Tom Baker | |
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| Baker in 2023 | |
| Born | Thomas Stewart Baker 20 January 1934 Liverpool, England |
| Alma mater | Rose Bruford College |
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| Years active | 1956–present |
| Known for | Fourth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
| Website | tombakerofficial |
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Thomas Stewart Baker MBE (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981, making him the longest-serving actor in the role.
Raised devoutly Catholic in Liverpool, Baker initially sought to become a cleric before turning to acting. He joined the National Theatre company in 1968. His first major film role was as Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes. Following supporting roles in genre films such as The Vault of Horror and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (both 1973), he was working part-time on a building site when he was cast as the lead in Doctor Who (1974–1981). Baker, who incorporated his own eccentric personality into the Doctor, became highly popular with audiences both in the UK and abroad; his incarnation is often considered the best and most quintessential of the programme's classic series. [a]
Baker appeared in the television series Medics (1992–1995), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001) and Monarch of the Glen (2004–2005). He moved into voice acting later in his career, providing narration for the comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Little Britain USA (2008). In 2006, his "sonorous" voice was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK.
Thomas Stewart Baker was born in the Scotland Road area of Liverpool on 20 January 1934. Both of his parents were born and raised in Liverpool. His mother, Mary Jane (née Fleming; 1904–1968), [9] [10] was a barmaid and cleaner. [11] [10] His father, John Stewart Baker (1902 [9] –1968), [12] [b] was a steward in the Merchant Navy often absent from the household due to being away at sea. [11] [14] Baker was raised by his mother as a devout Roman Catholic. [15] [13]
Baker attended St Swithin’s Primary School and St Matthew’s Catholic Secondary Modern School. He "failed" his eleven-plus [10] and subsequently sought a religious career as "a way out" of becoming a labourer. [16] [17] At 15 years old, he became a novice religious brother with the Brothers of Ploermel in Jersey and also in Cheswardine Hall, Shropshire. [18] [19] [20] He left the monastery six years later, [19] due to feelings of guilt and ultimately losing his faith in God. [13] [21] [22]
He undertook his national service as a medical orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corps, [23] [10] serving for two years. [11] He developed an interest in acting by taking part in the medical corps’ amateur dramatics. [24] [23] He left the army in 1956 and took up acting, studying at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup for three years. [25] [19]
Baker was in his thirties when his professional acting career began and he worked in provincial repertory theatre, which he later recalled as "mostly flops or even disasters". [26] [19] His first acting role was in The Winter’s Tale at Edinburgh's Assembly Hall in 1966, where he played multiple characters including Rogero, Autolycus and the bear. [24] [27] [28] He made his film debut in a 1967 TV movie adaptation of the play with the same cast. [29] Baker had his first break whilst performing in a late-night pub revue for the 1968 York Festival. His performance was seen by a scout with the Royal National Theatre who encouraged him to audition for the company. Following a successful audition for Laurence Olivier, Baker was given small parts and understudied. [26] [19] One of his bigger roles was the horse Rocinante in The Travails of Sancho Panza, directed by Joan Plowright. This led Olivier to cast Baker as the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice. [26] [30] Other productions included The National Health and A Woman Killed with Kindness . [19]
His 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 . [26] He played Dr Ahmed el Kabir in the BBC’s 1972 Play of the Month production of The Millionairess , directed by Bill Slater and starring Maggie Smith. [30] [31] Baker's National Theatre contract ended in 1971. [32] [19] He continued to appear in theatre productions, with a role in The Novelist at Hampstead and as the lead in Macbeth at the Shaw Theatre, London. [33] Due to Baker's role as a Russian in The Idiot, Olivier suggested Baker to Sam Spiegel for the part of Grigori Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), his first major film role. [30] [19] Baker was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his performance, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and another for Best Newcomer. [34] Baker appeared as a tortured artist in The Vault of Horror (1973) and as the villainous sorcerer Koura in Ray Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973). He also appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1972 film adaptation of The Canterbury Tales. [35]
