“I Was A Bit Miffed”: Sixth Doctor Actor Explains Real Reason Why He Did Not Return For Regeneration Episode
Doctor Who's Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker justifies his reasoning for not returning for a regeneration episode in an infamous moment from the show.
Doctor Who actor Colin Baker reveals why he chose not to return for a regeneration episode. Baker originally portrayed the Sixth Doctor for the classic era’s three seasons from 1984 to 1986. He was preceded by Fifth Doctor Peter Davison and succeeded by Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, the latter of whom recently appeared in Doctor Who season 13’s “The Power of the Doctor.”
Per Mirror, Baker explains why he elected not to join Doctor Who‘s regeneration episode as the Sixth Doctor. He said that he was “a bit miffed” that he was asked back, and that taking the Doctor Who part would have “prevented [him] from getting other jobs.” The Sixth Doctor actor went on to joke that he is “the only doctor who has not truly been regenerated.” Check out the full quote from Baker below:
“Michael Grade had been on record before he became Controller of BBC1 as having the attitude that Doctor Who and Come Dancing were both evidence of, in his words, ‘the BBC’s senility’ so it was not surprising he cancelled both immediately. They asked me to come back about nine months later to film the regeneration but I declined as I was a bit miffed, and it would have prevented me getting other jobs. It means I’m the only doctor who has not been truly regenerated.”
“Now, you have to be in a successful series in order to get another one, which has worked to the benefit of the recent inhabitants of the role such as David Tennant [the tenth doctor]… the world lets you be a fine actor now whereas back then the higher-ups would go, ‘Oh he was in Doctor Who, wasn’t he?’ Now they don’t care.”
Colin Baker Not Returning To Doctor Who Led To Strange Consequences
Baker’s tenure on Doctor Who has become infamous in the show’s history since he was the only Doctor actor fired from the show. Baker’s firing from Doctor Who was believed to be related to the negative viewer response to the Sixth Doctor’s style. Previously, it had been thought that Baker and the Doctor Who team had bad blood between them after this firing, causing Baker’s refusal to return. Upon the most recent statement, there was also a logistical element to not returning, as the actor had other opportunities that would have conflicted with the regeneration episode.
Sylvester McCoy was the first actor to play two different Time Lords in Doctor Who.
As a result, Doctor Who had to write a scene that would become a first in its history. Rather than showing Baker turning into McCoy’s Seventh Doctor, McCoy had to play both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. Briefly adorned in a curly blonde wig and Baker’s outfit, McCoy appeared as a version of the Sixth Doctor and then regenerated into his own Seventh Doctor. This technically made McCoy the first actor to play two different Time Lords in the series.
While this was not the smoothest Doctor Who transition of all time, the show managed to circumvent the issues related to Baker’s absence. Doctor Who traditionally showcases Time Lord regenerations, so it would have been odd for the Time Lord to regenerate off-screen or without being addressed. The Sixth to Seventh Doctor regenerations will remain one of the most iconic and confounding moments in Doctor Who history.
