The Doc Martin finale certainly packed a lot in, including a health scare for the titular doctor, but fans everywhere have been talking about another star: Chicken the Dog.
During the dramatic final episode of Doc Martin season 10, fans were stressed after the aforementioned dog went missing. He's been a newcomer to the show, with James (Elliott Blake) taking a liking to him in particular, to the point where he became the family dog.
Chicken is played by rescue dog, Taffy, and fans everywhere have certainly taken a liking to the four-legged newcomer so they were very concerned about his wellbeing when he suddenly went missing.
After a frantic search which saw Martin (Martin Clunes) putting up posters and trying to find the locals, Chicken was found after a new tenant called to reveal he'd seen the dog running across his fields.
Chicken was eventually brought home to the Ellingham's, much to the relief of the characters and viewers at home, and many people on Twitter were talking about how much they loved the newest addition to the family.
In fact, Doc Martin fans love Chicken so much that one is calling on the dog to be honoured with a Best Actor award, so that's high praise indeed!
#DocMartin perfect ending - staying in Portwenn and even Chicken was found safe too! 👏👏 @ITV well done all involved in making this final series, you’ve all done yourselves proud #TenYears #DocMartin #Finale #IconicTVOctober 26, 2022
#docmartin Thankyou to all involved for a truly heartwarming show. I bought into the drama and the delights of Portwenn. Strong cast. Terrific talent. My award for best actor ...Chicken all the way! Its been a blast.October 26, 2022
I am bereft - I am basically #MrsTishell - please can #DocMartin stay… @ITV 🙏🏼he could swap houses with the man from the city, live in his childhood home, have chicken as his assistant medical dog… so much for me to think about 😄October 27, 2022
Oh I love the dog called chicken #DocMartinOctober 26, 2022
I'm not sure I can cope with Chicken the dog going missing and #DocMartin ending forever! 😭October 26, 2022
Of course, fans did care about the beloved yet grumpy Doc Martin himself, who had been debating whether or not he wanted to say goodbye to Portwenn and move his family elsewhere.
The doctor had a bit of a wake-up call after getting into an accident while on the hunt for Chicken, which saw him getting ambushed by a stampede of cows, before he fell and cut his arm open, requiring him to go to the hospital.
He'd torn a major artery on barbed wire during the scary stampede, but thankfully was expected to make a full recovery and this gave him an opportunity to reevaluate things, realising that he didn't want to leave Portwenn and they were happy here.
The finale ended on an emotional note, and saw Martin picking up the For Sale sign outside the surgery, and throwing it into the sea, signalling that they weren't going anywhere.
Doc Martin is available on demand via ITV Hub — so you don't have to say goodbye yet, if you don't want to! Plus there's still a festive episode to look forward to.
