“IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BIZARRE – SO STRANGE AND surreal,” recalls Matthew Waterhouse about landing the role of precocious teenage mathematician Adric in Doctor Who in 1980. “Like a lot of these life-changing things, it actually happened really fast. You go from being somebody who’s hoping to go to drama school to being cast in this major television series, and in my case, one that I really liked and knew well.”
Indeed, to underline his fan credentials, Waterhouse admits to having a poster of Fourth Doctor Tom Baker on his bedroom wall throughout the audition process. When his arrival was announced to the press, he had to decide whether to come clean as a fan. “If you don’t, you have to sort of pretend all the time,” he explains. “I decided very early on that I’d be open about it. I was quite willing to admit that I read the Target books and had always watched the show – that it was my favourite show.”
MEET THY BAKER
Today, cast members are trained in how to deal with press and public