Baker worked on a building site between acting jobs, which earned him the nickname "Sir Laurence" from his workmates. [36] He had expected to work on three films in 1974 (Isabella of Spain, Three Men Went to War and Jackson's War), but they had all collapsed by late 1973. [33] Anxious at his career prospects, [37] on 3 February 1974 he wrote to The Millionairess director Bill Slater (incoming BBC Head of Serials) asking for acting work. Slater recommended Baker to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, who was seeking a successor to Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee. [36] [38] Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks were impressed by Baker's performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and following a meeting with Baker in the BBC bar, the actor was quickly cast as the Fourth Doctor. [39] Baker's casting was announced to the press on 15 February; he made his first appearance as the Doctor in the closing moments of Planet of the Spiders on 8 June. [40] Baker's casting resulted in a wave of new acting offers. Even before recording his first season as the Doctor, he was cast in the television film The Author of Beltraffio (1974), directed by Tony Scott. [41] [42] The same year he played the title role in The Trials of Oscar Wilde at the Oxford Festival. [43]
Although Baker had little idea of how he would play his version of the Doctor when cast, [44] [37] he quickly made the part his own, highlighting the character's eccentricity and alien qualities. [45] [46] Baker incorporated much of his own personality into the Doctor's [47] [48] [3] and frequently made comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs. [49] His trademark look of wearing a floppy hat and long multi-coloured scarf, as well as his deep voice, made him an immediately recognisable figure. [2] [50] Audience-viewing figures for his first few years returned to a level not seen since the height of "Dalekmania" a decade earlier. [2] [3] [51] Baker relished his status as a children's hero, [16] preferring to be the Doctor than to return to his "tangled" private life. [52] He avoided smoking or swearing in public out of awareness that the Doctor was considered a role model for children. [53]
"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." [54]
Under new producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, the series gained a gothic tone influenced by Hammer Horror films and was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience". [55] Many of the stories from Baker's early seasons are considered classics, such as 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). [50] Baker has named Hinchcliffe's tenure as his favourite period of the series, [44] but the series' violent tone came under heavy criticism from conservative activist Mary Whitehouse. [3] Hinchcliffe was replaced by Graham Williams, [56] and the series' tone was lightened. [57] Williams attempted to rein Baker in, but he was ultimately forced to accept the actor's growing influence over the programme. [15] [58]
Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons, making him the longest-serving actor in the part. His incarnation is often regarded as the most popular and quintessential of the Doctors. [2] In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine , Baker was voted "Best Doctor" every year up to 2013, with the exception of losing to incumbents Sylvester McCoy in 1990 and David Tennant in 2006 and 2009. [59] [3] Baker's tenure corresponded with Doctor Who's first broadcasts in the United States, further cementing his popularity among international viewers. [3] [60] He also became proprietorial over the role of the Doctor and often berated writers and directors whose work he disliked. [c] In 1980, new producer John Nathan-Turner introduced noticeable changes to the series, [65] including a new costume for Baker and a larger cast of companions. Baker found Nathan-Turner's approach to the series "unbearable" and decided it was time to depart the role. [44] [66] He said in 2014 that he may have stayed in the role for one season too long. [44] Baker announced his departure on 24 October 1980. [64] Logopolis (1981), the seventh and final serial of season 18, concluded with the Fourth Doctor's regeneration into the Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. [67] [68]
Although his predecessors Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee reprised their roles for the 20th-anniversary episode "The Five Doctors" (1983), Baker declined as it was not long since he had left. He added that he "didn't want to play 20 per cent of the part" or "fancy being a feed for other Doctors." [69] A year later he stated "the programme is my past now - it would, I think, have been a mistake to try to turn the clock back". [70] In 1992 Baker presented the video release The Tom Baker Years, where he looked back on the series by watching short clips from his episodes. [71] [72] Baker also filmed inserts for the 1992 video release of Shada , [73] a serial which was only half-filmed due to a 1979 BBC strike. [74] [54]
In early 1992, Baker expressed willingness to return to the role of the Doctor. Development began on The Dark Dimension , a direct-to-video 30th anniversary special featuring Baker as an older version of the Fourth Doctor who had not regenerated. However it was cancelled on 9 July 1993 for financial and logistical reasons. [73] [75] Baker returned to the role for the Children in Need charity special Dimensions in Time (1993), along with every surviving actor who played the Doctor. [76] In 1997 he reprised the role in an advertising campaign for New Zealand Superannuation Services, [77] and for the Doctor Who video game Destiny of the Doctors . [78] He also narrated various Target novelisations of Doctor Who stories for the BBC. [d]
He made a cameo appearance in the 50th-anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) as a mysterious curator in the National Gallery, implied to be the Doctor's future incarnation. [83] In 2017, the cast of Shada reunited to complete the unfilmed scenes via voice-over and animation, with Baker filming one live-action scene. [84] [85] Baker and James Goss co-wrote the 2019 novel Doctor Who: Scratchman, based on a script Baker and Ian Marter (who played companion Harry Sullivan) wrote for a proposed 1970s Doctor Who film. [86] [87] [88] As of 2025, Baker is the oldest living actor to have played the role. [89]
