There are doctors, but there's only one Doctor

No need for a show of hands. No need for you old 'uns to lecture us about William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton, nor you young 'uns to espouse the virtues of David Tennant, Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi. Tom was and is the Doc. Period.

As for 'The Others'. Wah, wah, wahhrrr. Like unrisen soufflés, you can forget about them.

It became impossible to take Jon Pertwee seriously after he transmogrified into Worzel Gummidge – a scarecrow lusting after Una Stubbs was wrong on so many levels. Peter Davison always felt like a Blue Peter presenter, rather than a time-travelling Time Lord. And wasn't Peter really a vet, anyway? Or am I confusing fiction and reality. "A vet or doctor – whaddaya want to be, man? Tell us, tell us, tell us."

Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy represented the Doc's lean years – McCoy was more like Daffy Duck than a Doctor who might save the world from invading space monsters with rubber-cupped-sticks-on-their-aluminium-noses.

Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant were serious Docs, worthy of following in Tom's footsteps. They were top drawer actors with an abundance of talent. But none matched the charisma of the be-scarfed, trilby-wearing, curly-haired smiler, Tom Baker.

Tom's still rocking. And in true reality-defying, sci-fi fashion, he's still actually the Doc. In Tom's world, Peter Capaldi is an impudent 12th generation imposter, masquerading as the Time Lord. Tom still records Dr Who audio books, transforming back to the Doc at the flick of curl.

Back in the day, Tom used to hang out with resident Midlands celeb, Boycie, from Only Fools and Horses. They starred alongside one another in an episode called The Seeds of Doom. Tom successfully fought krynoids while Boycie took his chances with a lake-dwelling, man-eating plant and came off second best. He never touched salad again.

In between shoots, Tom and Boycie entertained each other by doing impressions. The one that Tom liked most involved Boycie pretending to be James Stewart.

Fast forward a few years and Tom and Boycie met up in Soho. By then, they were two of the most instantly recognisable actors in the UK. Tom was synonymous with the Doctor and Boycie had become a household name.

As they walked near Denmark Street, Tom asked Boycie to do his James Stewart impression. "Go on, do it for me one more time." Boycie obliged, putting on his best James Stewart accent and recounting lines from The Flight of the Phoenix as they strolled among the cafés.

As he did, an unsuspecting punter walked past. He looked once, looked twice, then tripped over a kerb and fell flat on his face.

Boycie ran to his aid. "You alright mate?" he said, as he extended a hand to lift him from the kerb.

The punter looked at him, straight in the eye.

"Blimey," he said. "Boycie, doing James Stewart while talking to Doctor Who . . . How often do you see that?"

Tom still remembers the incident. He met Boycie earlier this year to record new Doctor Who audio books. "You still doing that impression?" he said. "The James Stewart one?"

Boycie nodded. But decided not to repeat it while walking through Soho.