Laurie's marriage strained by Hollywood career

Laurie spends a substantial amount of time in Los Angeles filming the medical drama, while his wife of 23 years, Jo, stays at their family home in London.

And the actor, who has starred in the series since 2004, admits they are struggling to maintain a happy transatlantic relationship.

He says, "I wouldn't say doing the series has made marriage easier. Doing weekly TV is like joining the Navy and going to the other side of the world for 10 months of the year.

"But the truth is that whatever challenging situation you're in, somebody somewhere has got a much more extreme version. So I think one ought to shut up and not moan about it."