Me, God and a TARDIS
- Publication: The Universe
- Date: 1997-10-19
- Author: Wendy Bailey
- Page: 31
- Language: English
Wendy Bailey meets a man who once specialised in defending the Earth against the most vicious foes imaginable
TOM BAKER is thoroughly enjoying his new identity as a writer. "Girls with double barrelled names invite me to literary festivals to talk about what it's like to be a new author," he laughs. He decided to write his autobiography because he was out of work, an occupational hazard for actors. The lean times are well documented, none more graphic than the days he worked as a labourer existing on bread pudding .given to him by his foreman's wife. These desperate days immediately preceded Tom landing the part of the next Dr Who on BBC TV. Fame followed.
Tom Baker was born into an Irish Catholic family in 1934. In Liverpool, he was surrounded by innumerable relatives in a poor but spirited community.
"I went to St Matthew's Roman Catholic School in Richard Kelly Drive. It doesn't exist anymore," remembers Tom. "Even the Church I went to."
"The Universe was required reading on a Sunday when I was growing up in Liverpool. I always turned to the 'Vocations' section first."
Convinced he had a vocation, Tom entered a monastery in The Channel Isles.
"I joined the Brothers of Plöermel and my novitiate was in Jersey. I was anxious to make my mark," he says.
In the monastery Tom developed his love of smells — especially for incense, candle smoke and polish. But the austerity of monastic life became unbearable for him and he left to become an actor.
To encounter Tom Baker is a surreal experience. Humour is always at the cutting edge of his conversation and reality seems to have taken an hour off. Is this the real Tom Baker or is he perhaps really Dr Who?
For those who would like to know more, Tom has written his autobiography, aptly titled, Who on Earth is Tom Baker? Anarchic humour and ribald anecdotes abound in this entertaining real life story of one of Britain's most popular TV actors.
Famous names and professional encounters with theatrical glitterati litter the pages, such as Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Tom and Tony Hopkins have lost touch. "Hopkins now is a saint and so naturally he avoids old devils like me," jokes Tom.
Tom Baker's Dr Who is loved by audiences in 74 countries. He played the role for seven years.
"The legacy of Dr Who is that it's a time I remember with great happiness," he says.
Tom's ambition is "to make people laugh", preferably in a new TV sitcom. He's just waiting for the right script.
So who on Earth is Tom Baker? Like Dr Who, he is a master of disguise, but unlike Dr Who, Tom Baker hates travel. "There's no point in travelling," he says, "Michael Palin is doing it all for us".
His eccentricities include food — he prefers to eat ready-made meals from Marks and Spencer and even takes his own bought food to dinner parties.
So what does Dr Who/Tom Baker enjoy doing most? "Ironing," he reveals. "It is my great passion. I am a passionate ironer."
He claims to have brought an iron with him and it's in his coat pocket. But there's no sign of a plug. Perhaps his coat is really the new TARDIS?
One can never be too sure of reality in the presence of a Time Lord.
- Who on Earth is Tom Baker? is published by HarperCollins, £17.
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- APA 6th ed.: Bailey, Wendy (1997-10-19). Me, God and a TARDIS. The Universe p. 31.
- MLA 7th ed.: Bailey, Wendy. "Me, God and a TARDIS." The Universe [add city] 1997-10-19, 31. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Bailey, Wendy. "Me, God and a TARDIS." The Universe, edition, sec., 1997-10-19
- Turabian: Bailey, Wendy. "Me, God and a TARDIS." The Universe, 1997-10-19, section, 31 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Me, God and a TARDIS | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Me,_God_and_a_TARDIS | work=The Universe | pages=31 | date=1997-10-19 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Me, God and a TARDIS | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Me,_God_and_a_TARDIS | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025}}</ref>
