Tom Baker

Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (17 December 2006)
"A Life in the Day: Tom Baker"
''The Sunday Times''.

Later in his career, Baker performed in the television series ''Medics'' (1992–1995), ''Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'' (2000–2001) and '' Monarch of the Glen'' (2004–2005). He also provided narration for the television comedy series ''Little Britain'' (2003–2006) and '' Little Britain USA'' (2008). His voice, which has been described as "sonorous", was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK in 2006.

Early life

Thomas Stewart Baker was born on Scotland Road in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool on 20 January 1934. His mother, Mary Jane (''née'' Fleming), was a cleaner and devout Catholic. His father, John Stewart Baker, was a seaman and largely absent from the family due to being away at sea.

Baker attended Cheswardine Hall Boarding School in Shropshire. At age 15, he became a novice religious brother with the Brothers of Ploermel (Brothers of Christian Instruction) in Jersey and later in Shropshire. He left the monastery six years later after losing his faith.New Humanist website, ibid
Newhumanist.org.uk. In his autobiography, he said he realised he wanted to break each of the Ten Commandments in order and thought he should get out before he did something serious.

He undertook his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving from 1955 until 1957. Upon leaving the army, he served in the Merchant Navy.

He took up acting around 1956, joining the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup. He became a professional actor in the late 1960s.

Career

Early work

Baker was in his thirties when his professional acting career began and worked in provincial rep theatre. He had his first break whilst performing in a late-night pub revue for the 1968 York Festival. His performance was seen by someone with the Royal National Theatre who encouraged him to audition for the company, then headed by Laurence Olivier. Baker did so and was offered a contract. From 1968 to 1971, he was given small parts and understudied, one of his bigger roles being the horse Rosinante in ''Don Quixote''.

Baker's stage work led to work on television where he gained small parts in series such as '' Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Z-Cars'', ''Market in Honey Lane'' and '' Softly, Softly''. His first major film role was as Grigori Rasputin in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971) after Olivier had recommended him for the part. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his performance, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and another for Best Newcomer. Baker appeared as Moore, an artist whose paintings are imbued with voodoo power, in '' The Vault of Horror'' (1973) and as Koura, the villainous sorcerer, in Ray Harryhausen's ''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' (1973).

Baker also appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1972 version of Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales'' as the younger husband of the Wife of Bath.

''Doctor Who''

In 1974, Baker took over the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee to become the Fourth Doctor in the BBC TV series. He was recommended to producer Barry Letts by the BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater, who had directed Baker in a '' Play of the Month'' production of Shaw's play '' The Millionairess''. Impressed by Baker upon meeting him, Letts then became convinced he was right for the part after seeing his performance in ''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad''.

Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. Initially, he was dubbed "Boiler Suit Tom" by the media because he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio set clothes to replace his modest garments. Letts left the series after producing Baker's debut story, ''Robot'' (1974–75), and was replaced by Philip Hinchcliffe. Under Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes the series gained a "Gothic tone" influenced by Hammer Film Productions and, according to Hinchcliffe, was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience".

Baker quickly made the part his own, viewing figures for his first few years returning to a level not seen since the height of ' Dalekmania' a decade earlier. His eccentric style of dress and quirky personality (particularly his trademark look of wearing a long scarf and having a fondness for jelly babies), as well as his voice, made him an immediately recognisable figure and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. Baker suggested many aspects of his Doctor's personality and became known for making "frequent and often comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs", but the scarf was created by accident. James Acheson, the costume designer assigned to his first story, had provided far more wool than was necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, intending for her to choose a suitable colour. However, due to miscommunication Pope knitted all the wool she was given.

