Tom Baker, who portrayed the fourth incarnation of the iconic Doctor, has come forward saying he was less than thrilled with the reception he received on the set of the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th-anniversary special.
Baker filmed a scene for ‘The Day of the Doctor‘ which was released in 2013. According to Baker, Matt Smith was the only person on set who went out of their way to make him feel welcome.
Giving a candid interview for the new ‘Doctor Who: The Collection’ season 12 Blu-ray set, Baker said:
“Matt Smith is a darling young man – he made me very welcome. [But] he was the only one who welcomed me – I drove through the night to Cardiff, and Matt Smith came seeking me out, so full of joy and so happy to see me! He made it very, very easy acting with him, and I’m so glad he’s going on to tumultuous success.”
Baker continued, saying:
“Nobody else bothered with me at all. I was a bit nettled about that. They didn’t have Matt’s warmth. That’s what he’s good at, warmth… absolutely wonderful, and there’s not much of him – he’s sort of lean, and exudes this warmth.”
Baker portrayed the Curator for the 50th special, a character who may or may not have been a future incarnation of the Doctor. In a previous interview about the special, former Doctor Who’ show-runner Steven Moffat described working on the episode as “murder.”
Moffat said:
“‘The Day of the Doctor’ was a monster hit – I think I can say that – but the actual process of doing it was murder,” he recalled. It was an awful show to work on and I kept just wanting to give up. Because the truth is, there is a reason why there is only one Doctor, and there is absolutely no reason to have more than one.”
Sounds like it wasn’t a very fun timey-wimey for anyone involved!
‘Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12’ will be available on Blu-ray starting July 2! ‘Doctor Who’ returns to BBC America this fall.
