Call the doctor
- Publication: West Lancashire Evening Gazette
- Date: 1992-03-28
- Author: Neil Bonner
- Page: The Weekend, p. 3
- Language: English
Guess Who's the star of TV's latest medic show
TOM BAKER raises a broad, toothy grin at the irony of making a major TV comeback playing, of all things, a doctor.
Dr who? Dr Geoffrey Hoyt, that's who!
Well, actually, it's Professor Hoyt and he's a consultant. But it's close enough for the actor to chuckle "Why do casting directors always see me as a some sort of doctor?
"Working in the theatre has never been a problem and I do a lot of that," he says.
reluctant to use me because of the "But television people have been Dr Who image. I'm glad that they are beginning to realise that I can still do other things than fight with Daleks!"
Tom, now 57, is hoping that ITV's revamped hospital drama Medics His TV work has been more or (starting next Tuesday), in which less limited to playing a reptile in he plays the aforementioned Hoyt, the children's series The Chonicles will at last allow people to accept of Narnia and baring his backside him as someone other than that in The Life and Loves of a She legendary time traveller, Dr Who, Devil. He played the Time Lord for seven years and became arguably the most popular doctor of them all.
And even though it is now 12 years since he last flew through time, vanquishing weird and wonderful foes, he is still inextricably linked with the long running sci-fi show
He has always regarded its success as a double-edged sword. It brought him world-wide fame, which he adores. But it virtually killed his television career... until now.
Deep down, he accepts that whatever he does now, he's always going to be Dr Who to millions of people around the world.
At its height the programme was shown in 85 countries and even today it's still big business, particularly in the United States.
"When I go to their Dr Who conventions, which are quite extraordinary, they treat me like some kind of god.
"I walk among the people and as they reach out to touch me they seem to get some kind of magical charge out of it.
"I feel like a miracle worker. I am They could walk in the first place, able to make people walk again. of course, but they've forgotten that in the excitement of it all!
"I could live very nicely in America, just attending these things. They really look after you but, unfortunately, it has never led to anything else. No job has come along as a result, despite my popularity." white hair and booming voice is Baker-6ft 3in with his shock of a larger-than-life character in more ways than one and enjoys fostering the image that he is wacky and even slightly eccentric.
He lives with his third wife, TV At its height the programme was producer Sue Gerrard, in a converted chapel next to a graveyard. which he regularly trims with his mower.
"Ah, yes," he says, "it's great fun tickling the tummies of the dead as I give the grass a short-back-and sides. I regard the people buried within as my friends. I often have a little chuckle with them."
other things than fight Daleks'
Tom has equally off-beat thoughts about the Health Service, prompted by playing Professor Hoyt.
"I think it's very important that doctors give a good performance for their patients.
"I think I would have the gift of healing people because I could be very reassuring and make them feel better.
"If you look the part, wear a nice suit and fill them with confidence, getting better." you can convince them they are
He jokingly goes on: "Most people don't really need all the pills and treatments that doctors prescribe
much better than spending £130 on "Give them money, I say. How drugs it would be to hand them 50- quid in crisp tenners! That would get 'em going again."
The Liverpool-born actor, whose TV comeback was further under lined by landing a key part in the recent BBC drama The Law Lord last week, feels comfortable in hospitals.
During his Army days he worked as an orderly in the medical corps. "I was pretty god at my job," he says. "Perhaps I was always destined to be a doctor..."
Captions:
ECCENTRIC ... Baker as an Egyptian priest
WHO'S WHO... Tom Baker the Time Lord
MEDICINE MAN... Tom Baker with Sue Johnston in Medics, starting on Tuesday
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Bonner, Neil (1992-03-28). Call the doctor. West Lancashire Evening Gazette p. The Weekend, p. 3.
- MLA 7th ed.: Bonner, Neil. "Call the doctor." West Lancashire Evening Gazette [add city] 1992-03-28, The Weekend, p. 3. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Bonner, Neil. "Call the doctor." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, edition, sec., 1992-03-28
- Turabian: Bonner, Neil. "Call the doctor." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, 1992-03-28, section, The Weekend, p. 3 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Call the doctor | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Call_the_doctor | work=West Lancashire Evening Gazette | pages=The Weekend, p. 3 | date=1992-03-28 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Call the doctor | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Call_the_doctor | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025}}</ref>
