As Colin Baker announced on national TV that he wanted to be the longest-serving actor in the role of the Doctor, he may have heard a little voice at the back of his head chiding himself for jumping the gun. Should that be the case, he no doubt heard the words "told you so" when his tenure came to an abrupt end in 1986. It wasn't anything to do with his performance, which remains charismatic and highly underrated in some circles. Though it might just have something to do with his appearance. Peter Davison's Time Lord is perhaps unjustly described as "a bit beige in nature", a colour he actually wore on his sleeve. A contrast was demanded for his successor. But the jamboree of outrageous fabrics producer John Nathan-Turner decided to encase his leading man in? Even for the florid 80s, this was pushing it. Whovians must have wondered what in the name of Davros' missing hand was going on. Had Baker wandered in from the Rentaghost studio by mistake? It's one thing to display a penchant for mystery by rather blatantly stitching a question mark on your collar, but turning yourself into a stick of iris-battering rock because you lack dress sense is quite another. Michael Grade did his damnedest to become Doctor Who's chief exterminator and that remit arguably received a boost by sticking to the foolhardy plan of making a fine performer look ridiculous. The word "D'oh!" was echoing round living rooms long before Homer Simpson arrived on British screens.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
