Doctor Tom runs out of time!
- Publication: The Sun
- Date: 1981-03-21
- Author: Chris Kenworthy
- Page:
- Language: English
THE HAT came from Bond Street, the scarf was knitted by a lady in North London and the frock coat came from the BBC's costume department.
But the rolling eyes, the curly mop of hair and the genuine 24-carat, honest-to-God barminess are all Tom Baker's.
This afternoon, Baker ends six years as the fourth and most successful Dr Who. For a generation of British television watchers, it will be the end of an era.
As the electronic music closes the last adventure of the year in Dr Who (BBC 1, 5.10), Baker will unwind that endless scarf, hang up that absurd hat and walk out of the Tardis for ever.
The job will be taken over by Peter Davison, 29, in the next series.
For 45-year-old Baker, who last year married the former Dr Who girl, Lalla Ward, it is bound to be a wrench.
He says: "Finishing with it is a great emotional jolt but we need such jolts in our lives. They are good for us."
Weeks
Baker, who was married before and divorced 14 years ago. has two teenaged sons.
Dr Who has been a full time job for him.
He says: "It takes 48 weeks of the year to make 26 weeks of the programme. A lot of hard work goes into it."
Quite a lot went into the scarf, too. Baker says: "We bought lots of wool and a lady called Begonia Pope in North London knitted it for us."
Baker's next part is as Oscar Wilde at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer. Then he will play Sherlock Holmes in a film version of The Hounds Of The Baskervilles.
Putting out the flags
By Philip Phillips
IN THE hail of Jack Watling's house is a map of Britain with little flags stuck in it.
The flags pinpoint where the various members of the household are.
There are so many actors in this remarkable family that the map is the only way they can keep track of each other's movements.
Watling, 57, who costars in tomorrow's comedy series Doctors' Daughters (ITV, 7.15), gave me a run-down.
There is his divorced daughter Dilys, 35, whose boyfriend is actor Chris Matthews.
Debbie, 31, is married to actor Nick Field, son of comedian Sid Field.
MOVE
Another daughter, Nicola, 22, also appearine in tomorrow's Doctors' Daughters, is married to actor Seymour Matthews.
Son Giles, 28, another actor, is married to Vanda, a bookmaker's daughter.
Watling, who is married to actress Patricia Hicks, says: " We're all constantly on the move, performine in different parts of the country and sometimes the world.
"Our home in Woodford_ Essex, is used as a headquarters—a sort of Crewe station—so we just have to use the map system."
Watling, who starred In ATV's popular afternoon serial The Cedar Tree, set in the Thirties, believes that there is now a move towards the values of that period.
He says: "Talking to my children and their contemporaries, there seems to be a reaction against the free-and-easy way of life of the past 20 years.
"I'm constantly astonished by the way they talk at our family and family ties.
"They say, 'It's the only stable thing left to us in this age.'"
In tomorrow's episode of Doctors' Daughters, Dr Lucy Drake (Lesley Duff) calls on a dishy male patient — and puts the future of the practice in jeopardy.
JACK WATLING
All mapped out
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- APA 6th ed.: Kenworthy, Chris (1981-03-21). Doctor Tom runs out of time!. The Sun .
- MLA 7th ed.: Kenworthy, Chris. "Doctor Tom runs out of time!." The Sun [add city] 1981-03-21. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Kenworthy, Chris. "Doctor Tom runs out of time!." The Sun, edition, sec., 1981-03-21
- Turabian: Kenworthy, Chris. "Doctor Tom runs out of time!." The Sun, 1981-03-21, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Doctor Tom runs out of time! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Tom_runs_out_of_time! | work=The Sun | pages= | date=1981-03-21 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=27 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Doctor Tom runs out of time! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Tom_runs_out_of_time! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=27 March 2025}}</ref>
