Tom Baker addresses whether he’d return to Doctor Who on screen in future: "I am a great hogger of the spotlight"

Legendary Doctor Who star Tom Baker has continued his association with the series right up to the present day, with the Fourth Doctor star set to appear in more audio adventures which will be released next year.

However, he was last seen on screen back in 2013, appearing as The Curator in 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.

Now, as AUK's Kickstarter campaign for his new Sherlock Holmes audio drama Sir Sherlock: The Doctor's Son nears its launch, Baker has addressed whether he would ever return to Doctor Who once more on screen, while speaking exclusively to Radio Times.

"These great big scripts used to arrive, when I was doing Big Finish, and I’d struggle to carry them. They were heavy," Baker said of a potential return to the sci-fi show. "A lot of them I did at a studio but then Sue – my wife – and I, we used to record them from home. That was a lot easier. I used to like to tweak the script, too.

"Because people assume you’re going to do it one way, and you confound them by doing something different. That’s very much the role of the Doctor, really. I always knew that when the director would say: 'That’s very good, Tom,' there would be a mad scramble to cut what I said and do it the way they wanted. Ha! Because I am a great hogger of the spotlight."

He continued: "Being a Roman Catholic and believing in purgatory, as well as Hell, I like to score. I like to do things a little bit naughty, just to annoy Him upstairs. And I’m not talking about the director. Though, I think most directors believe they are God.

"We went back into a studio to record Sir Sherlock. The engineer was a Doctor Who fan. It’s always nice to have a fan recording you, he was a nice man. Charles. I might have called him King Charles a couple of times. Perhaps that’s how I got my MBE? For services to Sound Engineers?

"Of course, I went back to Doctor Who for the 50th anniversary and I’m often asked if I’ll go back again. Well, I’m really quite shameless, especially if I haven’t worked for a few weeks, so… I’m still fond of it."

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Baker also spoke about reprising his role as Sherlock in the upcoming audio drama, saying: "The sheer pleasure of waking up and knowing you’re going to be engaged in something exciting, like being an actor.

"Holmes was a frustrated actor. All those disguises and voices he used over the stories. Yes, he was an old ham. But that quality Holmes has of never apologising, he needs to get things right. With a certain charm and tact. Oh yes, I can tell a lie to get my own way with the best of them!"

The Doctor’s Son is the fourth adventure in the Sir Sherlock series, with the three previous adventures being The Red Letter Day, The Sickle and the Sea and The Parting Shot. All of the stories have reunited Baker with his Doctor Who co-star John Leeson, who played robo-pooch K-9.

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