Tom Baker said of the titular hound:
"He didn't want to harm Nicholas Woodeson, who was playing Sir Henry Baskerville. In fact, the bloody dog had fallen in love with Nicholas. Someone had the notion of hiding sausages under the lapels of Nic's dinner jacket, but it was of no use: The dog actually appeared to be blowing kisses at Nic. And then, a member of the camera crew suggested that, 'why didn't we throw Nic at the dog, and then run the film backwards?' Nic Wilson was not amused, but I was. I laughed so much, I hoped that the joke was what I'd been waiting for all these years before I died".
Tom Baker's performance has often been criticised by Sherlock Holmes fans and Baker himself thought that he had failed to deliver the role of Holmes very well. He later stated in an interview that the BBC had not been happy and they had apologised for his performance.
This adaptation was produced by Barry Letts, who had previously cast Tom Baker in his most famous role as the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who (1963). In addition, Laura Lyons is played by Caroline John, who played the Third Doctor's companion Liz Shaw at the start of Letts' tenure as producer.
In the earlier serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang: Part One (1977), which was set in Victorian London, Tom Baker dressed as Sherlock Holmes, complete with deerstalker.