Bob Baker interview and Spaces of Television panel at ‘Childhood and the Media’ conference at Leicester, 18 July

'Doctor Who: The Three Doctors: Episode 1' (BBC1, 30 December 1972 w. Bob Baker & Dave Martin)

‘Doctor Who: The Three Doctors: Episode 1’ (BBC1, 30 December 1972 w. Bob Baker & Dave Martin)

Professor James Chapman, co-investigator for the Spaces of Television project, will interview television writer, Bob Baker, as part of the programme for this year’s International Association for Media and History conference which runs from the 17th to the 20th July at the University of Leicester. Bob is perhaps best-known for his collaborative work with Dave Martin on Doctor Who (BBC, 1963-89, 1996, 2005-). Known as the Bristol Boys, Baker and Martin wrote such pivotal Doctor Who serials as ‘The Claws of Axos’ (1971), ‘The Three Doctors’ (1972-3) and ‘The Hand of Fear’ (1976). However, Bob is also a significant figure in his own right within British children’s drama, as a writer, creator and producer of some of the best-known children’s drama serials of the 1970s and 80s.

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Dave Martin & Bob Baker

Professor Chapman will talk to Bob about his many years in British children’s television and look back at the powerful and memorable canon of ITV children’s drama he helped to develop, including such programmes as Sky (HTV, 1975), King of the Castle (HTV, 1977), Follow Me (HTV, 1977) and Into the Labyrinth (HTV, 1981-2) as well as his work and on-going influence on the Doctor Who franchise . This interview is scheduled to take place at 4.00pm on Thursday and will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience.

 Bob’s autobiography, K9 Stole My Trousers!, has recently been published by Fantom Films Ltd and is available through Amazon. 

On the same day, at 14:00-15:30, the Spaces of Television project will also present a IAMHIST conference panel on ‘British Children’s Television Drama’, comprising the following papers:

Jonathan Bignell (

Department of Film, Theatre & Television, University of Reading) ‘

Taking Puppets Seriously: Gerry Anderson’s 1960s Children’s TV Series’

James Chapman (Department of the History of Art & Film, University of Leicester) ‘HTV and Arthur of the Britons: reviving the swashbuckler in the early 1970s

Victoria Byard (Department of the History of Art & Film, University of Leicester) ‘He’s my son, and he’s the centre of my universe’: motherhood and adaptation in The Sarah Jane Adventures

 The conference programme and booking details can be found here:  http://iamhist.org/2013/04/provisional-programme-childhood-media-xxvth-iamhist-conference-childhood-media-university-leicester-uk-17-20-july-2013/

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2 Responses to Bob Baker interview and Spaces of Television panel at ‘Childhood and the Media’ conference at Leicester, 18 July

  1. Joya Ghose says:

    As a fan of “Arthur of the Britons” who has been researching the series, I would very much like to get in contact with Bob Baker, to ask him a few questions. Bob, if you are reading this, please contact me at: michaelgothard.archive@gmail.com

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