Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw is an English stage, television and film actor best known for playing Detective Sergeant Ray Doyle in ITV’s The Professionals (1977–1983). He later took leading roles in The Chief (1993–1995), Judge John Deed (2001–2007) and Inspector George Gently (2007–2017), becoming one of the most recognisable faces in British television drama. In 2021 he appeared in the BritBox series The Long Call as cult-leader Dennis Stephenson.

Why Martin Shaw is vegan

Martin Shaw is a “vegetarian who doesn’t eat eggs” but sometimes describes himself as vegan for simplicity.1Carter, S. 2013. Martin Shaw. Birmingham Living. Available: https://birmingham.livingmag.co.uk/martin-shaw/ [Accessed 12 August 2026].

Shaw has been vegetarian since the 1970s and recognises the importance of veganism. He became vegetarian after spending an entire night talking to another vegetarian about his choices. Convinced by the arguments, the very next day Martin gave up meat, fish and eggs.2The Lady. Gently Does It. Available: https://lady.co.uk/gently-does-it [Accessed 12 August 2026]. In a 1983 interview, he argued that if it is possible to live well and be healthy without killing animals, then taste is not a sufficient justification for doing so.3KRRFilms. 2018. Martin Shaw talks about being Vegetarian (1983). Youtube. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3mZbIGk4Y [Accessed 12 August 2026].

“I had a mixture of feelings when I first discovered what went on in factory farms. First of all there was rage that animals could be subjected to such suffering. It was followed by a sense of guilt that I had tacitly tolerated it for so long. Finally there was a sense of relief that I didn’t have to be involved with it at all – all I needed to do was stop eating meat.”

Martin Shaw has been a long-time supporter and patron of Viva! and has publicly endorsed veganism in explicitly animal rights terms, linking it to ending the suffering of farmed animals and to wider environmental stakes. He has also contributed to Viva!’s public outreach through recipes used at Viva!’s national food and information events, including the “Incredible Veggie Roadshows”.Shaw is also the patron of Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk, one of the UK’s largest farm animal sanctuaries,

“Going vegan is central to saving animals, stopping the misery and torture that farmed animals endure. It’s also essential to saving the world. Viva! articulates the hopes and the aims of people who are conscious and want things to change – and really this is the voice of kindness and compassion and somebody needs to do it.”

References:

  1. Carter, S. 2013. Martin Shaw. Birmingham Living. Available: https://birmingham.livingmag.co.uk/martin-shaw/ [Accessed 12 August 2026].
  2. The Lady. Gently Does It. Available: https://lady.co.uk/gently-does-it [Accessed 12 August 2026].
  3. KRRFilms. 2018. Martin Shaw talks about being Vegetarian (1983). Youtube. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3mZbIGk4Y [Accessed 12 August 2026].
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