10 Biggest Feuds In Doctor Who History

8. Colin Baker V Michael Grade

Doctor Who Colin Baker Sylvester McCoy
BBC Studios

The most infamous regeneration of classic Doctor Who features Sylvester McCoy in a wig with his face obscured, standing in for Colin Baker who had refused to appear. Baker had suffered the indignity of being fired after an 18-month hiatus by Michael Grade, the controller of BBC 1. Grade only commissioned another series of the show on the condition that Baker wasn't in it.

Baker offered to return for a full season, at the end of which he would film a regeneration. This wasn't even refused - it was flatly ignored and so he said no to filming his own death scene. This is a decision he later regretted, citing the heat of the moment and his own frustrations as reasons.

While he was certainly bitter toward Grade for a long time, previous Doctor Peter Davison elaborated on what was happening at the BBC at the time. According to him, John Nathan-Turner was the intended target of the sacking, as he was blamed for the perceived lower quality and higher violence of the show.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"