Who is Eden in Best Medicine? Doc Martin fans have met her before — under a different name
Eden Montgomery is Martin Best's ex-girlfriend from Boston, a fertility specialist played by Eliza Coupe. In Doc Martin, she was Edith Montgomery, Martin Ellingham's former fiancée.
Best Medicine is Fox's American remake of the long-running British dramedy Doc Martin, created by Liz Tuccillo, with Josh Charles as Dr. Martin Best, a Boston surgeon who develops a phobia of blood and becomes the doctor in the Maine fishing town of Port Wenn. Season 1 premiered in January 2026, and season 2 began on September 22. Eden arrived at the end of season 1 and has been the main obstacle between Martin and schoolteacher Louisa Gavin (Abigail Spencer) ever since.
Who Eden is
Eden enters the story when Louisa tells Martin she wants to have a baby. Martin refers her to a fertility specialist in Boston, Dr. Eden Montgomery, who turns out to be his ex. She tells Louisa that she and Martin dated through medical school and for a few years afterward, and that she was surprised he sent anyone her way, given how abruptly he left Boston. She also calls him Marty, which nobody in Port Wenn would dare to do.
Coupe, best known as Jane on Happy Endings, appeared in the final two episodes of season 1. In the finale, Martin overhears Louisa's ex, Sheriff Mark Mylow (Josh Segarra), offering to have a baby with her, misunderstands the situation, and calls Eden. By the end of the episode, the two of them are back together.
Season 2 picks up with the relationship intact. Eden is driving in from Boston on weekends, and she hasn't made many friends.
Charles summed up her effect on the town: "she's rubbed a lot of people in town the wrong way."
Tuccillo has said Eden has bigger plans for Martin this season, and that they threaten whatever is left of his chances with Louisa.
Where Doc Martin fans have seen her
Doc Martin's fourth series, which aired on ITV in 2009, introduced Dr. Edith Montgomery, played by Lia Williams. The parallels are close:
- The history — Edith and Martin Ellingham were medical school colleagues. Williams described the two as having been deeply in love and engaged to be married before a very unpleasant split.
- The specialty — Edith works in fertility and obstetrics. When a pregnant Louisa returns to Portwenn, Edith is the doctor who performs her scan.
- The timing — she turns up when Martin is newly single after a failed relationship with Louisa and taking steps toward a life outside the village.
- The family verdict — Martin's Aunt Joan remembered Edith from years earlier and never liked her.
Edith takes a job at the local hospital, sets her sights on Martin and, for a while, gets somewhere. He kisses her after she recommends a therapist for his blood phobia, and he goes with her to a conference where she is speaking. Then he walks out on her, and the series ends with Martin racing to help deliver Louisa's baby.
That's why Doc Martin fans see Eden coming. Best Medicine has been faithful to its source from the start, beginning with a pilot that follows the original's first episode beat for beat. It even brought in Martin Clunes, the original Doc Martin, to play Martin Best's father, Robert, in season 1.
The Edith storyline lasted one series. Eden has already outlasted her by a season, and Louisa's latest suitor, Parker (Jack Cutmore-Scott), has only just arrived.
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