In early January 1974, Baker wrote a letter to Bill Slater, by then the BBC's Head of Serials, looking for work. Reminded of the actor, Slater recommended Baker to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, who at the time was looking for a successor to Third Doctor Jon Pertwee. Letts was impressed by Baker upon meeting him and, after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, became convinced he was right for the part. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. When he first took on the role, the media dubbed him "Boiler Suit Tom" because he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio-set clothes to replace his modest garments.TOM BAKER TRIVIA, Retrieved 20 November 2013 Baker told the Daily Express that his friends teased him that "the BBC scoured London to come up with the only middle-aged-ten-year-old in the business."Haining, Peter. Doctor Who: The Key to Time. A Year-by-Year Record. London: W. H. Allen, 1984, 142. Letts left the series after producing Baker's debut story, Robot (1974–1975), and was replaced by Philip Hinchcliffe. Under Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, the series gained a "Gothic tone" influenced by Hammer Film Productions and, according to Hinchcliffe, was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience".
In early January 1974, Baker wrote a letter to Bill Slater, by then the BBC's Head of Serials, looking for work. Reminded of the actor, Slater recommended Baker to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, who at the time was looking for a successor to Third Doctor Jon Pertwee. Letts was impressed by Baker upon meeting him and, after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, became convinced he was right for the part. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. When he first took on the role, the media dubbed him "Boiler Suit Tom" because he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio-set clothes to replace his modest garments.TOM BAKER TRIVIA, Retrieved 20 November 2013 Baker told the Daily Express that his friends teased him that "the BBC scoured London to come up with the only middle-aged-ten-year-old in the business."Haining, Peter. Doctor Who: The Key to Time A Year-by-Year Record. London: W. H. Allen, 1984, 142. Letts left the series after producing Baker's debut story, Robot (1974–1975), and was replaced by Philip Hinchcliffe. Under Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, the series gained a "Gothic tone" influenced by Hammer Film Productions and, according to Hinchcliffe, was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience".