Martin Clunes says the entertainment industry is “too on-show to carry a dolt”, and the children of successful actors don’t get work just because of who their parents are.

The 63-year-old actor is currently starring in county lines drama Out There opposite Louis Ashbourne Serkis, which sees a single-parent farmer and his teenage son tangle with drug-dealing gangs in Monmouthshire.

Serkis is the son of Lord Of The Rings actor Andy Serkis and Sherwood star Lorraine Ashbourne, and starred in his first TV show, Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, when he was just 10.

Clunes tells Sky News: “I was involved in [Serkis’s] casting, so it was just like, ‘Oh, this is Andy and Lorraine’s boy. Oh, that’s interesting. If he’s s***, he won’t get the… Sorry, if he’s no good, he won’t get the gig’.

“You’ve got to punch your weight, cos that’s how it works, I think the industry is too on-show to carry a dolt. If someone was awful at it and they just got the gig because of whose child they were, it would really show, and you’d mess your project up.”

The six-part drama is produced by Clunes’s wife Philippa Braithwaite, who also produced long-running ITV comedy-drama Doc Martin in which Clunes also starred.

Clunes goes on: “I think it’s just a point of interest – maybe you get a second look, or somebody is curious, or somebody knows them. But I don’t remember ever having met Andy and Lorraine before doing this [show].”

Clunes’s own father was golden age star Alec Clunes, who sadly died when Clunes was just eight. His maternal uncle was Sherlock Holmes actor Jeremy Brett, and his grandparents were music hall entertainers.

‘The Year of the Nepo Baby’

New York Magazine called 2022 “The Year of the Nepo Baby” highlighting the number of famous “actors, singers, directors who just happen to be the children of actors, singers, directors”.

And earlier this year, Spice Girl Mel B’s daughter Phoenix Brown said nepo babies had never faced so much hate, particularly on social media.

The 25-year-old DJ and entrepreneur asked whether “nepo babies [were] taking the flak for wider inequality in society?” in a piece she wrote for the Radio Times earlier this year.

A nepo baby, short for nepotism baby, is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections”.

Serkis too says he thinks there are misconceptions over perceived nepotism in the industry.

‘It’s a tough industry’

The 20-year-old actor tells Sky News: “If you hear a surname, you always think of an association, but growing up and acting, it’s never really been about that. It’s been about attacking the role that I’ve worked hard to get or that I’ve been lucky enough to audition for.

“I think when a casting director hears [your name], it’s nothing more than a surname. And the way that we look at it is that it can only get you so far because it’s a tough industry. It’s competitive. And roles aren’t just handed out based on who your father is or who your mother is. I think it’s kind of slightly misconceived.”

Serkis calls his working relationship with Clunes “a beautiful partnership”, while Clunes says that through “the shared trauma of the series” the characters get thrown closer together “jumpstarting the father-son thing”.

‘It ain’t Doc Martin’

The ITV drama marks Clunes’s first return to the screen after wrapping Doc Martin in 2022.

When asked if this role is “against type”, the BAFTA-winning actor insists, “I don’t know what my type is”, before conceding, “Certainly it ain’t Doc Martin”.

“Doing one thing for 18 years, you kind of get that watermarked through you a bit,” he adds.

The farming role has parallels with Clunes’s own life, who after moving out of London over a decade ago, lives on a 130-acre farm in Dorset which produces hay and haylage for equestrian use.

He can even drive a tractor and a digger, skills he puts to good use in the first episode of the drama. Serkis, meanwhile, who says he’s “grown up and lived in the city all my life”, got to learn to drive a tractor for the show.

The next Jeremy Clarkson?

While farming has been a hot topic in recent weeks, due to Labour’s rulings on farmland inheritance tax in the Autumn Budget, Out There was filmed in Wales over a year ago.

Clunes says: “Farming was there and it was in trouble while we were making this. It’s just got a magnifying glass over it at the moment… It’s been struggling for a long time.”

A man of many talents, Clunes jokes that his CV boasts “sword fighting and lambing”, adding “and I know how to get a dripper into a sheep’s mouth”.

But despite his farming ability, Clunes says he has no aspirations to become a celebrity mouthpiece for the farming community.

While fellow celebrity Jeremy Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds, has been vocal on the issue, Clunes has no ambition to get involved.

Asked if he too might join marches, or speak for the cause, Clunes is resolute: “No.”

When pushed, he says: “I have my opinions on it, but I’m not at the forefront of anything.”

While a reality series of Clunes’s Farm isn’t likely any time soon, Out There begins on ITV on Sunday at 9pm.

A suspect has been detained after one of India’s top Bollywood stars was stabbed multiple times in an attempted robbery, according to Indian media reports.

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times in an attack at his home in an upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai, in the early hours of Thursday.

