Tom Baker

Thomas Stewart Baker was born 20 January 1934 in Liverpool, raised devoutly Catholic and initially aiming for the priesthood before acting pulled him another direction. He joined the National Theatre in 1968 and broke through as Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), earning two Golden Globe nominations. After supporting turns in The Vault of Horror and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (both 1973), he was working part-time on a building site when the call came: lead in Doctor Who. From 1974 to 1981 he played the fourth incarnation, folding his own eccentric streak into the character, and became the longest-serving actor in the part - beloved in the UK and abroad, still widely considered the quintessential Doctor of the classic run. Later he turned up in Medics (1992-1995), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000-2001), and Monarch of the Glen (2004-2005), then found a second act in voice work, narrating Little Britain through its original run and its American spinoff. In 2006 that sonorous instrument was voted the fourth-most recognisable voice in Britain.