To date Colin is only one of two actors to have played The Doctor who has previously played a role in the TV series (the other being current Doctor Peter Capaldi)..

Colin's association with Doctor Who began in 1983 when he played Commander Maxil, a Gallifreyan guard who shoots the fifth Doctor, playing opposite Peter Davison in "Arc Of Infinity".

Colin made a big impression on his fellow cast and the producer of the programme, and little did Colin himself know that circumstance would put him in the drivers seat in a few short months.

Colin was cast as the sixth BBC Doctor Who by producer John Nathan-Turner in late 1983. It was to be a role that would make Colin's face recognisable all over the world.

During the three years that he was The Doctor, Colin battled Cybermen, Daleks, Sontarans, Sil and even Kate O'Mara. His interpretation of the Time Lord was brash, loud, opinionated and didn't suffer fools gladly. (Wonder why JNT thought of Colin ?)

Colin's tenure turned out to be the most turbulent period in the programmes long history, with an 18 month hiatus followed by Michael Grade instructing that Colin be replaced as the Doctor after only two seasons on screen.

However, during his short stay on television the sixth Doctor gathered many admirers, and fans around the world were upset at Colin's treatment by the BBC, feeling that he had been made a scapegoat for the show's troubles.

Much to his credit Colin never turned his back on Doctor Who and reprised the role on stage in 1989 during the tour of "Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure" and on television during the 1993 Children In Need sketch "Dimensions In Time".

Colin has been a regular, and much in demand, guest at Doctor Who conventions around the world. Indeed in 2002 Colin returned as the Doctor in a special BBCi broadcast entitled "Real Time" by Gary Russell which saw the sixth Doctor and Evelyn battling the Cybermen.

We would need a TARDIS to know if Colin will ever play the role again on television in a guest appearance, but we certainly hope we have not seen the last of the amazing multi-coloured techno timecoat.

Colin continues to play The Sixth Doctor in the growing range of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish Productions. Click HERE to go to the Official Big Finish website.

CLICK ON THE TITLES BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COLIN'S APPEARANCES AS THE SIXTH DOCTOR