Bob Baker obit

Doctor Who writer and K9 co-creator Bob Baker dies, aged 82

The sad news was confirmed on Friday. 

He was not on the list.

Bob Baker, Doctor Who writer and co-creator of robotic canine K9, has died aged 82.

K9official's Twitter account posted the news today (5th November) alongside a statement.

"Bob was a prolific Film and Television writer," it reads. "Alongside his late writing partner, Dave Martin, they were stalwarts of children's Television in the 1970s, with a well-earned reputation for bizarre and spine-tingling adventure. They wrote many of what have become to be regarded by fans worldwide as true classic BBC TV Doctor Who stories; creating many well-remembered enemies for the time lord during the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker years."

As well as being responsible for a wealth of fan favourite Doctor Who stories, Baker and his partner Martin were also the minds behind the Doctor's robot dog companion, K9, who made his first appearance in The Invisible Enemy.

The official Doctor Who Twitter account also posted a tribute to the writer, saying: "We’re sad to hear that Bob Baker has passed away, who wrote many of the Doctor's adventures, and was the co-creator of K9."

In addition to their work for Doctor Who, Baker and Martin also wrote cult TV series SKY and King of the Castle. He went on to work on the Wallace & Gromit films alongside creator Nick Park.

Fellow Doctor Who writer Eddie Robson paid tribute to Baker on Twitter, writing: "RIP Bob Baker, who once wrote his own murder into a Wallace & Gromit film."

Robson also shared two pictures of said scene, with Baker himself in classic Aardman style.

Before he became a writer, Baker was a monumental stonemason and an animator. He also wrote an autobiography, K9 Stole My Trousers, which takes a look at his more than five-decades-long career in entertainment.

Later in life, Baker also set up a production company which "created a new audience for K9 with a TV series shown worldwide via Disney, Cartoon Network and BBC Kids".

Baker had recently written scripts for a new K9 film and TV series which will "continue in tribute to Bob and his legacy".

 

Writing credits

Television

Production            Notes            Broadcaster

Doctor Who            38 episodes (1971–1979):

"The Claws of Axos" (1971)

"The Mutants" (1972)

"The Three Doctors" (1972–1973)

"The Sontaran Experiment" (1975)

"The Hand of Fear" (1976)

"The Invisible Enemy" (1977)

"Underworld" (1978)

"The Armageddon Factor" (1979)

"Nightmare of Eden" (1979)

BBC1

Thick as Thieves            Television film (1971)            ITV

Pretenders            "The Last Battle" (1972)

"Prizemen" (1972)  ITV

Arthur of the Britons "People of the Plough" (1973)  ITV

Late Night Drama  "Item" (1974)  ITV

Z-Cars "Quiet as the Grave" (1974)

"House to House" (1974)            BBC1

Hunter's Walk            "Villain" (1974)

"Kicking & Screaming" (1976)  ITV

Public Eye            "Lifer" (1975)  ITV

Sky      7 episodes (co-written with Dave Martin, 1975)   ITV

Machinegunner            Television film (1976)            ITV

King of the Castle   7 episodes (co-written with Dave Martin, 1977)   ITV

Follow Me            Television miniseries (1977)  ITV

Cottage to Let            "The Last Day" (1977)  ITV

Scorpion Tales            "Killing" (1978)  ITV

Target  "Big Elephant" (1977)

"Hunting Parties" (1977)

"Carve Up" (1977)

"Rogue's Gallery" (1978)            BBC1

Murder at the Wedding            Television miniseries (1979)  ITV

Shoestring            "Knock for Knock" (1979)  BBC1

ITV Playhouse            "Rat Trap" (1979)            ITV

Into the Labyrinth            15 episodes (1981–1982)            ITV

Jangles "Getting It Together" (1982)  ITV

Bergerac            "Unlucky Dip" (1981)

"The Moonlight Girls" (1983)            BBC1

Function Room            Television miniseries (script editor, 1985)   ITV

Call Me Mister            "The Creative Accountant" (1986)  BBC1

Succubus            Television film (1987)            ITV

The Jazz Detective            Television film (1992)            ITV

Kipper "The Umbrella" (1997)  ITV

The Mysti Show            "Episode #1.12" (2004)  BBC One

K-9      "Mind Snap" (co written with Paul Tams, 2010)

"Angel of the North" (2010)            Channel Five

Network Ten

Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention            6 episodes (2010)  BBC One

Short films

Year     Title            Notes

1993    The Wrong Trousers            Co-written with Nick Park

1995    A Close Shave            Co-written with Nick Park

2008    A Matter of Loaf and Death            Co-written with Nick Park

Feature films

Year     Title            Notes

2005            Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit  Co-written with Steve Box, Nick Park and Mark Burton

Books

Year     Title            Notes

2013    K9 Stole My Trousers!            Autobiography

2015    The Essential Book of K9   Co-written with Paul M. Tams