Why I am making the executive decision to crown Colin Baker as the ‘King’ of the Doctor Who fandom:
- This man has put up with far more shit than anyone else who has ever been in the role. He is frequently dismissed, and referred to as ‘terrible’ and ‘unlike-able’. People also often effusively praise ‘Baker’, referring to Tom, as if Colin doesn’t even exist.
- He had very little input in any of the aspects of his portrayal. His costume, described by Colin as “an explosion in a rainbow factory” was chosen for him by producer John Nathan Turner, and was pretty much the opposite of what Colin wanted. The production team also turned his character quite dark, and almost abusive at times, and he had to carry some rather shoddy scripts, and he did so quite admirably.
- Colin came into Doctor Who at a time when the BBC had a director of programmes, Michael Grade who hated the show, and wanted it finished for good. In short, he has said quite clearly that Colin was “utterly unlikeable; absolutely God-awful in fact”, and had him fired from the position. Not only that, but he forced him to say that he had chosen to leave of his own accord, and he was even sleeping with Colin’s wife behind his back.
- But despite all of this, Colin still is a massive fan and harbours a phenomenal love and respect for the show. Which makes me have a great amount of respect for him. He is also the current president of the Offical Doctor Who Appreciation Society so, well, who else would be better?