FOR a Time Lord who has been zapping round the universe for the past 25 years, the latest Doctor Who has every reason to look Tardis-lagged.
In fact, Sylvester McCoy, the 45-year-old Scottish actor who plays the being from the planet Gallifrey was red-eyed and yawning after a 12-hour flight from San Francisco where he had been attending his sixth Dr Who convention this year.
"Now I know what a Time Traveller feels like," he sighed, "but playing the Doctor — especially in his 25th anniversary — is a great responsibility.
"One of the great joys of the job is that there is never any time to do anything other than get on with it — learning lines and avoiding bumping into monsters.
So popular is the science fiction series that it is now shown in 65 countries and for the 25th season which begins a 14-week run tonight (BBC-1, 7.35pm) the Doctor returns to the programme's roots when he gets to grips with his first-ever adversary ... the evil Daleks.
Set in London in 1963, the Time Lord returns to the scrapyard where his adventures began so long ago and comes face to face with two rival gangs of Daleks.
Sylvester, who was chosen to play the seventh Dr Who just 12 months ago, said: "1 don't feel that I was a real Dr Who until I fought the Daleks. It has been a great year and now I've been asked to commit myself to the series for another three years."
The violence in the series has been toned down since criticisms three years ago. Sylvester said: "The Doctor will never fight anybody. I feel very strongly about that. The Doctor should never use a gun. He's a man of peace
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