Recently Colin Baker attended a Doctor Who convention with other former Doctors. At the time, after some tongue-in-cheek banter, he seemed to welcome the idea of Doctors coming back for the 50th anniversary show. Now he’s changed his tune.

In an interview with the Cambridge News, Colin Baker discusses some of his upcoming work as well as the possibility of him appearing on the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. As many fans are aware, Baker’s years on the show were rather tumultuous. He and the BBC were frequently at odds.

At first Baker declares himself too different in appearance to credibly play the Doctor again. In fairness, it’s roughly 30 years since he last played the part. On our most recent WhoHype podcast, we even noted that the older Doctors could play cameos of other characters or aliens hidden by prosthetic make-up. The key thing is that fans are keen on participation of the previous Doctors, but they don’t have to play the role of the Doctor.

The interviewer then points out that the show could likely get around the “age problem” in some fashion. Baker then had this reply which is sure to rankle many fans:

I suppose they could. And in theory, I’m neither for nor against it. There would be two big questions I would ask: The first is, is my Doctor going to get a fair crack of the whip in the story, and not be eclipsed by anybody else? Because you want parity. And the other one is, what vast fortune are you offering me? I’d be quite brutal about myself and say, if they offered me a million quid, I’d go on and say one line for them. If they offered me a tenner, I wouldn’t.

Now if that statement were not enough to annoy fans and to raise a few eyebrows, wondering if K-9 bit him in the ankle that day. Colin Baker’s comments on Tom Baker might really seal the deal.

The five “classic” Doctors [Colin, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy] were recently on stage together for the first time . . .

We were. We did a signing event in Milton Keynes, and the clever organisers had got us all together without actually . . . I mean, Tom didn’t realise until he got there, otherwise I think he might have feigned a diplomatic illness! He’s a bit of a loose cannon. But I think he’s mellowed over the years. He was very entertaining, certainly.

Are the Doctors competitive?

I don’t think we’re actually competitive. What it is – and I think this is true of all of us – we find it easier when we’re on our own. Because when you’re answering questions and there are five of you there, some people are a bit self-effacing, others are not, some want to share it out, others don’t; it’s tricky striking a balance. So basically we all sat back and let Tom talk, really. It’s easier!

The rest of the interview is found here.

What do you make of Colin Bakers words? Does it endear you more or less to wanting him to make an appearance?