ACTOR Martin Clunes has vowed that the show must go on with Buckham Fair this Sunday despite the Beaminster tunnel closure.

For the much-loved TV actor it’s clearly both a heart-felt desire to help this year’s charity, Julia’s House, and a day he loves.

And if this year the tunnel’s closure is likely to add to the difficulties of directing traffic it is a small price to pay for helping the children’s hospice, said Martin.

“I am bitterly disappointed that there are people who think we should cancel the fair.

“I hope they never have need of Julia’s House Hospice.

“It is awful what happened at the tunnel but nothing that happened there is going to stop Julia’s House needing that money.

“Every year we get people complaining about the traffic and every year we take steps to improve that.

“It is a question of what people’s priorities are.”

This year there will be more marshals and extensive signage to signpost the one-way system designed to ease congestion.

There was some talk last year of expanding the fair to a weekend event but the formula is clearly working as it is and the immensely popular event made more than £22,000 last year.

He said: “We slightly want to change things but at the same time at the heart of it is a gymkhana and dog show and that wouldn’t really stretch to two days.”
This year there are more trade stands, more food stands, a bigger fun fair, more dog classes and more displays.

Among those will be a dog agility show, a display by the guide dogs, Richard Curtis’ canine freestyle dancing dog show, TV and stunt dogs and the Wessex Heavy Horse Society’s heavy horse musical drive.

There will also be a demonstration of T Touch healing, a racehorse re-homing display, a scooter display and the dog and horse shows.

Martin added: “I love it. You literally don’t stand still all day long. My main function, apart from saying hello to everyone, is that I judge the novelty class in the dog show, which I absolutely love.

“And we will never have a grown-up horse show. We are really fortunate to live where we live and it is very nice to be able to open our doors in this way.

“I hear people say we always come to Buckham Fair and that’s really gratifying that it has put itself on the calendar.”

Once the excitement of Buckham Fair has died down Martin will begin his next film project documenting working horses in America and France.