Trevor Baxter, Classic Era Doctor Who & Big Finish actor dies

Big Finish

It has been announced that the actor Trevor Baxter, famous for his portrayal of Professor George Litefoot in Doctor Who, has passed away.

This morning, on Big Finish’s website, I read of a great loss to the world of Doctor Who. Actor Trevor Baxter, best known to fans for his role of Professor Litefoot, has died. He was 84 years old.

Trevor Baxter had a large volume of work, with appearances in British TV series such as Z-Cars, The New Avengers and Maelstrom. As well as an actor, he was also a playwright. He had written several plays, including Lies, Office Games and Undertaking. He was also a fan of the works of Oscar Wilde, and had even adapted several of his stories for the stage.

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I must admit, however, that of his large volume of work, I only really knew him from one role: Professor George Litefoot. But that single role had been enough for his death to hit this writer hard.

Created in 1977 for the Fourth Doctor story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, the character of Professor Litefoot was a brilliant creation. A distinctly upper-class pathologist in Victorian London, he made quite the unlikely ally for the Doctor and his companion Leela. And yet, he was always eager to join in and help his friends on their strange adventure.

From his first episode, Baxter gave so much life to the role of Litefoot. He could perform a perfect balance of drama and comedy in such a way as to make his character feel completely real. One of my favourite scenes in particular is when he is having dinner with the distinctly more savage Leela. He hardly says a word, and yet his silent reactions are absolutely hysterical.

But, as great as he was paired with Louise Jameson or Tom Baker, it was with Christopher Benjamin’s character of Henry Gordon Jago that he worked best with. Even though they only meet in the final two episodes of Talons, they instantly seemed liked the perfect double act.

Jago & Litefoot

Hilarious and immensely likeable, this unlikely pair of investigators of infernal incidents clearly deserved their own spin-off. And, while it took a while, we eventually got it. Over 30 years later, they were finally given their own series with Big Finish’s Jago & Litefoot.

I can’t begin to describe how brilliant this series was, or even how much it meant to me. Along with great writing and production, Baxter and Benjamin were a big reason why it was so brilliant. It’s hard to think of anything else that was consistently such a joy to listen to. No matter how bad my day could get, all I needed to do was stick on an episode, listen to the wonderful banter of its title characters, and I’d always get a big smile on my face, guaranteed. And I’m sure this is true for many other fans.

Even the behind the scenes interviews were great to listen to. You could tell that everyone really enjoyed making those stories, especially its two leads. Since the release of the first box set in May 2010, the series has gone from strength to strength. In fact, the two characters had only recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary since their first appearance.

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With his performance and his stories, he was able to give so much joy to his fans. Knowing that an actor as brilliant as Trevor Baxter is no longer in the world has left me deeply saddened. He will be missed by many.

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