Doctor Who: Colin Baker apologizes for not taking part in regeneration scene
By James Aggas
Colin Baker has recently apologized to fans for not filming his regeneration scene in Doctor Who. But honestly, he shouldn’t have to.
Very soon, Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 23 will be released on Blu-Ray in the UK. The box set will contain the whole of the fourteen-part story The Trial of a Time Lord, although really, it’s four stories in one.
To promote it, a special screening of Mindwarp – which encompasses the fifth to eighth episodes of Trial – was held at the BFI in London. As well as screening a new version of the story with a new 5.1 stereo surround mix and re-recorded music, the screening also featured a Q&A with Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, who played the Sixth Doctor and Peri.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his sudden exit from the show was brought up. Michael Grade – who was the controller for BBC One at the time – would only recommission Doctor Who if Colin Baker was replaced.
Classic Series fans will likely remember what happened next. At the very beginning of the following season, the Sixth Doctor regenerated…but without Colin Baker. Time and the Rani began with Sylvester McCoy wearing a curly blond wig and the Sixth Doctor’s outfit, before regenerating into Seven. It looked about as well as you might expect.
Why Colin didn’t come back
At the BFI screening, Colin Baker commented on why he refused to come back for the scene, or even a full story to depart in.
"This was in November and that would take place the following March/April… I wasn’t going to commit myself to two weeks work the next March/April… and I’ll be honest, I was hacked off. I saw no reason to be nice to them."
Interestingly, he wasn’t against filming a regeneration scene entirely. Just that he wanted it to be at the end of the season rather than towards the beginning of it. But, while he suggested to the BBC that he could film the entire season and allow it to be his last, he “never heard back” from them.
He also apologized to the fans during the Q&A for initially refusing to come back for a final story.
"I forgot about you [the fans] – sorry. I was being brutally selfish at the time and I just felt annoyed. Because I loved that part… and I thought I had more to offer."
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A message to Colin Baker
Colin, I think I speak on behalf of many fans when I say this: you have nothing to apologize for. At the end of the day, as loyal and devoted as we are, us fans aren’t entitled to anything. Yes, we’re grateful for whatever Doctor Who we can get (well, most of us are, anyway). And even when it’s not to our taste, we’re still happy to let other fans enjoy it (again, most of us are).
But you had been kicked out of a job that you had enjoyed and then asked to come back for just a couple more weeks. At the risk of losing potentially longer term work elsewhere, I might add. You had every right to feel angry about it. Anybody would.
More than that, the fact that you did return to the role thanks to Big Finish has more than made up for that. For over twenty years, you’ve given us so many brilliant stories. Stories that have truly shown us the very best of the Sixth Doctor, and all the sides to him that we never truly got to see on television.
On top of that, you’ve even taken part in your Doctor’s true regeneration story, thanks to Big Finish. The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure took a scene that was a disappointing end to your Doctor, and turned it into something epic, heroic and heartbreaking. We had to wait almost three decades for it, but it was worth the wait.
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So no need to apologize, Colin. On the contrary, we’re continually grateful for your dedication and loyalty to both Doctor Who and the fandom.