In the five decades since the Master debuted in Doctor Who back in 1971, eleven actors have assumed the role of one of the Doctor’s most iconic and dangerous long-running foes. While the time-traveling Doctor often faces brand-new threats in Doctor Who, there are a select few antagonists who keep coming back for more. Alongside the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, and more, the Master has become one of the Doctor’s most formidable enemies, and as a fellow Time Lord, the Master is one of the sci-fi series’ most interesting villains.
The Master first appeared in the first serial of Doctor Who’s eighth season, 1971’s “Terror of the Autons,” alongside Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor. The villain made his most recent appearance in 2022’s “The Power of the Doctor,” the final adventure of Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor, though he has been teased to return at some point in the future thanks to his current whereabouts inside the Toymaker’s stolen golden tooth. In total, eleven actors have portrayed the Master over the last 54 years, helping the character go down in history as one of TV’s most iconic villains.
It was English actor Roger Delgado — known for playing many minor villains — who first brought the Master to the screen in 1971. Delgado established the Master as a true villain, with the Master expressing his wish to take dominion over the universe and make the Doctor suffer. Delgado’s Master appeared in eight serials, totalling 37 separate episodes, between 1971 until the actor’s tragic passing in a car crash in 1973. Delgado’s passing has been cited as the reason Pertwee left Doctor Who the following year, and the actor will always be remembered as the original version of the legendary foe.
Roger Delgado appeared as the Master in “Terror of the Autons,” “The Mind of Evil,” “The Claws of Axos,” “Colony in Space,” and “The Daemons” in 1971, “The Sea Devils” and “The Time Monster” in 1972, and “Frontier in Space” in 1973, opposite Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor.
Three years after Delgado’s passing, Peter Pratt brought the Master back to Doctor Who, but this incarnation was wildly different. Found by Chancellor Goth in the third serial of Doctor Who’s season 14, “Deadly Assassin,” Pratt’s Master was revealed to be in his final incarnation, with no regenerations left. This caused him to take on the appearance of a corpse, meaning Pratt had to be given intensive special effects make-up and prosthetics. Pratt only appeared in the four episodes of “Deadly Assassin,” but his iteration of the Master will go down in history as the most gruesome and horrific.
Peter Pratt appeared as the Master in “Deadly Assassin” in 1976, opposite Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor.
When Pratt’s Master failed to sacrifice Gallifrey by using the artifacts of Rassilon to give himself a new regeneration cycle, he escaped and returned in 1981, still in his emaciated state — though slightly more human-like. In “The Keeper of Traken,” the Master was played by Geoffrey Beevers, who has since reprised the role in Big Finish audiobooks. Beevers was even married to Doctor Who’s companion Liz Shaw actor Caroline John from 1970 until her passing in 2012. Beevers’ Master hoped to use the Traken Union’s technological Source to give himself a new regeneration cycle, but this again failed.
Geoffrey Beevers appeared as the Master in “The Keeper of Traken” in 1981, opposite Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor. He also voiced the Master in Big Finish Productions’ audiobooks “Dust Breeding,” “Master,” “Trail of the White Worm,” “The Oseidon Adventure,” “Mastermind,” “And You Will Obey Me,” “The Two Masters,” “The Light at the End,” “The Evil One,” “Requiem for the Rocket Men,” “Death Match,” and “Masterful.”
After Beevers’ Master failed to use the Source to give himself a new regeneration cycle, he instead transferred his consciousness into the body of a Traken scientist, Tremas, companion Nyssa’s father, who was portrayed by Anthony Ainley. Ainley subsequently became one of the longest-running actors playing the Master, bringing the villain to life between 1981’s “The Keeper of Traken” and 1989’s “Survival,” the final story of Doctor Who’s classic era prior to its cancellation. In 28 episodes over 11 serials, Ainley’s Master sought new ways to extend his lifespan, battling the Doctor in his Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh incarnations.
Anthony Ainley appeared as the Master in “The Keeper of Traken” and “Logopolis” in 1981, opposite Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor. He also appeared in “Castrovalva” and “Time-Flight” in 1982, “King’s Demons” and the 20th anniversary special, “The Five Doctors,” in 1983, and “Planet of Fire” and “Caves of Androzani” in 1984, opposite Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor. He also played by Master in “Mark of the Rani” in 1985 and “Ultimate Foe” in 1986, opposite Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor, and then “Survival” in 1989, opposite Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor. He also voiced the Master in 1997’s “Destiny of the Doctor” video game, his final appearance as the villain.
The Master took center-stage in 1996’s TV movie, Doctor Who, which made an attempt at reviving the series seven years after its cancellation. Gordon Tipple appeared very briefly in the movie’s opening moments, as his version of the Master was executed by the Daleks because of his “evil crimes.” He requested for his remains to be taken to Gallifrey by the Doctor, but this was a ploy to escape. He secretly transferred his consciousness into a snake-like “morphant,” which sabotages the TARDIS and causes it to crash in San Francisco, allowing the Master to take over a new body.
Gordon Tipple appeared as the Master in the opening moments of the Doctor Who TV movie in 1996, opposite Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor.
