Bob Baker (scriptwriter)

Bob Baker
Born	Robert John Baker 26 July 1939 Bristol, England
Occupation	Screenwriter and television writer
Period	1971–2010
Genre	Comedy, drama, science fiction

Robert John "Bob" Baker (born 26 July 1939) is a British television and film writer. He is best known as the co-author (with Nick Park) of the Wallace and Gromit films The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and A Matter of Loaf and Death (in which a character (Baker Bob) is named after him).

Career

Baker wrote for Doctor Who between 1971 and 1979. For all but the last of his contributions to this series (Nightmare of Eden), Baker collaborated with Dave Martin on numerous scripts including:

• The Claws of Axos (1971)^[1]
• The Mutants (1972)^[2]
• The Three Doctors (1972-1973)^[1]
• The Sontaran Experiment (1975)^[3]
• The Hand of Fear (1976)^[1]
• The Invisible Enemy (1977)^[4]
• Underworld (1978)
• The Armageddon Factor (1979)

Together, they were nicknamed "The Bristol Boys" by the Doctor Who production teams with whom they worked.^[5]

Baker and Martin devised for Doctor Who the robotic dog K-9 (created for The Invisible Enemy), the renegade Time Lord Omega (created for The Three Doctors, Doctor Who's 10th anniversary story) and the Axons. K-9 was originally intended to appear in one story only, but the BBC decided to make it a recurring character.^[4] Several of Baker's stories had elements of hard science not often found in Doctor Who, even though they've also been criticised for scientific inaccuracy. Together with Martin, they also created fantasy television serials for children including Sky (1975).

Baker's other contributions to British television include Vision On animation with Laurie Booth, scripts for episodes of Shoestring and Bergerac. On 16 March 2006, it was reported in the free newspaper Metro that he was working on a new series featuring Doctor Who's mobile robot, K-9. This series, created in Australia, aired in the UK and worldwide in 2009 and 2010.

Baker revealed on the DVD commentary for Nightmare of Eden that he contacted Russell T Davies about the possibility of writing for the 2005 revival of Doctor Who but was told in no uncertain terms that writers from the original series were not wanted. As of 2012, Baker along with Terrance Dicks and actor/writer Trevor Ray are the only surviving Doctor Who scriptwriters from the Third Doctor era.

In 2013 Baker wrote his autobiography entitled K9 Stole My Trousers' 'with help from Laurie Booth.^[1]

Baker currently resides in , 2 Witcombe Cottages Uplands Rd Stroud Gloucestershire.

Writing credits

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
The Wrong Trousers	Short film (co-written with Nick Park, 1993)	N/A
A Close Shave	Short film (co-written with Nick Park, 1995)	N/A
Kipper	"The Umbrella" (1997)	ITV
The Mysti Show	"Episode #1.12" (2004)	BBC One
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit	Feature film (2005)	N/A
A Matter of Loaf and Death	Short film (co-written with Nick Park, 2008)	N/A
K9	"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

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Category	Result	Reference
2006	British Academy Television Awards	The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (shared with Claire Jennings, David Sproxton, Nick Park, Steve Box, and Mark Burton)	Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film	Won
	Hugo Award	The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (shared with Nick Park, Steve Box, and Mark Burton)	Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form	Nominated
2009	British Academy Television Awards	A Matter of Loaf and Death (shared with Nick Park and Steve Pegram)	Best Short Animation	Won
	Broadcasting Press Guild Awards		Best Comedy/Entertainment	Nominated

References

1. Southall, J. R. "Interview: Bob Baker". Starburst. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
2. "Bob Baker (1990's)". Dr Who Interviews. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
3. "The Sontaran Experiment". BBC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
4. "Interview: Bob Baker". Sci-Fi Bulletin. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
5. "About Bob". Bob Baker tv. Retrieved 9 December 2015.

Bibliography

• "Glam Gloucester Gromit writer". Metro. 2006-03-16. Retrieved 2006-03-18.

External links

• Official website
• Bob Baker at the Internet Movie Database