John Leeson has talked about the uncertainty he experienced while voicing Fourth Doctor robotic companion, K9, in Doctor Who.
It seems he wasn’t promised anything beyond K9’s initial appearance in The Invisible Enemy back in 1977. He says:
“The phone went one day and it was my agent saying, ‘John, I’ve just heard from the BBC, and they want to know if you’d be interested in playing not just one but two parts on BBC television?’ So I, of course, I screamed, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ And the guy at the other end said, ‘Well, no, no, no, no. Hold on a bit. Hold on a bit. They’re only voice parts, and besides which, they’re only going to be used in one programme.’ So I thought, ‘Well, it’s worth doing at least.’ But my chap at the other end said, ‘There’s nothing else going on, so you might as well take them up.’”
Then, on set, he figured that the actual K9 prop was too difficult to work with, so the role wouldn’t last. He reflects:
“It was not for me to actually operate K9. Mat Irvine was responsible for the operation, the physical operation of K9. I was simply there to provide the voice, and K9 himself was a sort of a power of his own when it came to moving around. I thought to myself, ‘Well, obviously, K9 is pretty difficult to deal with. So he may not last very long in the series,’ because studio time is very expensive, you know. So I thought to myself, ‘My days as K9 will be numbered.’
“That was in 1977. But the most extraordinary thing is that I was told under no circumstances would there be anything after the first episode has been shot and is in the can. So don’t expect too much. And here I am [now] still attached to Doctor Who.”
Co-created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, K9 appeared alongside Tom Baker’s Doctor, plus companions, Leela (Louise Jameson) and both TV incarnations of Romana (Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward), before leaving with the latter in Warriors’ Gate. He then came back for appearances in the Tenth Doctor era, beginning with School Reunion, and spin-offs, The Sarah Jane Adventures, K9 & Company, and K9.
And Leeson continues to play the voice of K9 for audio company, Big Finish!
Aside from playing the robot dog, Leeson played Dugeen in The Power of Kroll. Though Baker apparently hated K9, he got on famously with Leeson, so that, perhaps, is the key to K9’s lasting power.
