Tom Baker granted a video interview with Doctor Who Magazine writer Emily Cook to promote his new fourth Doctor book, Scratchman.
The official plot of Scratchman:
The fourth Doctor, Harry Sullivan and Sarah Jane Smith arrive at a remote Scottish island, when their holiday is cut short by the appearance of strange creatures – hideous scarecrows, who are preying on the local population. The islanders are living in fear, and the Doctor vows to save them all. But it doesn’t go to plan – the time travellers have fallen into a trap, and Scratchman is coming for them.
With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, the Doctor must battle an ancient force from another dimension, one who claims to be the Devil. Scratchman wants to know what the Doctor is most afraid of. And the Doctor’s worst nightmares are coming out to play…
In the interview, Tom Baker described the impetus for writing Scratchman, a book based on his original plans to make a movie based on the concept:
“This is a more elaborate version [than the movie would be] and with many strands, because it seems to me that Doctor Who moves backwards and forwards in time and has dreams. You don’t know where he is all the time because he’s in different places. And so I thought I could throw anything in it that I liked ‒ and I did!”
In the video, Baker tells many amusing anecdotes, including ones about tripping over his famous fourth Doctor scarf ‒ deliberately! He even gave some insight into an upcoming episode of Big Finish he recently recorded.
I won’t repeat all the amusing things Tom Baker said in the video because it’s much better to watch it yourself. It’s classic Tom Baker!