In 1976, Baker played the Doctor in two BBC audio dramas, Doctor Who and the Pescatons and the episode "The Time Machine" of Exploration Earth. [90] All of Baker's successors (Davison, Colin Baker, McCoy and Paul McGann) had reprised their roles in audio dramas since 2001, [91] but Baker avoided doing so until BBC's Hornets' Nest in 2009. He subsequently appeared in two sequels, Demon Quest and Serpent Crest . [70]
In March 2011, it was announced that Baker would return as the Fourth Doctor, alongside his companion Romana (Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward), for two series of audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. [92] [93] Big Finish also arranged for Baker to record a series with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, but Sladen died in April 2011 before any stories could be recorded. [94] As of 2025, Big Finish has released 14 audio series starring Baker as the Doctor, featuring past co-stars such as Louise Jameson, Matthew Waterhouse and John Leeson. [93] It was announced in March 2020 that Baker would record "Return of the Cybermen" for Big Finish, an alternative version of the serial Revenge of the Cybermen (1975), with Sadie Miller, Sladen's daughter, cast in the role of Sarah Jane. [95] [96] In 2020, Baker returned to the role of the Curator in the Big Finish series The Eighth Doctor Adventures . [97] Baker starred in the Big Finish audio drama The Curse of Time (2024) which commemorates 50 years of the Fourth Doctor. [98]
Baker struggled with typecasting after leaving Doctor Who, withdrawing to the theatre. [99] [64] In 1981, he played Oscar Wilde for a second time on stage in Feasting with Panthers at the Chichester Festival Theatre. [100] [101] The same year he appeared in Treasure Island at the National. [64] He hosted The Book Tower , an ITV children's television series exploring literature. [41]
In 1982, he played Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler , with Susannah York as Hedda, in the West End. [101] He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in a four-part BBC miniseries adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles , produced by Barry Letts. [102] [64] He then played Dr. Frank Bryant in a touring Royal Shakespeare Company production of Educating Rita . [103] [101] He returned to the National Theatre in 1984 to play Mr Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer in the Olivier Theatre and on tour. The following year he played both Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty in Hugh Leonard's The Mask of Moriarty at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. [101] Baker narrated the 1985 science fiction film Enemy Mine. [104] He appeared in Blackadder II (1986) as sea captain Redbeard Rum. [105] In 1987, he played Inspector Goole in a production of An Inspector Calls . [17] [64]
Baker's autobiography, Who on Earth is Tom Baker? was published in 1997. [106] [64] He also authored two children's books: Never Wear Your Wellies in the House and Other Poems to Make You Laugh (1981) [107] [87] and The Boy Who Kicked Pigs (1999). [108] [64]
By the early 1990s, Baker's now older appearance led to a reduction in typecasting; additionally he began to be cast by directors who grew up watching him on Doctor Who. [64] [109] He played Puddleglum, a "marsh-wiggle", in the BBC's 1990 television adaptation of The Silver Chair . He was cast as Professor Plum in the 1992 series of the game show Cluedo. [109] He played the titular "hammy" narrator in the 1992 radio comedy Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World. [70] Baker narrated the 1990s BBC puppet series Tales of Aesop, based on Aesop's Fables. [110] Baker's first long-running role since the Fourth Doctor was as Dr. Hoyt in the hospital drama Medics (1992–1995). [64] [111] In 1994 he provided the narration for Channel 4's Equinox documentary Rave New World. [112] It was rumoured that Baker was a candidate for the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films; Baker himself stated that he would not have accepted a role which would mean spending months away filming in New Zealand. [113] [114] In 2000 he appeared as the elf Halvarth in Dungeons & Dragons . [115] Baker played the ghostly Professor Wyvern in Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001). [64] [28]
Influenced by his role as Lionel Nimrod, [70] Baker was cast as the narrator of the sketch comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006). [116] His casting was also influenced by his popularity with creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams, part of the generation for whom he is the favourite Doctor. [117] [118] Baker credited Little Britain with "re-inventing" him. [119] [118] For the evening of 17 November 2005, to introduce the third television series of Little Britain, Baker read BBC One's continuity announcements in character. [120] The same year his "sonorous" voice was voted the fourth most recognisable in the UK, after Elizabeth II, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. [121] Baker later returned to narrate Little Britain's 2019 radio special. [122]
Baker voiced the character Max Bear in the Channel 4 animated series of the same name. [123] [124] [28] He voiced the villain ZeeBad in the animated film The Magic Roundabout (2005). The character was redubbed for the US release. [125] [126] Baker narrated Global Haywire , a 2006 political documentary by Australian cartoonist Bruce Petty. [127] In 2007, he voiced Robert Baron in the BBC animated series The Secret Show . [128] He narrated the children's animated series The Beeps (2007–2008) which was broadcast on Channel 5's Milkshake! [129] Baker voiced the Bendu, a powerful Force-sensitive being, in the animated series Star Wars Rebels (2016). [130]
