Who is Martin Shaw? Inspector George Gently and The Long Call star
MARTIN Shaw is one of TV's most recognisable faces with an outstanding career spanning over half a century and he's now set to star in ITV's newest crime drama, The Long Call.
Here's everything you need to know about his career so far - from Judge John Deed and The Professionals to Inspector George Gently.
Who is Martin Shaw?
Martin Shaw is an acclaimed British actor, known for his highly successful television characters.
During his career, the 74-year-old actor has appeared in more than 100 roles.
He has been in a relationship with Karen De Silva since 2003.
This is Martin's fourth marriage, having previously tied the knot to Jill Allen in 1968, Maggie Mansfield in 1985 and Vicky Kimm in 1996.
He has two sons, Luke and Joe, and a daughter, Sophie.
The star actively supports animal rights and welfare charities and is the patrol of Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk.
What roles is Martin Shaw most known for?
Martin has appeared in a series of well-loved roles, mainly in crime dramas and detective series.
In 2021, it was announced that he'd be joining the cast of ITV detective drama The Long Call as Dennis Stephenson, a spiritual brethren leader.
These include playing Chief Constable Alan Cade in The Chief from 1993-1995, Robert Kingsford in Always and Everyone and of course Ray Doyle in The Professionals.
However, the most known of all his roles is Judge John Deed, which ran from 2001-2007.
He played a high court judge who was trying to seek "real" justice in the cases put before him.
After the show ended, he joined the cast as Inspector George Gently and has starred in all eight series.
He has also starred in the BBC adaption Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling.
Shaw also took a role in The Best Man, a West End play written by Maureen Lipman.
What is The Long Call about?
The Long Call is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves.
The show follows the lead detective, DI Matthew Venn, as he's forced to return to the town that once rejected him - though, this time, he's got his husband in tow.
The hometown drama plaguing our lead is only compounded when he becomes wrapped up in a mysterious murder case.