Now, with the launch of his official website,
actor Tom Baker, who lives near Rye,
has found, as he puts it, "a home
in a new universe".
The World Wide Web to be precise.
He spoke to The Observer about it –
and happily chatted about a few
other subjects along the way.

One thing needs to be made clear
from the outset -
www.tom-baker.co.uk
is the one and only official site
dedicated to Tom Baker.

Accept no others, despite what they may claim.
For, such is his popularity, pretenders
to the throne have, possibly not surprisingly,
sprung up along the way – none of them
has been endorsed by him.

"This is the only one," says
the 75-year-old emphatically with
that distinctive, rich, deep voice.
"A lot of people have said they have got
the official site but they haven't."

Certainly, the others could not
hope to contain the wealth of
material that Baker's extensive site
has. It's all there:
a biography telling his life from
the day he entered this world
in Liverpool in 1934, to getting the
job of the Doctor while working
on a building site in 1974, to what
he's up to nowadays. And it's
definitely been an eventful life -
including spending six years
in a monastery.

The site also boasts an extensive
and informative list detailing many of
Baker's performances on stage and
on screen, plus photo galleries
with rare pictures, videos, a newsletter
that he'll be updating
periodically, an in-depth look
at his time on Doctor Who, and a
guestbook for visitors to sign.
It took six months to put together,
with the painstaking work done by
his wife, Sue.

"She's done an incredible job,"he says proudly,
adding touchingly: "Everything
in my life over the past 30 years
Sue has made amazing."

Among the work needed to be done was
obtaining clearances for pictures,
and as more clearances are obtained,
more photos will go on the site –
including a delightful one of
Baker clad in white ballet tights
and tutu, dancing with Hitchhiker's
Guide To The Galaxy author Douglas Adams.

It was taken in 1990 during filming of
the fantasy documentary Hyperland,
written by Adams and starring Baker.
"The fans would love to see that photo,
I'm sure!" he laughs.

Relishing his past – "Being an old
Doctor Who has its social advantages.
I'm licensed to offer jelly babies!"
– he is nevertheless fascinated by
current developments,such as allowing
product placement on British commercial TV.

"That's really going to change things.
Did you see The Truman Show? Wasn't that a
wonderful film? Always taking
him by the elbow and moving him into ads."

Baker, who moved to East Sussex
with his wife in August 2007,
is keen on using his website to
interact with his multitude of fans.
"The internet has made things
so much easier for things like that,"
he says, marvelling at its potential.

"I can talk about the people
I'm seeing, the books I'm reading,
and people who get in touch with me
will be giving me ideas for
my newsletter."

He's also looking forward to
visitors' comments
about the site – and the fact that
after 28 years he has returned
to the role of the Time Lord in a
bona fide Doctor Who adventure,
albeit on audio as opposed to TV.

Hornets' Nest comprises five one-hour
episodes and co-stars Rula Lenska, Susan Jameson
and Richard Franklin, with each part being
released by BBC Audiobooks between now and December.
"The fans are very excited about the fact I'm back as
the Doctor," says Baker enthusiastically,
obviously pleased to be back in the role himself.

He was up in London last week to publicise
Hornets' Nest at a signing at
a shop in The Strand, where he was joined by
Rula Lenska and Mary Tamm, who played the first
incarnation of Romana – the Time Lady
who accompanied Baker on his travels as
the Doctor.

"It was great fun. They were breaking into song
every now and again, including a Vera Lynn number,
much to the delight of the fans." Mention of Lynn –
another East Sussex resident – prompts a tribute to both her
and her feat this week of becoming the oldest living artist to get
to number one in the UK album charts at the age of 92.

"It's absolutely incredible.
She's a great, great icon –
the greatest surviving icon of the
Second World War after the Queen Mother."

And what of living in East Sussex,
having opted for the tranquillity of
country living? "I love it here,"
enthuses Baker. "
Sue has turned our home into
an absolute paradise.
To me at my advanced age I may have
lost my religious faith
but I'm already in paradise and yet
I'm also corporeal. It's wonderful."
Indeed, as a self-confessed fan of bonfires,
he may well
be spotted in the woods collecting bracken
while walking their dog.

Mention of his loss of faith reminds
Baker of a liberty taken
recently by a producer who wanted to
cast him in a three-hander,
filming in Barcelona, with Baker playing
God – and who thought
he would be happy to accept the role
despite not being sent a script.
"It was outrageous! I mean, I might
like to play the Devil –
or as a challenging part the Virgin Mary!"

Certainly, Baker has earned the right
to be able to choose what work
he does. For the time being,
he will be concentrating
on commercials up in London.
However, acting isn't his only skill.
He wrote the globally popular
horror-fantasy novel
The Boy Who Kicked Pigs,
and his autobiography,
Who On Earth Is Tom Baker?,
was published by Harper Collins.

"I'm in regular contact with a literary
agent and I keep being asked to write
something," he says. "But I don't need
to write a book.
Now I have a website I can talk to the fans.
Fan love, unlike human love, is enduring.
It's terribly, terribly agreeable."

The capital isn't a place he'd choose
to venture into for an evening's
entertainment, though. "Nothing
would get me to go up to London for that.
It's absolute hell to get there and back
for a meal and a show, what with
the brutes and the lack of security –
it makes you very anxious.

I'm not going to risk my life to take people
up for dinner and drinks and a show."
He pauses, then - as another thought strikes -
adds in a reassuringly jovial tone:
"You're pretty safe with matinees!"

Exit to laughter.
That's Tom Baker – philosophical and
entertaining all at the same time.
And undoubtedly a national treasure.