Dr Who evades French police

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• Publication: The Daily Mirror (Australia)
• Date: 1979-05-17
• Author:
• Page: 24
• Language: English

Dr Who, that fearless battler of Daleks and other astral enemies, put the fear of the Time Lords into the French gendarmes on his first visit to Paris this month.

Tom Baker who has played the wily time-traveller in the Channel 2 serial for the last four years, was film Dr Who on location in the French capital for the first time.

During a chase sequence in the Boulevarde St Germain on the Left Bank, Baker accidentally tripped the burglar alarm in a museum of modern art.

It happened when he rushed up the steps of the art gallery and began furiously rattling the doors.

But because it was a public holiday in Paris, the gallery was closed — and the alarm went off.

Tardis

Without even the benefit of the Tardis, the BBC cast and camera crew faded from the scene without trace before the police arrived.

Channel 2 viewers will be able to see this incident when the new series comes to Australia at the end of the year.

They will also get their first glimpse of the new Dr Who girl, 28-year-old Lalla Ward who was a big hit with the Parisians on the first visit of the cast to France.

For Baker who was constantly mobbed when he came to Sydney a few months ago and can't walk down any street in London without being surrounded by fans, Paris was a pleasant exception.

Though people may not have stopped him in the streets there, they certainly noticed him.

Even on May Day when parades were jamming traffic, Parisians took time off to stare at the 2m Englishman in the floppy hat, frock coat and 3m woollen scarf.

Baker came from a poor Liverpool family and trained to be a monk but finished up acting one instead as Rasputin the movie, Nicholas and Alexandra.

Popular

In spite of his enormous popularity in Britain and Australia, there are still some who tax his sense of humor even from a Time Lord.

"A man in my local Soho pub recently asked if I was Dr Who and what I would like to drink," Baker said. "When I said AP and-tonic, he replied: I'm not buying you a drink — I'm just interested."

Even time travellers can be brought down to earth

Caption: LALLA WARD ... new star in Dr Who

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.: (1979-05-17). Dr Who evades French police. The Daily Mirror (Australia) p. 24.
• MLA 7th ed.: "Dr Who evades French police." The Daily Mirror (Australia) [add city] 1979-05-17, 24. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: "Dr Who evades French police." The Daily Mirror (Australia), edition, sec., 1979-05-17
• Turabian: "Dr Who evades French police." The Daily Mirror (Australia), 1979-05-17, section, 24 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dr Who evades French police | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_evades_French_police | work=The Daily Mirror (Australia) | pages=24 | date=1979-05-17 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dr Who evades French police | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_evades_French_police | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025}}</ref>