Colin Baker, who played the Sixth incarnation of The Doctor on Doctor Who, was famously fired from the part. Despite this, and the reasons why it happened being largely muddled, Baker has remained proud of his time as The Doctor and done more than any other actor to hold the role to promote the show's legacy.
Colin Baker was cast as The Doctor in 1984, following the departure of Peter Davison. Baker was intended to play a new sort of Doctor; a sinister schemer who would stand in stark contrast to the lovable and emotionally available older-brother figure that Davison's Fifth Doctor had been to his companions. This darker persona was incongruously paired with a new colorful costume for the Doctor, which featured garments that did not so much clash as they waged thermonuclear war. The fan displeasure over the changes was almost immediate, and not helped by a controversial first appearance during which he attempted to strangle his companion Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant), in what has widely become regarded as one of the worst Doctor Who episodes in history.
Officially, negative fan reaction was cited as the reason Colin Baker was let go from the show, despite none of these complaints ultimately being his fault. He played no role in deg the costumes and indeed suggested something with dark colors might be more appropriate to his character. He had nothing to do with the writing of his character, who came off as acerbic and hateful. Reportedly the intent was that the Sixth Doctor would soften over time and ultimately be revealed to be the same heroic figure he had always been, but with a sharper edge to his core. Unfortunately, this failed to occur during Baker's first season and the 18-month hiatus which followed did little to calm the fandom's complaints. Baker was sacked after the season-long Trial of a Time Lord storyline and refused to return to film a regeneration scene to set up the Seventh Doctor.
Since that time, it has been revealed that Baker was caught in the crossfire of various behind-the-scenes dramas at the BBC. Producer John Nathan-Turner, who had spear-headed the concept of a darker Doctor, had ruffled the feathers of many executives at the BBC, who decided that losing Doctor Who would be a small price to pay to be rid of Nathan-Turner. This resulted in slashed budgets and a new time-slot, which pitted Doctor Who against the popular series Coronation Street. This likely had more to do with why Doctor Who's ratings dropped than any fan reaction to Baker's performance as the Sixth Doctor.
Another problem that didn't help matters was that Michael Grade, who became Controller of the BBC in 1984, hated Doctor Who. Grade dismissed the show as "outdated," claiming it had become too violent for its intended family audience and was now "a little show for a few pointy head Doctor Who fans." Grade also singled out Baker as part of the reason why the show's ratings were falling, calling him "utterly unlikeable; absolutely God-awful in fact!" However, some believe Grade made have had ulterior motives in seeking to undermine Baker and Doctor Who, as he may have become romantically involved with Colin Baker's ex-wife, actress Lisa Goddard. While Grade claimed to only be a close friend of Goddard, former Doctor Who Production Assistant Gary Downie confirmed that Grade had a grudge against Baker and "did not want Colin working for the BBC," in a interview in Doctor Who Magazine #338.
However it came to , Colin Baker's enthusiasm for his most famous role remains undiminished. He continues to play the Sixth Doctor as part of Big Finish's line of Doctor Who audio plays and was the first actor who played The Doctor to have his own Doctor Who fiction published. Baker was also voted as the most popular of the Big Finish Doctors in a fan poll; ironic considering he often joked that he was everyone's eighth most favorite Doctor, back in the days when there were only seven Doctors. It would seem that despite being fired from Doctor Who, Baker got the last laugh in the end.