The “morphant” — revealed to be a shape-shifting creature from Skaro in Doctor Who novelizations and comic strips — took over the body of American paramedic Bruce, who was transporting the shot Doctor to hospital. Eric Roberts’ Master tries to use the Eye of Harmony to steal the Doctor’s remaining regenerations, but is instead sucked into the device and seemingly killed. Roberts, brother of Julia Roberts and father to Emma Roberts, is one of the most notable actors to play the Master, having amassed over 700 acting credits, making him one of the most prolific screen actors of all time.
Eric Roberts appeared as the Master in the Doctor Who TV movie in 1996, opposite Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor.
Russell T. Davies successfully revived Doctor Who in 2005, allowing a new Master to appear two years later. At the end of the universe, the Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, and Captain Jack Harkness met Derek Jacobi’s Professor Yana, a scientist building a rocket to take the last vestiges of humanity to Utopia. Yana stated he was found as a young boy with just a fob watch — the Chameleon Arch that makes a Time Lord appear human, even to themselves — having escaped from the Time War. With the perception filter broken, Yana opens the watch and becomes the Master again.
Derek Jacobi appeared as the Master in “Utopia” in 2007, opposite David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.
The late William Hughes appeared as the Master as a child on Gallifrey in several episodes of the revived Doctor Who series. In flashbacks, the Doctor reveals that the Master’s mind became twisted and corrupted after looking at the Time Vortex through the Untempered Schism — a rite of passage for young Time Lords. This explained some of the Master’s sinister actions over the years. Hughes is the youngest actor to portray the Master. Hughes tragically passed away while on a trip to the Greek island of Corfu in 2018 at the age of 20.
William Hughes appeared as the young Master in “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords” in 2008, opposite David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. Archive footage was also used to incorporate him into “The End of Time” in 2009 and 2010, Tennant’s final episodes as the Doctor. Hughes also played Alex Grainger in Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood season 2, episode 2, “Sleeper.”
Hughes portrayed the Master simultaneously to John Simm, who debuted after the Master’s regeneration in “Utopia.” Simm’s Master stole the TARDIS and traveled to the 21st century, where he established himself as Harold Saxon and became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over the period of one year, the Master subjugated humanity, but this was reversed by Martha Jones and he was subsequently killed by his wife, Lucy. In “The End of Time,” however, the Master was resurrected by his disciples, but becomes an unstable creature who tries to bring Gallifrey through time and turn humanity into his clones.
The Master eventually realizes the error of his ways and fights Rassilon to send Gallifrey back to the Time War, sacrificing himself in the process. John Simm’s Master has been celebrated as one of the best incarnations, leading to his return in 2017, where he was revealed to have initiated the genesis of the Cybermen aboard a huge ship traveling from Mondas. Simm’s Master is eventually stabbed by his later incarnation, causing him to regenerate, but not before he fires a blast from his laser screwdriver at Missy, seemingly killing his future self for good.
John Simm appeared as the Master in “Utopia,” “The Sound of Drums,” and “Last of the Time Lords,” in 2008, as well as “The End of Time — Part 1” in 2009 and “The End of Time — Part 2” in 2010, opposite David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. He also appeared in “World Enough and Time” and “The Doctor Falls” in 2017, opposite Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor.
It’s never revealed how the Master survived “The End of Time — Part 2,” but the villain returned in 2014 in the character’s first on-screen female incarnation, played by Scottish actor Michelle Gomez. Going by the name Missy, this iteration manipulated the Doctor’s life so he’d meet Clara Oswald, and eventually unveiled her plan to create an afterlife of souls to transfer into Cybermen. She later finds herself imprisoned in the Vault, and the Doctor tries to redeem her, which eventually works. It’s Missy who stabs and kills Simm’s Master in “The Doctor Falls,” but is killed by him in return.
Michelle Gomez appeared as the Mistress in “Deep Breath,” “Into the Dalek,” “The Caretaker,” “Flatline,” “Into the Forest of the Night,” “Dark Water,” and “Death in Heaven” in 2014, “The Magician’s Apprentice” and “The Witch’s Familiar” in 2017, and “Extremis,” “The Lie of the Land,” “Empress of Mars,” “The Eaters of Light,” “World Enough and Time,” and “The Doctor Falls” in 2017, all opposite Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor.
The most recent actor to take on the role of the Master in Doctor Who is Sacha Dhawan, who made his first appearance as the iconic villain in “Spyfall” in 2020. At first, he took the disguise of MI6 agent “O,” but, after revealing himself to be the Master, he learned that the Doctor is the Timeless Child, and destroyed Gallifrey in retaliation. He tries to resurrect the Time Lords as Cybermen hybrids, and then tries to steal the Doctor’s body and TARDIS to discredit the universal hero, eventually triggering her regeneration before seemingly perishing on his imploding planet.
Sacha Dhawan appeared as the Master in “Spyfall — Part 1,” “Spyfall — Part 2,” “Ascension of the Cybermen,” and “The Timeless Children” in 2020, and “The Power of the Doctor” in 2022, opposite Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor. In the 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” in 2023, the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) revealed that, at some point, he had defeated the Master in a game and trapped him inside his golden tooth. After the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors exiled the Toymaker, the golden tooth was picked up by someone unknown, hinting that the Master will return in Doctor Who’s future.
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