Tom Baker

Tom Baker (Thomas Stewart Baker, b. 20 January 1934) is a British actor and writer. He is best known for having played the fourth incarnation of the titular character in the BBC series Doctor Who between 1974 to 1981.

Before starring in Doctor Who, Baker had played roles in BBC dramas such as Softly, Softly, Z-Cars and Dixon of Dock Green. He first appeared as the Doctor in the episode entitled Robots, first broadcast on 28 December 1974, taking over the role from Jon Pertwee. His tenure lasted for 172 episodes, ending on 21 March 1981. In 2013 he played a role in the show's 50th-anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.

Between 1979 and 1981 he also presented a Yorkshire TV series (ITV) The Book Tower, aimed at getting young people interested in reading (see Look-In below). After leaving Doctor Who he starred in four-part BBC1 miniseries version of The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1982. From 2000 he was the narrator for the satirical series Little Britain, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC Three and then BBC One.