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{{article | publication = Sandwell Evening Mail | file = 1988-11-09 Sandwell Evening Mail.jpg | px = 650 | height = | width = | date = 1988-11-09 | author = | pages = 9 | language = English | type = | description = | categories = | moreTitles = | morePublications = | moreDates = | text = Dr Who actor Colin Baker who was axed from the science fiction series in 1986 has spoken for the first time over his treatment by BBC TV chiefs. He said: "I discovered that actors are treated like mushrooms — fed on muck and left in the dark." The 42-year-old actor was dropped after BBC 1's then Controller Michael Grade temporarily shelved the children's show — now in its 25th year — for being stale. "I have not spoken to Michael Grade since," he said. "He is very shrewd, clever and populist maker of TV programmes and I agree with 99 per cent of what he says. "I just objected to the one decision he made about me. I played Dr Who for three years, and at the time it was extremely irritating. I thought I was being messed about. "They decided they wanted a new Doctor and I tried to find out why. Nobody was particularly keen to tell me." Baker said he still receives 200 letters a month at his Buckinghamshire home from fans "mourning my abrupt departure from the series" — one of British television's longest-running programmes. "I get sacks of letters from people assuming I left Dr Who voluntarily," he said. "It was 500 a month at its peak but is now down to 200. It touches me. I answer most of the letters personally. "Dr Who was great fun but I have had a 20-year career and that was three years." }}

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