There’ve been a lot of legends in Doctor Who history, but Tom Baker’s arguably the biggest. The actor remains the longest-serving of all the Time Lords and his eccentric personality and scarf and hat costume combo remain the benchmark for how people envisage the character of the Doctor. Though he’s had a long and distinguished career, Tom Baker’s always Doctor Who, and it turns out that he has no problem with that.
The actor, who recently turned 85 this month, spoke with Graham Norton on BBC Radio 2 today to promote his new novel, a Doctor Who story titled Scratchman that’s based off a script he wrote for an unmade film version of the show back in the 1970s. If that didn’t make it clear enough that Baker still loves the Whoniverse, he explained to Norton that he’s “always appreciated” being a hero to multiple generations.
“It was the loveliest thing that ever happened to me, to become Doctor Who and to become, well, a children’s hero. I was nourished by that attention – and still am.”
Baker then recounted what’s no doubt a typical encounter with a fan that he’d experienced recently, saying:
“And when people… you know, in the paper shop in the morning I saw a man in his middle 40s or something coming in to grab a quick coffee, looking tired, it was six in the morning. And suddenly blink and say, ‘hey, are you Tom Baker?’ And I say, ‘yes that’s right,’ and he says ‘Christ man, you were my hero.’ And suddenly I see him become a child again, just for a split second. Just for a moment, he jumps back to childhood.”
Though Baker didn’t return to Doctor Who during the remainder of the classic series after he left, you haven’t been able to keep him away in recent years. He returned to the screen as the mysterious Curator in the 50th anniversary bash “The Day of the Doctor” in 2013 and he’s starred in a whole host of audio dramas courtesy of the folks at Big Finish Productions for about a decade now.
As for Doctor Who: Scratchman, it’s currently available to purchase while his latest audio boxset, The Fourth Doctor Adventures – Series 8, Volume 1, launches later this month. And if you’re after other ways to make up for the lack of Doctor Who on our screens this year, check out our guide on how to survive the draught.