He underwent emergency surgery and is now out of danger, doctors said, after they reportedly had to remove a 2.5in shard of blade from his spine.

After a manhunt across the city, one person was detained, TV channels reported on Friday, adding it was not clear if they were the attacker.

Videos circulating online showed officers escorting a man into a police station in Mumbai.

Dikshit Gedam, the police officer investigating the case, did not confirm the detention and told Reuters there was no major development in the case.

Dr Niraj Uttamani, of Lilavati Hospital, reportedly said Khan walked into hospital despite his injuries “like a lion”, accompanied by his son.

“He was soaked in blood when he arrived in the hospital,” he added, according to NDTV.

“But he walked in like a lion. He is a real hero.

“He is very fortunate. If a knife was 2mm deeper, he would have sustained a serious injury.”

The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s best-known actors, shocked the film industry and led to many calling for better policing and security.

Mr Gedam said police received reports of an attack around 3am, and the suspected attacker entered the home from a fire escape and got entry to the stairs.

Read more from Sky News:
Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in jail
SpaceX rocket ‘lost’ on test flight
Gaza ceasefire latest

Police said it appeared the attacker was related to a member of staff who worked at Khan’s home – who allowed them entry into the property.

Khan, the son of former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, has starred in more than 70 films and television series, some as a producer.

He lives in an apartment in the western suburb of Bandra with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their children.

Representatives for Ms Khan said in a statement that the rest of the family were uninjured in the incident.

Ariyama Phillips, who works at the home and raised the alarm, was also injured when the actor challenged the intruder.

Adam Scott says achieving a healthy work-life balance can be tricky for actors who spend large chunks of time away from their friends and family.

The 52-year-old star, who is about to return to our screens for the second season of Severance tells Sky News: “It’s hard because we live in Los Angeles, and we make the show in New York. So, it’s months and months away from home.”

It’s been three years since the first season of the Emmy-award-winning workplace thriller, which was met with widespread critical acclaim.

Scott plays Mark Scout, a microdata refinement team leader who catalogues numbers for shadowy corporate entity, Lumon Industries.

Part sci-fi experiment, part chilling workplace parable, the show imagines a world in which workers can opt to undergo a surgical procedure called severance to divide their consciousness into separate professional and personal entities, dubbed “innie” and “outie”.

While Scott’s character has undergone the procedure to help him divide his time more effectively, he has come up with a less extreme solution to achieve work-life balance.

Best known for his role in Parks And Recreation, and with numerous other credits including Big Little Lies and Party Down, Scott and his wife, TV and film producer Naomi Sablan, set up their own production company Gettin’ Rad Productions in 2012.

He explains: “My wife and I work together when I’m not making the show. We have a company, and we make indie movies and TV, so it’s great. We have an office that we can go to, and that’s a great way to spend time together.”

They also have two children, a son Graham, 18, and daughter Frankie,16.

Scott goes on: “My kids are teenagers now, so they can just fly out on their own, which is great. But it’s hard. We figure it out, you know. Everything’s a challenge at some point. We make do.”

Getting the second season in the can was clearly a big relief for him, and fans will be pleased to hear a third is rumoured to be in the works.

Scott says: “We finished making the show almost a year ago now, so I’ve been home for a while and it’s always great to be home.”

‘Just a little oppressive’

So, how did it feel to work in such an oppressive office space of Luman Industries, even though it was all make-believe?

Scott admits production designer Jeremy Hindle had done a big chunk of the work on his behalf.

Describing the “incredible experience” of entering the set, he says: “In our office, there are those green carpets and then the fluorescent lights, and the ceiling is just a bit low.

“It’s not crazy low. It’s just low enough to feel like something’s off, that it’s just a little oppressive. Little decisions like that by Ben [Stiller] and Jeremy [Hindle] make this whole world feel active and alive when you’re there.

“So, as far as a kind of nightmarish feeling, after you’re there for 12, 14 hours, it’s not difficult to summon those feelings.”

‘I like trying different stuff’

And what about Severance’s star director, Ben Stiller?

A far cry from his screen appearances in comedies like Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, Stiller is both executive producer and lead director of the show.

Scott says Stiller is his favourite director to work with.

“He’s someone who obviously understands actors, so is able to talk to them, work with them and understand that language.”

Scott also says he trusts Stiller “completely and implicitly”.

He says: “With a director, it’s really important that you trust them, that they know when something is working, that they’re not going to move on until they feel they’ve gotten a scene.”

A perfectionist, Scott adds: “I’m always ready to do more and more takes. I like doing a lot and trying different stuff. But if Ben says, ‘We’ve got it’, then I trust that we’ve got it and I’m ready to move on.

“I love his filmmaking. He’s a great guy, and also just the best person to work with.”

The 10-episode second season of Severance will debut globally on Apple TV+ with the first episode on Friday 17 January followed by one episode every Friday.