Doctor Who will soon reunite with a familiar version of his arch enemy

Doctor Who may be able to travel through time, but he’s about to be visited by a familiar face from his past.

BBC reports that John Simm’s version of the Master will return in the series ten premiere later this month. “I can confirm that it’s true, thanks to the power of time travel I’m back,” Simm said. The actor was on the show from 2007-2010, but hasn’t appeared since the two-part Christmas special The End of Time. This will be his first time encountering Peter Capaldi’s version of the Doctor on the small screen.

Sounds like Simm has had a bit of a change of heart since 2013, when he told Radio Times, that Doctor Who fans were giving him too much attention. “I’ll be so happy when that’s gone from my life,” he said then. “It’s great to be into something, but for goodness’ sake, really? I’m not the Master, I’m not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I’m just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!” I suppose some time away has made him nostalgic for the old days.

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“But wait,” you might be wondering, “what does this mean for Michelle Gomez, who plays the first female regeneration of the Master?” Worry not, my friends. She’ll be there, too...somehow. Showrunner Steven Moffat added some fuel to the hype fire, explaining how "Nothing stays secret for long on Doctor Who but you'll have to wait a little bit longer to see exactly what the Master is up to and how he makes his return to face the Doctor. It’s been a huge pleasure to have fan favourites John Simm and Michelle Gomez face to face in the same role! It’s not often you get to see a solo personality clash." Exactly how the two actors are going to appear as the same character remains to be seen, but it seems like a memorable event to say the least.

With two versions of the Master to contend with, plus Daleks, Ice Warriors, and Mondasian Cybermen, it sounds like the Doctor is going to have his hands full.

Doctor Who returns to BBC One and BBC America with The Pilot, which airs on April 15, 2017. Series ten will mark Capaldi's last as The Doctor, and here are the favourites to replace him. And if you found this interesting, here are 11 baddies we want to see on the show again.

Images: BBC

Ben is an entertainment journalist who has written about movies online for nearly a decade. He loves the Fast & Furious franchise, prefers Indiana Jones to Star Wars, and will defend the ending of Lost until his dying day. He shook Bill Murray's hand once (so he's got that going for him, which is nice). Ben lives in Los Angeles with his wife.