During his period as the star of ''Doctor Who'', the original series received its highest viewing figures. Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons, making him the longest-serving actor in the part, and his incarnation is often regarded as the most popular of the Doctors. According to BBC News in 2006, in polls conducted by ''Doctor Who Magazine'', Baker had only lost the "Best Doctor" category to Sylvester McCoy in 1990 and to David Tennant in 2006. In a 2010 interview, Baker said that he had not watched Tennant's performance as the Doctor but thought his ''Hamlet'' was excellent. Many of the stories from his early period are considered to be classics of the series, including '' The Ark in Space'' (1975), ''Genesis of the Daleks'' (1975), '' The Brain of Morbius'' (1976), '' The Deadly Assassin'' (1976) and '' The Robots of Death'' (1977). However, the violent tone of the stories produced by Philip Hinchcliffe saw the series come under heavy criticism from morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse. Concerns over violence during this early period led to a lightening of the tone and an "erratic decline" in both the popularity and quality of the series. In a 2014 interview, Baker described Hinchcliffe as "amazing" and identified that as his favourite period of his time on the series. He described Hinchcliffe's successor, Graham Williams, as "absolutely devoted" but lacking his predecessor's flair and "let me get away with murder". He acknowledged that his final producer on the series, John Nathan-Turner, made changes he did not agree with and they "did not see eye-to-eye really about very much"; however, according to Baker, the two became good friends afterwards and forgot their disagreements. Baker additionally criticised season 18, his last on the show and Nathan-Turner's first as producer, for an increase in the regular cast, which resulted in what Baker saw as stories that were excessively reliant on the Doctor (rather than other principal characters) to drive the plot forward. Baker ultimately suggested that he may have stayed in the role for one series too many, stating in hindsight that he felt it would have been better for him to have left with Williams and let Nathan-Turner recast the role of the Doctor for season 18.

According to Baker in 2017, "When I was doing ''Doctor Who'', it was the realisation of all my childhood fantasies... so I took to it like a duck to water, and I still do. ''Doctor Who'' was more important than life to me—I used to dread the end of rehearsal... that's why I can't stay away from it." Although Baker declined to appear in the 20th anniversary ''Doctor Who'' episode ''The Five Doctors'' (1983) because it wasn't long since he'd left and he "didn't want to play 20 per cent of the part" and be "a feed for other Doctors", he briefly returned to the role of the Doctor for the 30th anniversary charity special ''Dimensions in Time'' (1993) and also recorded the audio for the PC video game '' Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors'' (1997). Baker continues to be associated with the Doctor, appearing on documentaries such as the 40th anniversary BBC television retrospective ''The Story of Doctor Who'' (2003) and giving other interviews about his time on the programme, including for documentaries on the extras of ''Doctor Who'' DVD releases from his era as the Doctor, and he has recorded DVD commentaries for many of the stories.

Baker has been involved in the reading of old Target novelisations in the BBC Audio range of talking books, "''Doctor Who'' (Classic Novels)". ''Doctor Who and the Giant Robot'' was the first release in the range read by Baker, released on 5 November 2007, followed by Baker reading ''Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius'' (released 4 February 2008), ''Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit'' (released on 7 April 2008) and ''Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars'' (released 14 August 2008). In October 2009, Baker was interviewed for BBC Radio 4's ''Last Word'' to pay tribute to deceased former ''Doctor Who'' producer Barry Letts. He described Letts, who originally cast him in the role, as "the big link in changing my entire life".

On 20 November 2013, Baker revealed that he would appear in the 50th-anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor", stating, "I am in the special. I'm not supposed to tell you that, but I tell you that very willingly and specifically; the BBC told me not to tell anybody but I'm telling you straight away." The episode saw Baker in the role of a mysterious curator in the National Gallery who openly discusses his resemblance to the Fourth Doctor with the Eleventh Doctor.

Baker also filmed inserts in 1992 for a video release of the unfinished Douglas Adams ''Doctor Who'' serial '' Shada'', originally begun in 1979 but abandoned due to strike action, and presented the video release ''The Tom Baker Years'' (1992), which was a look back at his time on the series with Baker watching short clips from his episodes. In November 2017, Baker returned to the Doctor role by completing ''Shada''. Animation was added to complete the original story. He also filmed one new scene for inclusion in the final episode.

''Doctor Who'' audio dramas

While Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann have all reprised their roles for audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions (and sometimes the BBC) since the 1990s, Baker declined to voice the Doctor until 2009, saying that he had not seen a script he liked. In July 2009, the BBC announced that Baker would return to the role for a series of five audio dramas, co-starring Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, which would begin release in September. The five audios comprise a single linked story under the banner title '' Hornets' Nest'', written by author Paul Magrs. He returned with a sequel to ''Hornets' Nest'' called ''Demon Quest''.

In March 2011, it was announced that Baker would be returning as the Fourth Doctor initially for two series of plays for Big Finish Productions, starring alongside former companions Leela ( Louise Jameson) and Romana I (Mary Tamm). The first series of six audios were released starting in January 2012. Big Finish had also arranged for Baker to record a series of stories reuniting him with Elisabeth Sladen's character Sarah Jane Smith (for which special permission was obtained from the producers of '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' TV series), but Sladen died in April 2011 before any stories could be recorded. Baker recently recorded several Big Finish audio stories with Matthew Waterhouse, who played Adric, and Lalla Ward, who played Romana II (though Ward recorded her sections separately).

