Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who
- Publication: London Evening Standard
- Date: 1980-10-24
- Author:
- Page: 6
- Language: English
THE ACTOR who plays television's Dr Who — gangling six foot Tom Baker — is quitting the show. The star of the space fantasy beloved by millions of children said, in a surprise decision: "It's time to move on."
Baker, 43, is the fourth Dr Who and has taken the show to a peak of popularity.
But he denied that his decision was prompted by a firt with the show's producers, or the BBC.
"I am getting out because I suddenly decided I had done it," he said.
"I like it so much and I want to give someone else a chance. I am leaving it at the end of this current season, around the end of the year.
"There is no row. I really would like to make it clear that I am on amazing terms with the BBC — in many ways I consider myself to be a BBC man.
"But you suddenly feel: 'Right, I have done it, it's good but it's time to move on.'
Hiatus
"I don't know what I'll do next, it'll be what I have always done, wait for the jobs to come up and if there is any hiatus between leaving and the next one then I'll work in a bar or on a building site."
He said he did not know who was likely to succeed him but: "I would like it to be James Stuart. But perhaps he would feel he's done it, too...."
The first actor to play the doctor was William Hartnell (1963 to 1966). He was followed by Patrick Troughton (1966 to 1970) and then Jon Pertwee from 1970 to 1974.
The programme has been one of the BBC's most consistently successful shows. The role of the doctor's assistant has been much sought after by-up-and-coming young actresses.
Yesterday, the BBC announced that a 23-year-old Australian actress Janet Fielding, would be the doctor's new assistant. She will now have a new doctor to star with.
Caption: DR WHO (Tom Baker) "It's time to move on."
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- APA 6th ed.: (1980-10-24). Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who. London Evening Standard p. 6.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who." London Evening Standard [add city] 1980-10-24, 6. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who." London Evening Standard, edition, sec., 1980-10-24
- Turabian: "Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who." London Evening Standard, 1980-10-24, section, 6 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Tom_Baker_to_quit_as_Dr_Who | work=London Evening Standard | pages=6 | date=1980-10-24 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Tom Baker to quit as Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Tom_Baker_to_quit_as_Dr_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 March 2025}}</ref>
