Doctor Who: K9 went 'haywire' during filming, says voice actor

John Leeson said he gelled with Tom Baker's Doctor

The actor behind Doctor Who's K9 has said he feared the much-loved character would be axed from the show because the remote control model was difficult to control.

The robot dog became a Doctor Who fan favourite after first appearing on screen with Tom Baker in 1977.

However John Leeson, who voiced K9, said he was concerned technical difficulties would cost him the role.

The 80-year-old actor said: "K9 was very difficult to control."

K9 first appeared on screen in 1977

Speaking to BBC Leicester on the 60th anniversary of the cult science fiction show, Mr Leeson said: "He was on the same frequency as the television cameras.

"He just went all over the place and all over the shop. I thought that's it, no more K9. He's just too expensive to control."

However Mr Leeson said his concerns faded when he saw how Tom Baker reacted to his new companion.

"One might have thought Tom would take umbrage at having an animal-shaped thing or a robot to upstage him," Mr Leeson said.

"But when he saw the potential that lay in K9 he warmed to him.

"Tom and I are total ends of the spectrum but we gelled very well.

"The relationship we had was instant - really great."

Mr Leeson admitted he was not a "particular fan" of Doctor Who before getting the role

He went on to reprise the K9 role opposite David Tennant's Doctor and in spin-off shows K9, The Sarah Jane Adventures and K-9 and Company.

Asked where K9's voice had come from, Mr Leeson said: "I haven't a clue where the voice of K9 came from. It just did.

"It was slightly patronising, sort of "I know more than you."

Mr Leeson grew up a vicar's son in Leicester performing early roles at the city's Little Theatre before training with RADA.

He said he was offered the K9 role "out of the blue".

He said: "I don't think I was a particular fan of Doctor Who but it was interesting enough, to say the least.

"The phone rang - "John, we're the BBC here, would you be interested."

"I stood up at that point."

'Lasting popularity'

Mr Leeson, who now lives in London, said he was not originally shown the K9 model when he arrived for rehearsals.

He said: "They told me 'I can't show you K9 because he's still in the workshop.'

"K9 didn't appear and didn't appear and didn't appear and I found myself playing him, as an actor, running around on all fours being K9.

"That turned out to be an advantage because we were able to have eye contact [between actors]."

Mr Leeson said he had travelled the world meeting Doctor Who fans, known as Whovians, since playing K9 and said he was not surprised by the show's lasting popularity.

"Doctor Who has just taped into the imagination of people. It has a universal appeal and a controversial appeal, he said.

"Fans can argue about it - name their favourites and what they don't like."

Doctor Who: The Star Beast is on BBC One on Saturday 25 November at 18:30 GMT.