In January 2006, BT Group used Baker's voice for their text-to-speech service for landline phones. This required him to record 11,593 phrases, containing every sound in the English language. [131] [132] The service returned from 1 December 2006 to 8 January 2007, with two pence from each text going to the charity Shelter. A cover of "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks, sung by Baker's automated voice, was released on 18 December with proceeds going to charity. [133] [134]
He continued to appear in television drama series. In 2003 he played a blind priest in the BBC series Strange. [28] He was cast as eccentric patriarch Donald MacDonald in the sixth and seventh series of Monarch of the Glen . [135] [136] Baker also appeared on various game shows. He played the role of the Captain in Challenge's version of Fort Boyard. [70] He also appeared as a guest on the quiz show Have I Got News for You and returned as a guest host in 2008. [64] [137] [138] He was interviewed by his close friend Laurie Taylor for a 2010 episode of the television series In Confidence . [139] [17] [140] [141]
Baker portrayed barrister Sir Edward Marshall Hall in the BBC Radio 4 radio drama John Mortimer Presents: The Trials of Marshall Hall (1996). [142] He played Sir Walter Bullivant in a 2001 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of The Thirty-Nine Steps . [143] [144] He guest starred in "The Saviour of Cripplegate Square", a 2002 episode of The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes . [145] He appeared in a 2012 BBC Radio 4 radio adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times. [146]
Baker's voice has featured in the video games Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (2000), [147] Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising (2001), [148] Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (2003), [149] [150] Sudeki (2004), [151] MediEvil: Resurrection (2005), [152] Cold Winter (2005) [153] and Little Britain: The Video Game (2007). [147] [154]
He has also provided vocals for musical artists. He appeared on the alternative rock band Mansun's 1998 album Six . [155] [156] [157] In 2002 he recorded a monologue for the track "Megamorphosis" for Stephen James' album Andabrek, though it was not released until 2009. [158] [159] Baker provided spoken vocals for character of The Storyteller on Ayreon's 2020 concept album Transitus . [160]
Baker met Anna Wheatcroft (niece of wealthy rose grower Harry Wheatcroft) at Rose Bruford College; they married in 1961 and had two sons. [19] [10] In his autobiography, Baker recounted that the poor treatment he received from Wheatcroft's family led to him attempting suicide. [161] [162] The couple separated in 1966. [19] He lost contact with his sons until a chance meeting with one of them in a New Zealand restaurant led to a reconciliation. [163] [164] In 2023, Baker said he was estranged from both of his sons. [165] His son Piers runs The Bath Inn in Sneinton, Nottingham. [166]
In December 1980, he married Lalla Ward, who co-starred in Doctor Who as his character's companion Romana. They divorced after 16 months. [167]
Baker married his third wife Sue Jerrard in 1986; they met when she was working as an assistant editor on the Doctor Who serial Horror of Fang Rock (1977). They lived in Boughton Malherbe in Kent, before moving to France in 2003. [168] [70] In November 2006, Baker left France and moved to Royal Tunbridge Wells, before later moving to East Sussex. [169] [170]
Baker has frequently scrutinised organised religion in the media. [171] He described himself as "sort of Buddhist" in 2001 [16] and "an atheist" in 2004. [172] During a 2010 interview with Laurie Taylor, Baker stated that he did not believe in God. [173]
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to television. [174] [175]
...using his own natural eccentricity and wit to forge an unforgettable and truly iconic television hero...
But by the time he was 22, he was so filled with feelings of guilt and imperfection that he constantly demanded to go to confession. On the advice of a Jesuit, he resigned...
This is where Tom started life as a novice monk with the De la Mennais Brothers in Jersey. It is now Highlands College... Tom spent his later years as a monk here at Cheswardine Hall in Market Drayton, Shropshire.
I was always, as an ex-Catholic, looking for new meaning to life. And then Doctor Who came along and suddenly losing my faith in God didn't seem so serious.
Thomas Stewart Baker was born in Scotland Road, Liverpool, on 20 January 1934 to a Jewish father (John Stewart Baker) and a Catholic mother (Mary Jane). Being in the Navy, Baker's father was hardly home, but he did instill his Jewish values in his son, while his mother brought him up a staunch working-class Catholic. No wonder then that he left school at 15 to become a monk and live a monastic life for six years... After losing his faith, he left the order...
They were going for something a bit more eccentric... more alien, if you like...
Baker took over from Jon Pertwee 1974 and played the Doctor for six years. He was also the most popular, with four of his series averaging more than 10 million viewers. The only other doctor to pull in an average audience of 10 million-plus for an entire season was William Hartnell in his second series.
...because I had such a tangled private life, suddenly it was better to be Doctor Who than to be Tom Baker...
It was the most wonderful part I ever had and I was a madman to give it up. I got proprietorial and became demanding and insecure. I talk emphatically about everything because I know very little about anything. I never meant to be difficult, but I began to live in the world of the Doctor, this benevolent alien, and thought no one understood me and I'd had enough. But of course I hadn't.