John Simm Reveals Why He Returned To Doctor Who In New Promo

After seven years away from Doctor Who, John Simm returned as his fan favourite incarnation of the Doctor’s nemesis the Master in last’s week’s “World Enough and Time,” the penultimate episode of season 10. With the announcement that he was coming back having been made long in advance, the instalment had some fun with Simm’s return.

For most of the runtime, he was hidden under a ton of prosthetics and make-up as hospital orderly Mr. Razor. Whether you saw the twist coming or not, it was a great trick and a throwback to the classic series, when the Master would always don elaborate disguises like he was in an episode of Scooby Doo. 

It turns out this element of the role was what drew Simm to return to the show in the first place. “My favourite element of it was the fact that I get to be in disguise for the first episode. I mean, complete disguise, down to the teeth. They did a brilliant job,” said the actor.

As well as calling back to the Master’s old-school love for disguises, John Simm’s new look is very much drawn from the past. For one, he’s sporting a classic goatee beard, just like the one featured on the face of the original Master Roger Delgado. His dark coat is also a callback to the Nehru jacket Delgado wore. Finally, as revealed in the trailers, the Master’s laser screwdriver will also be making a return.

All in all, there looks to be much to enjoy for fans of the character when the Doctor Who finale airs this Saturday at 9PM on BBC America.