When the legendary portrayer of Doctor Who Tom Baker left the role at the end of 1981, the producers had an extremely difficult job trying to decide on a replacement. Tom Baker had held the job for seven full series over seven years, by far the longest that any one man had held the role.

Many of the show's younger viewers would have seen no one else but Tom Baker in that role, and they, as well as the rest of the loyal fans who had become so accustomed to Baker, would need to come to accept and appreciate the new man, and his abilities .

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The man chosen by the producers to step into the giant's shoes was Peter Davison. Davison was a well known actor in Great Britain, having become a household name by playing Tristan Farnon in the hugely popular veterinarian series All Creatures Great And Small, set in North Yorkshire. Tristan Farnon was the younger brother of Siegfried Farnon, the elder vet with whom James Herriott, the author of the book on which the TV series was based, had come to practice.

Davison had also made appearances in TV comedy, and at that time was appearing in a series called 'Sink or Swim'.
Peter Davison as Doctor Who was a completely different animal from tom Baker, and even Jon Pertwee. Whereas they would attack problems head on with aggression, Davison's style was far more that of the diplomat. The Davison incarnation had a far more logical, scientific mind, and method of approaching problems than did the Tom Baker version, and Davison also brought his own brand of youthful enthusiasm to the role.

At 29 Davison was, and still remains the youngest actor to be approached for the Doctor Who role. Of course a whole new range of enemies was brought into the series for Davison to deal with, but some traditional foes also resurfaced, such as the Cybermen and the ever popular Daleks.

Peter Davison, being a top name actor already, was a great catch for the producers of Doctor Who. He remains extremely popular with fans of the series, despite having been gone from it for over twenty years. It has always been believed that Patrick Troughton, the second actor to play Doctor Who in the mid to late sixties, advised Davison to quit the show after his third series, as he had done himself, in order to avoid being typecast in the role.

Davison did indeed quit after his third series. The series remains incredibly popular, and can now be enjoyed at leisure by new generations on DVD or home video. Now there is even a range of Doctor Who Audiobooks, which even contains some of the episodes lost in television form.

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