Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan wants to team up with other Masters – as well as some former Doctors
Could we be in for another multi-Doctor (or multi-Master) story?
In being cast as Doctor Who’s villainous Time Lord the Master, Sacha Dhawan was following in some notable footsteps, with the likes of Roger Delgado, Anthony Ainley, Michelle Gomez, Sir Derek Jacobi and John Simm among the actors who've brought the Doctor’s nemesis to life.
“I was absolutely terrified,” Dhawan says in the latest issue of Radio Times, wondering whether he’d be able to live up to the standards previously set in this “big, iconic role” – but now, with a few episodes under his belt, the actor feels more comfortable in the pantheon of Masters.
And in fact, following a multi-Master team-up between John Simm and Michelle Gomez’ incarnations of the character in 2017 (possible through time travel), Dhawan says he wouldn’t mind sharing the screen with a few of his predecessors if the chance came up.
“Oh my God, I'd love to meet the other Masters in Doctor Who,” Dhawan told us. “They're such fantastic actors I'd be slightly in awe of them.”
In recent years former Masters Eric Roberts (from the 1996 TV movie), Jacobi (who played the Master for a single episode in 2007) and Gomez have continued playing the character in audio stories for Big Finish, while John Simm was tempted back to the series in 2017 after departing in 2010, so it’s not out of the question that one day we could be in for a multi-Master story again.
And if not, well, Dhawan’s also keen to see his Master face off with other incarnations of the Doctor, even if his primary loyalty remains with Jodie Whittaker’s version. And multi-Doctor episodes are at least a bit more common...
“I'd also like to work with some of the other Doctors as well,” Dhawan told Radio Times, adding in a later Twitter Q&A that Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor would be his pick for a face-off.
“That would be great. When they bring the Master back there's always an interaction with an array of different characters. Some previous ones, some new ones, and I love that because it gives me a lot to play with.”
So there you have it – when series 12 is done, Chris Chibnall had better get cracking on the multi-Doctor, multi-Master smorgasbord of an episode that Dhawan has been waiting for.
To read our full interview with the cast of Doctor Who, Radio Times' special series 12 finale issue is on sale from Tuesday 25th February
Doctor Who continues on BBC One at 6:50pm on Sundays
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
