Years before being cast as the world-famous Fourth Doctor on Doctor Who, Tom Baker came close to making a name for himself in a much different way. In 1960, Baker married Anna Wheatcroft, whose wealthy parents constantly made him feel inadequate (Baker had grown up in poverty). When Anna’s father, Alfred, suffered a stroke, the family asked Baker to take care of him. “This monster who hated me suddenly became dependent on me,” Baker recalled in 1997. “I found the whole experience so draining and I felt completely isolated and alone.”
The stress of the situation led to suicidal thoughts, and Baker eventually decided to swallow 24 of his father-in-law’s anti-depressants. Half an hour later, Baker awoke to the sound of Alfred banging his walking stick on the floor. “When I realized I wasn’t dead, it felt like I was trapped inside some black farce,” Baker explained. He even remembered feeling envious when Alfred died.
The Time ‘Doctor Who’ Star Tom Baker Threw 10 Sharpened Hoes at His Mother-in-Law
Following Alfred’s death, Baker took a job growing roses for Anna’s family. One day, while working in the fields, Baker heard his mother-in-law, Constance, ordering around a couple of his fellow employees. She then turned her attention to him and said, “Come on, there’s work for you, too.” Constance’s commands finally caused Baker to snap and he shouted back at her, but his anger only served to make her laugh.
It was at that point that Baker reached for one of the 10 newly sharpened hoes he had in the back seat of his car and chucked it at Constance. She managed to avoid getting hit and continued to insult Baker in response. One by one, Baker hurled the remaining hoes at his mother-in-law in a rage, somehow missing her with each of them. “When she started to mock me, I really wanted to get her and absolutely intended to murder her,” Baker admitted, “When I failed in that attempt, I went to pieces.”
Baker’s marriage to Anna fell apart after that, and the couple divorced in 1965. He made his way to London to pursue acting from there, and soon landed the role of the Fourth Doctor, whom he played for seven seasons between 1974 and 1981.
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