Sacha Dhawan Rumoured to Star in 'Doctor Who' as the Master in Series 12

* Series 12 spoilers feature in this article *

It’s been over year since the eleventh series of Doctor Who hit our screens, introducing many new people, monsters and designs along the way. Jodie Whittaker debuted fully as the Thirteenth Doctor, who was joined by Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill.

The series, which began broadcasting 7th October 2018, was the first series to be produced with Chris Chibnall as the showrunner for the hit BBC sci-fi show. Chibnall will be returning as showrunner for Series 12 airing in ‘early 2020’, along with the same cast.

Series 11 was full of brand new, never seen before monsters; however, that’s about to change. The upcoming series will feature returning monsters from across the many years Doctor Who has been on air; one of them rumoured to be making a comeback is the other fan favourite Time Lord, the Master.

The Master first appeared in the revived era of the show in the 2007 three-part finale, starting with ‘Utopia’, where the Master was portrayed by Derek Jacobi, who unfortunately got just one episode as the Master on screen before passing the baton onto John Simm. When Simm’s Master reached an ‘end,' the character of the Master was rested for many years.

2014 saw Michelle Gomez take on the role of the Master (known as Missy), which was revealed in a big shock twist in the Series Eight finale with Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. From 2014 until 2017, Gomez’s Missy appeared in every series alongside Capaldi until she was killed off in "The Doctor Falls."

The Master was rested for Series 11 and is now rumoured to return with a new face. Sacha Dhawan, known for EastEnders, Wired and Iron Fist, is rumoured to be taking on the role of the Master in what appears to be a leak, which is currently unsourced.

Fans on Gallifrey Base (yep!) have done some rustling about and discovered that Dhawan had an unspecified role (unknown if it was for Doctor Who) on his CV, which has now been removed. His latest upcoming role specified is for [Steven] Moffat’s Dracula.

One user on the Doctor Who fan site said:

“…several different sources, including one I talk to personally, all said the same thing. He [Dhawan] has definitely been spotted on set in more than one block. I first came across it when researching the potential sea devils. Chatting with a few others helped piece it all together. Disguise, fake names etc etc] "

Sadly, that’s all we know as such, however, according to Reddit users (yep again!), the Master is set to be revealed as the Timeless Child, as mentioned in Series 11 episode Two "The Ghost Monument." The Timeless Child wasn’t mentioned again, so could Chibnall have something big up his sleeve? The comment on Reddit simply read:

“There seems to be evidence to support Sacha Dhawan as the Master. Identity of the Timeless Child is apparently the Master.”

Yep, that’s it. So we take all of this with a very tight pinch of salt for now, however we know how secretive Chibnall is when it comes to releasing news and leaks.

Dhawan is no stranger to the Doctor Who universe as in November 2013, Dhawan portrayed director Waris Hussein in the biographical television film An Adventure in Space and Time, which aired on BBC Two, and told the story of how Doctor Who was created. This was part of the show’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Whilst we take this rumoured piece of information with that crucial pinch of salt, we do know that the Judoon will be returning for their first full story since 2007, along with the Cybermen, and now the Daleks, as the new and redesigned Daleks took over Bristol suspension bridge this week.

For now, the waiting game for the new series continues as Series 12 is currently penned to air ‘early 2020’.