with asbestos. Malcolm is convinced he's dying and gets drunk in the local pub. Penhale locks him up to sleep it off, after Malcolm confirms he installed asbestos in the police stations and "all over town". Penhale sparks pandemonium after he puts up asbestos warnings worded, "every breath could be giving you cancer" throughout the village. Someone tells him it's not asbestos, but breathing cellulose that gives people cancer. It is later discovered that Malcolm was not sickened by his years around asbestos, but has a malady called "pigeon fancier's lungs", due to his keeping pigeons as his personal pets in cages at his home.

Mrs. Tishell finds herself falling in love with Martin all over again, and visits his office with her latest physical complaint, which Martin diagnoses as angina. She has stopped taking all medications he prescribed her, and is on the verge of a heart attack.*Martin rejects Louisa's suggestion that they take a small holiday with baby James. He is convinced that something is physically wrong with him following a conversation with his mother Margaret. Aunt Ruth views Margaret's sudden visit as suspicious, calling her "morally bankrupt". Ruth says Margaret damaged Martin by isolating him from friends, while keeping him emotionally distant from herself. Martin has agreed to be the special guest at the school Sports Day, which ends up in disaster, because he discourages participation in sports. He complains he has patients to see, and hands out all the medals before the competitions begin. He leaves and when she goes after him to talk to him about what happened. She crosses the street and is hit by a car, and is taken away by an ambulance. She tells Martin that she and James are going to her mother's home in Spain to spend time away from him.*Two Royal Military policemen are trying to track down Mike Pruddy for being AWOL (Absent Without Leave) from the army. Pruddy agrees to return to the military. Penhale puts a parking violation "boot" on the military truck, so they can't move it, giving Pruddy a chance to report back to his base voluntarily.

Louisa decides to leave for Spain with baby James and says an awkward goodbye to Martin, who becomes teary-eyed and sad that they are leaving. He is so distraught that he cannot concentrate on his medical practice. A patient comes to him for headaches, and he absent-mindlessly inoculates her for rabies. Martin seeks Ruth's advice about his personal life. She tells him all his problems are rooted in being raised by parents who were cold and distant, and advises him that he does not have to be like his parents. Martin finally corners his mother Margaret, who makes up a story about his father's wishes on his dying bed. Martin knows she's lying, and makes her admit that her real motive in visiting him at Portwenn is to get him to give her enough money to buy a country cottage. He insists she leave his home.*When Martin finds the scan of Louisa's brain, he spots a malformation and realises she could have a haemorrhage. Martin gets to the airport, and removes Louisa and James who have already boarded the plane. He takes her immediately to a medical facility. Martin apologizes to her for not being a good husband, and asks for a second chance. He then locks the nervous young doctor in a closet, and performs the procedure himself.*Al presents a business plan to Ruth to turn her acreage into a bed and breakfast tourist fishing resort. He is forced to delay a meeting with her, to help Bert with his engagement party. Ruth does her homework and sees that Al has presented a solid business plan, and she agrees to it with the stipulation that Al manage the business and leave her as a silent partner. As a joke, someone told PC Penhale that Bert's party was a costume party, so he shows up dressed as a New York City policeman, complete with fake mustache. Radio presenter Caroline Bosman (Felicity Montagu) receives an electrical shock that knocks her out. Morwenna calls Martin, but Mrs. Tishell tries to push Morwenna out of the way to revive Caroline, convinced Martin wants her personally to administer CPR. Al borrows a defibrillator kit from the Life Boat Station, and is able to save her life, while Morwenna keeps Mrs. Tishell away.