Babies from the Westcountry are needed for the next series of ITV drama Doc Martin when filming starts again in Port Isaac this spring.
Production company Buffalo Productions is looking for babies born between October last year and January to play the part of grumpy Doc Martin's baby in series six of the drama set in the fictional Cornish fishing village of Port Wenn.
Parents are invited to bring their small offspring along to a casting session at St Peter's Church Rooms in Port Isaac, the village on the North Cornwall coast where the series is filmed, on Monday, March 11 from 10am-2pm.
"Over the course of the show we can use quite a few babies because we shoot over five months, and they grow up much quicker than we are showing on the screen," said production coordinator Hollie Foster.
"Because of filming hours and the restrictions on times you are allowed to have a baby on set, it works for us to have a lot."
No fewer than 12 local babies, including two sets of twins, were used in the last round of filming two years ago, to play the part of newborn baby of Martin Ellingham (played by Martin Clunes) and his on-off partner, feisty primary school headteacher Louise Glasson (played by Caroline Catz).
Now the story starts up again where it left off, and a fresh batch of babies are needed. While the baby in the story is a boy, the part can be played by baby boys or girls.
Hollie stressed that the babies would not work onerous hours – there are strict rules covering how many hours children can work – and the work of playing a babe-in-arms was not too taxing.
On top of this, babies – or rather their parents – get paid for their trouble.
The series is also looking for adults and children of all ages to play the parts of villagers in various scenes, and a second casting day is being held for them on Thursday, March 14, between 10am-4pm at the church rooms in Port Isaac.
"We want to get a whole range of people of all ages for the background; teenagers, grown ups and old people," she said.
People who have been extras in previous years need to attend the casting session if they wish to register again.
This latest series is expected to be shown on ITV in the autumn.
