Bob Baker (1939 - 2021)

It has been reported that writer Bob Baker has died. Best known to the wider world for writing the Wallace and Gromit stories, to Doctor Who fans he's the co-creator (with Dave Martin) of K9.

He and Martin wrote a number of stories, starting with The Claws of Axos in 1971. This was followed by The Mutants (1972), The Three Doctors (1973), The Sontaran Experiment (1975), The Hand of Fear (1976), The Invisible Enemy (1977), Underworld (1978) and The Armageddon Factor (1979). After Martin left the writing partnership to concentrate on plays and novels, Baker contributed one further story - Nightmare of Eden (1979).

Known as the Bristol Boys, as they lived just outside that city, Baker and Martin first came into contact with the Doctor Who production office when a comedy script they had written crossed the desk of Terrance Dicks. This was a National Service piece, based on the exploits of their friend Keith Floyd, who would later find fame as a TV chef.

Dicks decided to nurture the pair. The Claws of Axos was originally quite impossible to realise on screen - with giant skull-shaped spaceships landing in the middle of Hyde Park, and walking carrot creatures. The idea of the Axons appearing like perfect human beings came from Baker's time in advertising. 

The Hand of Fear was going to be a six-parter, designed to close Season 13, but again had to be reined in. It eventually arrived as a four-parter in Season 14, where it wrote out Sarah Jane Smith.

K9 was originally only going to feature in The Invisible Enemy, but the producer, Graham Williams, and script editor, Robert Holmes, decided to retain the character as it would go down well with children.

When John Nathan-Turner took over as producer, he had a policy of not employing writers who had been used before. Baker and Martin weren't even invited to write the K9 spin-off.

When the series returned in 2005, Baker contacted Russell T Davies to express an interest in writing for the new series, but did not receive any response. 

K9 was brought into the new series in School Reunion, as it had earlier come into the possession of Sarah Jane Smith. It then featured regularly in The Sarah Jane Adventures - but only after the separate Australian-made K9 TV series had failed to win a second season.

Baker continued to attempt K9 relaunches - including a movie which would also have featured Omega - but nothing came of these.

Outside of Doctor Who, Baker and Martin contributed scripts to Taggart, Shoestring, Target and Bergerac, as well as creating their own shows Sky and King of the Castle.

Baker appeared on many of his stories when they arrived on DVD - in the documentaries or on the commentaries. Season 17 is about to be released as a Blu-ray box set - and the big interview on the set is with Baker. It will make for poignant viewing following today's news.

RIP.