It was reported in April 2020 that Baker had recorded "Return of the Cybermen" for Big Finish, an alternative version of the story '' Revenge of the Cybermen'' (1975), with Sadie Miller, Elisabeth Sladen's daughter, taking over the role of Sarah Jane Smith from her mother. The story was released in March 2021.

Baker also returned to the role of the Curator for Big Finish, joining the casts of '' The Eighth Doctor Adventures'' and '' UNIT: The New Series''.

Later film and television work

In 1982, Baker portrayed Sherlock Holmes in a four-part BBC1 miniseries version of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles''; in the US, this production was telecast on A&E. He also made an appearance in '' Blackadder II'', in the episode "Potato", as the sea captain "Redbeard Rum". He played Puddleglum, a "marsh-wiggle", in the 1990 BBC adaptation of C. S. Lewis' '' The Silver Chair''.

For the third series of the British game show '' Cluedo'', Baker was cast as Professor Plum, a "man with a degree in suspicion". He was also cast in the 2004 series '' Strange'', as a blind priest who possessed knowledge of the Devil. In addition, he played the part of Donald MacDonald in the BBC series '' Monarch of the Glen'', from 2004 until 2005. Previously, he had appeared as a guest on the quiz show '' Have I Got News For You'' and was subsequently described by presenter Angus Deayton as the funniest guest in the series' history. A particular highlight was when Baker gave an anecdotal account of how, while entering a recording studio in Wales, he was accosted by a member of the public who told Baker: "I will never forgive you, nor will my wife, for what you did to our grammar schools." Baker responded with: "What are you talking about, you daft bugger?" to which the stranger replied: "I'm so sorry. For a moment I thought you were Shirley Williams."

Baker later returned to ''Have I Got News For You'' as a guest host in 2008. Baker played the role of the Captain in the Challenge version of '' Fort Boyard'', and has also hosted the children's literature series, ''The Book Tower''. He recorded a special called, ''Tom Baker – In Confidence'' that was shown in April 2010.

In the late 1990s, it was reported that Baker was a candidate for the role of Gandalf in the '' Lord of the Rings'' films. Baker has since stated that he was only approached for "a role" in the film, and turned down the offer when told that it would mean spending months away in New Zealand. He appeared as Halvarth, the Elven healer, in '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (2000).

''Little Britain''

After his work on ''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'', Baker was cast as a similar narrator of ''Little Britain'' on BBC Radio 4 and remained in the role when it transferred to television. He has suggested that he was chosen for the part in ''Little Britain'' due to his popularity with creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams, part of the generation for whom he is the favourite Doctor. "I am now being employed by the children who grew up watching me", he stated in a DVD commentary. Another trademark of ''Little Britain''s narration is the deadpan quotation of old rap lyrics, usually in the opening credit sequence. On 17 November 2005, to mark the start of the third series of ''Little Britain'', Baker read the continuity announcements on BBC One from 7 pm to 9:30 pm GMT. The scripts were written by Lucas and Walliams; Baker assumed his ''Little Britain'' persona. He used lines such as:

Voice acting

Baker has appeared in various radio productions, including a role as "Britain's most celebrated criminal barrister", Sir Edward Marshall-Hall in ''John Mortimer Presents the Trials of Marshall Hall'' (1996), "Josiah Bounderby" in Charles Dickens' '' Hard Times'' (1998) and a part in the 2001 BBC Radio 4 version of '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'' as Sir Walter Bullivant. He guest starred in '' The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' (a pastiche series written by Bert Coules) in the 2002 episode "The Saviour of Cripplegate Square". From 2000 to 2005 Baker voiced the character Max Bear in the Channel 4 (UK) Max Bear Productions animated series. He also voiced the role of the villain ZeeBad in the 2005 computer-animated film version of '' The Magic Roundabout''. In 2007 he voiced the character of Robert Baron in the BBC animated series ''The Secret Show''.

Baker narrates the children's computer-animated series ''The Beeps'' which is shown on Channel 5's '' Milkshake!'' as well as narrating ''Tales of Aesop'' on BBC, a television series based on Aesop's Fables with beautiful puppet animation. Most recently, Baker has returned to the role of the Fourth Doctor, first in three series of audio adventures for BBC Audiobooks
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