Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is a British actor, who is best known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986. Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to Rochdale with his family early in his life. He was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester and originally studied to become a solicitor. At the age of 23, Baker changed professions and enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), where he studied alongside David Suchet. His mother is of Irish ancestry. One of Baker's first acting jobs, in 1970, was a supporting role in a BBC adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's trilogy The Roads to Freedom. In 1972, Colin Baker played Anatole Kuragin in a BBC serial adaptation of War and Peace. His most prominent role in the 1970s was as the villainous Paul Merroney in The Brothers, a role that he played from 1974 to 1976. In the final episode of Fall of Eagles, Baker appeared as Crown Prince Willy of the German Empire. Baker also guest starred as Bayban the Butcher in a 1980 episode of Blake's 7.