Doctor Who icon Tom Baker celebrates 91st birthday with TARDIS cake

Baker was pictured grinning as he stood behind a cake decorated like the TARDIS, with a mini cutout of himself as the Fourth Doctor and the number '91' on top.

The sweet photo was shared by Cygnus Alpha Events, who captioned the snap: "We have just been asked by Tom's friends and family to share this picture of Tom Baker MBE with his birthday cake.

"Tom thanks everyone for [their] warm wishes and kind words. The cake was lovely and was bigger on the inside!"

It's been a special few weeks for Baker, who was honoured with an MBE earlier this month. Last month also marked the 50th anniversary of his first full Doctor Who serial, Robot.

Baker's run as the Fourth Doctor, from 1974 to 1981, has gone down in history as a golden age of the show.

In 2023, he sat down with Radio Times to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, during which he was asked about any advice for his successor, Ncuti Gatwa, who plays the current incarnation of the Doctor.

"Knowing anything is a bit dangerous when you play Doctor Who," he said. "It’s better to know nothing. And to be good-natured. The trick is to respond generously to other actors, which halves your task because you don’t have to be driving it all the time."

As for any reunions with his fellow Doctors? "I avoid them, you know. Not with any malice. A degree of contempt, perhaps. But mildly. Mildly contemptuous."

He added: "Nobody failed as Doctor Who, did they? Well, we mustn’t be ungenerous to anyone. But certainly I didn’t."

Radio Times' free digital bookazine, Tom Baker: 50 Years in Time and Space, is available now.

Doctor Who will return in May 2025. Previous seasons are available to watch on iPlayer.

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