Baker’s back in ‘lost’ Doctor Who special
A six-episode series of Tom Baker-era Doctor Who which was never broadcast because of strike action at the BBC in 1979 is to see the light of day. The footage is to be released as a feature-length film, with new scenes – including a cameo from Baker, right, reprising his role.
WHEN a strike brought filming at BBC Television Centre to a halt in 1979, Doctor Who was one of the casualties. A six-part run starring Tom Baker had to be shelved, spelling disappointment for the cast and denying fans the opportunity to see an adventure written by Douglas Adams, the sci-fi author.
Now, the story is to be released decades later as a feature-length film, with new scenes added to complete the picture – including a cameo from Baker, reprising his role as the Time Lord at the age of 83.
His hair is now a shock of white but the outfit is the same, complete with trademark striped scarf. The new scenes were shot on the set of the original Tardis with Seventies camera equipment, so that they fit seamlessly with the original footage.
The story, entitled Shada, is set in Cambridge, where the Doctor and his assistant, played by Lalla Ward, pay a visit to an elderly don. A postgraduate student (Daniel Hill) unwittingly gets caught up in a plot to steal intergalactic secrets.
In 1979, exterior scenes were shot in Cambridge but when the time came to film in the studio, the production ground to a halt.
A strike by technicians had disrupted the schedules, and Christmas shows such as a Morecambe and Wise special were given priority.
Shada was intended to be the end of the 17th series of Doctor Who, but was abandoned until this year when Charles Norton, a producer, decided to revive it for BBC Worldwide.
The new production is a mixture of digitally remastered original scenes and animated segments voiced by the same actors, and features Baker both then and now. All the new lines are taken from Adams’s original script.
Asked why he had returned to the role of Doctor Who for the cameo, Baker said: “Because it never left me, and that’s why I can’t stay away from it. It was a lovely time in my life.”
Baker played the fourth Doctor from 1974 to 1981 and is regularly voted the fans’ favourite Time Lord.
He married Ward in 1980, although they divorced less than two years later, citing work commitments and different lifestyles for their break-up.
In 2013, he was cast in a Doctor Who episode titled The Day of The Doctor as a curator in the National Gallery.
Hill, who was at the beginning of his acting career when he was cast in
Shada, said he was thrilled to see it on screen at last. “I was just 23 when we started it, and I’m now 61. It was a wonderful thing to be on, so when we were hit by the strike it was a real blow. To see it completed is fantastic,” he said.
Reuniting with the cast to record voice-overs for the animated scenes was emotional, he added. “There are some casts you can’t wait to get away from. But we all got along like a house on fire.”
Hill met his wife, Olivia, on the set – she was a production assistant – and they have three children. He can finally prove to them that he has a Doctor Who credit on his CV. “The kids used to say to me, ‘You weren’t in Doctor Who,’ and I’d say, ‘I was!’”
Modern special effects have been added and will not look out of place, thanks to a Seventies look. K9 also appears with speech pieced together from old dialogue as David Brierly, who voiced him, died in 2008.
The film is available as a digital download, via itunes and other outlets, from today. It is out on DVD on Dec 4, with a special screening at the British Film Institute on Dec 2.
‘It never left me, and that’s why I can’t stay away from it. It was a lovely time in my life’