Peter Davison has spoken more on his time in the role as the Doctor. Asked by the Radio Times whether Doctor Who had made him a sex symbol, Peter had the following to say
“I’m not sure if I wasn’t a gay icon, actually, when I first did Doctor Who I used to sit there in the make-up chair and I would not really be thinking, I’d be too busy learning the words for the scene, and then I would notice that I had blusher on and lipstick and things like that.”
The Fifth Doctor actor doesn’t ascribe the shows popularity amongst the LGBT community to a bit of make-up however, recognising the characters appeal as an outsider and a figure of identification
“Doctor Who does have, and all power to it, quite a big gay following, I don’t know if that’s because he’s a bit of an outsider I don’t know what that particular appeal is, but in terms of the fans that you meet along the way, as well as the straight ones there’s a gay fandom, so that’s fun. In those days it was more difficult to be in that situation and I think the Doctor was something they could latch on to, as a slightly odd and out of place and not-quite-accepted character, and that had great appeal for them.”
The following may have been aided by the firmly asexual nature of the character in those days, BBC bosses being particularly adamant there should be “no hanky panty in the TARDIS”
“I don’t know why but they were so obsessive about there being no flirtation, I wasn’t allowed to put my arm around female companions in case they thought there might be. I think it was part of the reason why they never quite mastered the whole companion idea. They were struggling for many years to find a better way of making the companions more rounded characters, and certainly, when it comes to the female companions, they never once thought that it was a good idea to put any kind of sexual tension, even in its most innocent form, between the Doctor and companion. I think it probably would have made it easier to write a better character.”
Peter however suggests that there have been changes for the better post-2005 and that the companion role is now much better written than in his own day
“I think the idea that there’s a kind of frisson in the TARDIS is fine and works actually rather well, I’m rather envious at the number of times that the Doctor gets to kiss girls now. They struggled for many years to write a good companion’s part and didn’t really ever manage it. In fact, I don’t think they’ve ever managed to do it until Rose, when the series came back, and that was really just writing a damn good part.”
You can read a complete interview with Peter Davison at Whats On TV
