14 Tales From The History Of Doctor Who From William Hartnell To Jodie Whittaker
11. Tom Baker Died In 1982. No, Really.
Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor remains the longest-serving incarnation of the Doctor, with Baker playing the role for seven seasons across seven years. He left the role in 1981, with several contributing factors leading to this - including his disdain for the direction the show had taken under producer John Nathan-Turner.
And then in 1982, he was reported dead from a drug overdose.
Luckily for him, this was a case of mistaken identity!
Several reference books allude to his 1982 death, but it was in fact another Tom Baker - an American friend of The Doors frontman Jim Morrison - who had died. Tom Baker (the English one!) did however have a reputation of being a heavy drinker. He acknowledged this fact himself in his 1997 autobiography, Who On Earth Is Tom Baker?
He has also often jokingly responded to fan questions about the series with the refrain 'You will have to excuse me but I was drunk at the time!'