Iconic Doctor Who star Tom Baker was seen stepping out for lunch in Rye over the weekend.
The actor, 91, left the TARDIS in 1981 after seven years portraying the Time Lord in the BBC One sci-fi show, the longest run of any actor in the role.
He is best known for having played the fourth and longest-serving incarnation of the Doctor.
He looked in great spirits as he headed to lunch with pals at the historic Mermaid Inn in Rye, East Sussex.
He is known for his booming voice, wild curls and unforgettable scarf and now, at the grand age of 91, Tom is still turning heads with his trademark warm smile.
Tom joined friends for a leisurely lunch at the picturesque Mermaid Inn before heading home.
Iconic Doctor Who star Tom Baker, 91, was seen stepping out for lunch in Rye over the weekend – where he flashed his famous smile
The actor, 91, left the TARDIS in 1981 after seven years portraying the Time Lord in the BBC One sci-fi show, the longest run of any actor in the role
Back in 2017 Tom returned as the Fourth Doctor for the first time on screen for 36 years in the finally completed ‘lost’ Doctor Who story, Shada (seen in 2017)
Dressed casually but comfortably, the much-loved actor appeared every bit the eccentric gentleman fans have cherished since his days in the TARDIS.
Back in 2017 Tom returned as the Fourth Doctor for the first time on screen for 36 years in the finally completed ‘lost’ Doctor Who story, Shada.
Tom did make an appearance in as the mysterious curator character in the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, which was broadcast in November 2013 but in 2017 he once again donned his famous oversized striped scarf for one last outing as the Gallifreyan runaway.
Shada – written by Douglas Adams – was set to be the celebratory end to the 17th series of ‘Doctor Who’ but was left incomplete due to strike action at the BBC in 1979.
Producer Charles Norton was tasked by BBC Worldwide with the job of finally completing the serial and got Tom to appear in a final scene which took place in his original TARDIS from 1979 – which was sourced from the now-closed ‘Doctor Who Experience’.
In the scene, Tom appeared from underneath the TARDIS controls to utter the lines from the original script on screen for the first time, saying: ‘I expect that sometime in the future – in about 200 years’ time – someone will meet me and say, “Is that really the Doctor? He seemed such a nice old man.”‘
Charles brought together all of the surviving original cast, including Daniel Hill as scientist Chris Parsons and Christopher Neame as villain Skagra, to record the necessary dialogue for his animated scenes that were required to complete the adventure.
Tom admitted he was thrilled to get the chance to be the Doctor again and finally finish Shada for the fans and as a tribute to Douglas, who passed away in May 2001 at the age of just 49.
He played The Doctor from 1974-1981
He looked in great spirits as he headed to lunch with pals at the historic Mermaid Inn in Rye, East Sussex
He is known for his booming voice, wild curls and unforgettable striped scarf which he always wore on the show
Tom joined friends for a leisurely lunch at the picturesque Mermaid Inn before heading home
Dressed casually but comfortably, the much-loved actor appeared every bit the eccentric gentleman fans have cherished since his days in the TARDIS
He was joined by pals for the lunch out
He wore a brown blazer and black waistcoat
He made his way to the car after the lunch out
Tom Baker as Doctor Who with his new assistant Lalla Ward as Romana
Tom said: ‘It was a matter of regret that I couldn’t finish it, I regretted it very much. There were other aspects. This was because we loved Douglas.
‘Douglas was a very, very, lovable fellow … When I was doing Doctor Who it was the realisation of all my childhood fantasies, so I took to it like a duck to water, as they say. And I still do.’
Revealing why he jumped at the chance to appear on screen as the Doctor once more, the acting legend added: ‘I love doing Doctor Who because it was life to me.’
‘It’s an amazing thing to be in … It probably has never left me, and that’s why I can’t stay away from it. It was a lovely time of my life.’
Shada is set in Cambridge and showed the Doctor, his robot dog K9 and his companion Romana team up with retired Time Lord Professor Chronotis to defeat the evil alien Skagra who is attempting to steal the secrets to the prison planet Shada.
Charles and his team – who were behind the hugely successful and critically acclaimed animation of lost Doctor Who story The Power of the Daleks and lost Dad’s Army episode A Stripe For Frazer – were granted access to nearly seven hours of raw footage from the original 1979 Shada shoot.
They edited the new production from scratch with all the original film negatives re-scanned in full HD and digitally remastered.
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