Material dilemma for Dr Who

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• Publication: The Guardian
• Date: 1986-12-19
• Author: Peter Fiddick
• Page: 4
• Language: English

DOCTOR WHO leapt out of the time-warp yesterday —leaving the BBC with the tricky problem of "re-generating" one of its most durable stars, without benefit of special effects, before the new era (or next year's shooting schedule) dawns.

Colin Baker, the 41-year-old actor who was the sixth Doctor Who, declared that he would rather not take part in the new series at all rather than do four episodes and be the latest victim of the long-running serial's re-generation policy.

In 23 years on BBC-1 it has had six doctors with 26 assistants, of whom Bonny Langford is the latest. The plan for the latest Time Lord was that after four episodes of the next 14-week series he would be re-generated into some other Equity member.

Mr Baker decided otherwise. He has already had a year long gap since his first two series, after BBC-1's new controller, Michael Grade, decided that Doctor Who had become too violent and dropped it, despite fans' protests.

Mr Baker, at present in pantomime in Brighton, reckoned that six weeks' filming next March for four weeks family audiences in the autumn would not compensate for lost chances in theatre, film, and other television work.

His predecessors, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Peter Davison roamed time and the galaxies for three seasons, and only Jon Pertwee (five years) and Tom Baker (seven) materialised for more.

Caption: Colin Baker— short-term offer

Spelling correction: Bonnie Langford

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• APA 6th ed.: Fiddick, Peter (1986-12-19). Material dilemma for Dr Who. The Guardian p. 4.
• MLA 7th ed.: Fiddick, Peter. "Material dilemma for Dr Who." The Guardian [add city] 1986-12-19, 4. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: Fiddick, Peter. "Material dilemma for Dr Who." The Guardian, edition, sec., 1986-12-19
• Turabian: Fiddick, Peter. "Material dilemma for Dr Who." The Guardian, 1986-12-19, section, 4 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Material dilemma for Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Material_dilemma_for_Dr_Who | work=The Guardian | pages=4 | date=1986-12-19 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 May 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Material dilemma for Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Material_dilemma_for_Dr_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 May 2025}}</ref>