Who is Colin Baker?

Before Who

Colin Baker was born in 1943, at the height of World War Two. In fact, he was born during an air raid, and as an infant narrowly avoided being killed when his home was bombed and a piece of shrapnel shot past his cot.

Baker was a bright, scholarly teen and studied law at university with the aim of becoming a solicitor. But that changed when he attended a local production of The King and I and decided that acting was the career for him. His teacher at drama school didn't think so though – taking Baker and another student aside to advise them to give up their dreams of stardom. The teacher was proved magnificently wrong, though; the other student was David Suchet, the future Poirot star, while Baker himself got his big break playing a dastardly businessman in 70s soap The Brothers.

His Who

Shortly after his regeneration, the Sixth Doctor attempted to throttle his assistant Peri. And this altogether startling start set the tone of the Colin Baker era; stretching from 1984 to 1986, it was probably the most controversial period in Doctor Who's history.

Baker's Doctor was the most uncompromising of all. Proud, aloof and not afraid to use violence when necessary, he came as something of a shock after the angelic Fifth Doctor. Baker himself was exuberant and fascinating in the role, by turns arrogant and noble – a hero one minute and a hermit the next. Fans at the time were divided over this bold new take on the character, but since then more and more "Whovians" have declared the Sixth Doctor one of the very best. And we're sure the Sixth Doctor himself would wholeheartedly agree!

After Who

Baker brimmed with enthusiasm about playing the Doctor, and set himself the goal of breaking Tom Baker's record of seven years in the role. Unfortunately, events conspired against him – the show was regarded by some pundits as too violent during his era, and disagreements over the direction the show should take led to production being put on hold for a time. Eventually it was decided that the series needed a fresh start with a new Doctor, but Baker has worked steadily ever since – starring in shows as disparate as Jonathan Creek and Hollyoaks.

Who knew?

Baker actually made his Doctor Who debut during Peter Davison's era, when he played Commander Maxil – a trigger-happy guard on the planet Gallifrey who shot the Fourth Doctor. It was his charismatic turn as Maxil that led to him being cast as the very character he wounded.

Who says...

Baker has reason to be grateful for the recent resurrection of Doctor Who. "None of my daughters were interested in watching me as the Doctor," he revealed. "All the tapes are on the shelf and I often asked in vain if they wanted to see one. Only now, thanks to the new series, they've started watching them. And the accolade of all accolades – 'Oh, you're not bad – almost as good as Christopher Eccleston!'"