'That's a matter you'd have to put to Tom...' What did Tom Baker really think of Doctor Who's K9, John Leeson tells-all
Doctor Who legend John Leeson didn't want to be "upstaged" by a robot dog on the BBC sci-fi show, the voice of K9 John Leeson has claimed.
Tom Baker feared being "upstaged" by a robot dog on Doctor Who, the voice of K9 John Leeson has claimed.
The 82-year-old actor voiced K9 - famous for his "affirmative" catchphrase - opposite Fourth Doctor Baker on the BBC sci-fi show in the 1970s and was brought back by Russell T Davies when the BBC relaunched the sci-fi series in the mid-2000s to appear alongside Tenth Doctor David Tennant in the episode School Reunion and in spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures, which starred the late Elisabeth Sladen as the titular journalist.
Despite being a fan favourite character to this day, Leeson doesn't think Tom was that enamoured with his popular canine companion.
In an interview with BANG Showbiz, Leeson said: “I don't think Tom particularly liked the character of K9. I suppose, for feeling upstaged or something.
"But that's a matter you'd have to put to Tom, of course.”
Despite his hunch that the flamboyant Baker wasn't keen on sharing so much screen time with the robot, John insists he and Tom, 91, shared a great friendship and had a lot of fun on set, even confusing onlookers by completing newspaper crosswords during shooting breaks as the Fourth Doctor and K9.
John said: "I can't remember the story title in particular, except it was a lovely day, and Tom Baker was involved. He was outdoors, and the director said, ‘OK, everybody, we're going to take five on this one, because we’re clear on that scene. So Tom, you sit over there on the grass in the sunshine, and other people, you know, just to sit and wait till we're ready to shoot the next scene.’ I myself was actually in one of the BBC technical vans. I could be heard from inside, from outside the van. And Tom, of course, could have a conversation with me from where he was. He was outside the van, but he said, ‘John, can you hear me?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I can', or 'Affirmative', or something like that. Tom said, ‘John, have you got your Guardian crossword with you?’ So I said, ‘Affirmative, yes, yes, I have.' Tom goes, 'Tell you what. What do you think about number 16 across? Do you think it could be elephant?’ So we had a sort of conversation about the crossword clues, which was fine. Now, what I didn't know, and what I couldn't have seen from where I was, was what those who had come to watch for the filming could hear and see. And that was Tom sitting outside this van and K9 plonked down beside him and both of them doing The Guardian crossword together, which was rather lovely, I think."
John continues to voice K9 in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures.
K9's latest escapades include Smith and Sullivan: Reunited - which also stars Sadie Miller playing Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor Who role that her late mother Elisabeth Sladen made famous and Christopher Naylor - and the first box set anthology from the Whoniverse: Christmas - It’s a Wonderful War and Other Stories.
The audio adventures are available to download and purchase now at BigFinish.com
