An actor best known for his iconic performance as Doctor Who has made a surprise visit to a quaint breakfast cafe.

Tom Baker, who portrayed the eccentric time traveller in a record 172 episodes of the hit BBC series, popped by Brunch and Brew cafe in Tenterden, near Ashford.

Sharing news of the celebrity appearance on Facebook, Brunch and Brew posted a photo of Mr Baker enjoying a hot drink.

They captioned the picture with a famous line from the series: "In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important."

This post sparked an outpouring of affection from fans on the café's social media, thrilled to see the 89-year-old actor there.

“The brilliant Tom Baker, absolutely adore that man – one of my acting heroes,” commented one Facebook user.

“Just the best Doctor and a wonderful man,” added another.

While Tom Baker hails from Liverpool, his connection to Kent traces back to his college days at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup.

His bond with the area strengthened when he moved to Maidstone after his third marriage, settling in Boughton Malherbe before eventually moving to France.

Despite moving on from the role of Doctor Who in 1981, the actor made a memorable comeback in the 2013 special, The Day of the Doctor, portraying The Curator.

He has expressed ongoing affection for the sci-fi programme and has not ruled out potentially revisiting the iconic character.

In recent times, most of Tom Baker’s show-biz roles have come in the form of voice-overs - playing the narrator in Little Britain, voicing Bendu in Star Wars: Rebels and Krenze in the video game Shadows: Awakening.

With the anticipation mounting for David Tenant's return to Doctor Who for its 60th anniversary, accompanied by Catherine Tate, the excitement also grows for the transition to the 15th Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa of Sex Education and Barbie.