Has A Doctor Ever Been Fired?

[Wee67]

As I get more and more into this series, I wonder certain things. My dislike of the latest companion (Donna in my timeline) got me to wondering if any of the actors playing companions had been fired. THAT, of course, led me to wonder if any of the Doctors had been fired. I know many have chosen to leave the role, but did any of the actors get the boot?

[Bo8a_Fett]

none that I am aware of, although does a cancellation count as a firing? If that was the case then Sylvester McCoy could have been said to have been fired..or laid off.
Jon Pertwee was going to leave after the break up of "his" team (Delgado dying, Katy leaving, Barry Letts leaving) and said he would only stay on for more money...the BBC asked how much more and when he told them they said thanks very much but we'll look for a new Doctor....so does that count???Who knows...

[Gorn Captain]

Well, I think Colin Baker more or less got the boot, undeservedly so IMO.
Of all the actors, they (The BBC) sure made his run a rough one.

[Bo8a_Fett]

Well, I think Colin Baker more or less got the boot, undeservedly so IMO.
Of all the actors, they (The BBC) sure made his run a rough one.

I think the term the BBC used was "your contract has not been renewed"...which prompted Colin to not want to do a regeneration scene.

[Wee67]

I think the term the BBC used was "your contract has not been renewed"...which prompted Colin to not want to do a regeneration scene.

Not renewing a contract is the same as getting fired. That's the line we use when we let someone go.

How about a companion?

[palitoy]

Baker seemed to take the brunt of blame for things even though he really couldn't be responsible for the show's tone. As a fan back then I hated him, now I kind of separate him from what I don't like.

[Bo8a_Fett]

No companions I know of got the sack......unless Mathew Waterhouse had a clause in it that the Beeb would pay his bar bill...

[Mikey]

I was watching one of the DVD extra's on a story (I forgot which)-- probably Earthshock

I think Waterhouse mentioned he did in fact get axed.

To add insult to injury, they even killed him so he'd never return.

Even Tegan and Nyssa were mad at the Doctor for not going back in time and saving him.
That was almost an extra slap in Adric's face.

I think the Davison/Colin years were a pretty nasty time to be part of Doctor Who.

JNT was already tired of the series and to some point, just phoning stuff in just get the next episodes out.

[Boris71]

I was reading a book about the colin baker years and what happened to the doctor and every thing pointed at his being fired, and they used that as an excuse to cancel the show, the director of programming then disliked SCI-FI and saw it as low brow and beneath the BBC.

I agree about the colin bakers run and perry did not help she always looked like she hated being there and was just waiting for her contract to expire so she could leave, and peter davidson had some of the worst assistants, the stories IMO were good but vey badly executed, you look at the "remake" of black orchid as the wasp and the unicorn done well it's fantastic put in a cheap budget and some dodgy effects and a bad director with the wrong assistanst and it's a mediocre episode, I think that a lot of tom bakers stories would have been bad if they were done in the davidson colin baker era

[johnmiic]

I wonder if Caroline John,(?), counts as being fired? I read in one of the Peter Haining books that Jon Pertwee's first season didn't catch on they way they had hoped and made radical changes for his second season. They got rid of Liz Shaw and replaced her with Jo Grant, ( Katy Manning).

As I recall Doctor Who Bulletin was a very good publication back in the 80's, ( it became Dream Watch Bulletin and then just Dreamwatch), which reported that Colin got, "sacked", which is fired in UK terms. Also when Sylvester McCoy regenerated Colin refused to participate in handing off the role, which to me makes sense if he was fired. It was not personal against the show but against the Beeb. JNT was somewhat sympathetic and was once quoted as saying he thought Colin was treated shabbily by the Beeb.

[Bo8a_Fett]

DWB was well known for printing rumours and spoilers without too much investigating...lol...although certain people had their contracts unrenewed, they were not sacked as they could still work for the BBC in other productions...

[johnmiic]

Well when I say someone was sacked, such as Colin, I take it he was only sacked from Doctor Who. I don't pretend to mean that he was blacklisted from ever working at BBC tv again. Here in the states tho if you defy the network, any network, there is a strong possibility that you will become blacklisted and never work in TV or Movies again or for many years. Such a thing happened to Suzanne Sommers, ( Three's Company), Eartha Kitt,(Batman), and Jackie Mason,(The Ed Sullivan Show).

As for DWB I used to buy their magazine during the "dark times" for Doctor Who. They frequently reported on JNT's shenanigans, ( The famous quote "Memory Cheats" regarding how people said the old show better than his new episodes), and his and Beeb's alleged rigging of a talk show to hide fans dissatisfaction with his style of production. During those yeras DWB was a great source of info wheras Starlog remained silent and DWM treated the controversey lightly.

[Bo8a_Fett]

Yeah I used to enjoy DWB but took anything it printed with a dose of salts...I mean look how many times they told us the programme was coming back.....at least 5 if memory serves...lol

[phil]

Actually, William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Colin Baker were let go. At one point Hartnell was to be replaced by another actor and play the Doctor in the
same manner. For Hartnell's final story, "The Tenth Planet" he was contracted
as a guest star.

Pertwee was prepared to leave when his team was breaking up. He did consider another year and asked for more money which the BBC wasn't prepared to give him. So in his case he was willing to leave and BBC wasn't
worried about keeping him.

Colin Baker was essentially fired. He was offered the chance to do a regeneration story but declined. I think Colin got a raw deal all around. I like
his Doctor but so much is wrong with his time on the show.

A number of actors and actresses who played companions in the 1960s didn't
have their contracts renewed. Caroline John was pregnant at the end of seson seven and it was decide to also replace the character.