Following the spectacular 500th issue, Doctor Who Magazine is continuing its celebrations with an issue dedicated entirely to Tom Baker and the Fourth Doctor’s era of Doctor Who.

Tom Baker: The Ultimate Interview is an extravaganza split into several gripping parts, in which Tom talks about life, death and, of course, Doctor Who…

 “Life is too short to be dull. Be interesting. Because not very much else matters does it? In large areas of our lives, hardly anything matters at all. I mean, nothing can beat being with loving friends, and a few wines, and a few beers, and a few lies, and a few yarns. And to still be adored after 40-odd years… yeah that’s the life. Maybe I’m the longest-serving actor, in the whole history of actors, who’s actually still, 40-odd years later, adored for the same part and enjoying it in the same way. When I get sent messages from middle-aged men… or from the wives of middle-aged men, who say, ‘Tell Mr Baker he cannot imagine how important he was to my beloved husband when he was a boy’… it moves me deeply to think about it. I was just going to work. I didn’t know, to begin with, how far-reaching this role would be. I was aware of the excitement, and the generosity, and the affection of the fans, but how could I ever have dreamed of all this?”



 The interview extravaganza is split into seven gripping parts: The Unbreakable Tom Baker, The Insatiable Tom Baker, The Impeccable Tom Baker (with June Hudson), The Irrepressible Tom Baker, The Unstoppable Tom Baker (with Louise Jameson, John Leeson and Geoffrey Beevers), The Unforgettable Tom Baker and The Irreplaceable Tom Baker.

In one part of the interview Tom is asked about why he doesn't talk much about his successors to the role of the Doctor and his answer speaks fondly of David Tennant...

"I haven't seen much of them. I didn't watch David Tennant, though he sent me sweet messages because he's obviously a nice man. I've seen him in other things. I don't watch much television, but I saw him in Casanova. I thought he had wonderful vitality in that, and I would dearly have liked to see his Hamlet. I bought it to watch on film. He was absolutely excellent; wonderfully modern. To see a fresh Hamlet is a very thrilling thing. To have pulled that off and Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, was a prodigious achievement - especially at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
When I was at the RSC, it was like being in a bloody monastery; actors worked from dawn to dusk, in several plays at once. It became very camp. They all listened to The Archers, and I remember one actor saying to me, rather pathetically, 'Tom, it's our only link with the outside world'. I thought, 'Oh F*ck off! The Archers? You think that's the outside world?!'.
My wife actually quite likes The Archers. I was mooted for it a couple of years ago. At the time, I was terribly enthusiastic, but the editor, a very high powered lady (Vanessa Whitburn), decided I was too f*cking opinionated. I've talked my way out of a lot of jobs. Now that I'm so happy in my old age, I don't want to be chasing work; I need to be wooed. Anyway, Berowne is an amazing, romantic part. The language in that play is so tricky. When I was the National Theatre, I understudied about five parts in Love's Labour's Lost. Berowne wasn't one of them. Jeremy Brett was Berowne. He was amazing."

The collectable souvenir edition, available from 30 June and priced £5.99, comes in a polybag containing four amazing art cards, two classic mini-posters, and a massive multi-Doctor poster.

David Tennant and Billie Piper are featured on one of the mini posters as seen below:




Doctor Who Magazine 501 is on sale from Thursday 30 June 2016, price £5.99.