10 Actors Who Refused To Die On Screen
6. Colin Baker - Doctor Who
Whenever a Doctor Who actor's tenure as the Doctor ends, it's expected that they regenerate - that is, they transform into a new physical form following a mortal incident, providing an explanation for their changed appearance with a new actor.
But when the run of the sixth Doctor, played by Colin Baker, came to an end, things weren't quite so simple, because Baker was far from eager to give the role up.
Basically, the BBC only commissioned the show's 24th season on the condition that it wouldn't star Baker, who was expecting to play the Doctor for one additional season to complete the character's story arc.
When the Beeb's idea of a compromise was to bring him back for season 24's first episode and have him regenerate into the new actor, Sylvester McCoy, at the end, he refused to play ball.
As a result, without Baker agreeing to appear, the show was forced to awkwardly film a death/regeneration scene without him, with the Doctor's unconscious body being discovered face-down before turning into Sylvester McCoy's version.
Due to Baker's unwillingness to return, McCoy ended up donning a wig and acting as a face-down stand-in for Baker, before his likeness changed to resemble McCoy.
Fans were naturally unhappy about both the visual awkwardness of the Sixth Doctor's demise and the lack of concrete explanation for his death.
For his part, Baker apologised to fans in recent years, calling himself "brutally selfish" for allowing his anger at the BBC to undermine his Doctor's exit.