John Simm, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Gomez and more star in special Doctor Who story Masterful – out today!

Doctor Who’s greatest villain celebrates their 50th anniversary with Masterful, a three-hour epic starring no less than eight Masters, including John Simm, Derek Jacobi and many more!

We hope you enjoyed yesterday’s Doctor Who special, Revolution of the Daleks. Seeing Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor with not just the Daleks but also Captain Jack Harkness was certainly guaranteed to make fans happy.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, fans also have something brand new to enjoy today. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who‘s greatest villain, the Master, Big Finish Productions is releasing a very special story starring John Simm, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Gomez, Mark Gatiss and many other actors who have previously played the role. Masterful promises to be the biggest multi-Master story ever. At least eight Masters feature in this three-hour extravaganza, and this time, the Doctor isn’t around to stop them!

John Simm and Derek Jacobi

Unsurprisingly, all the Masters are excited to be working on such a major story. Simm makes his Big Finish debut with this audio, once again playing the much-loved incarnation of the villain we saw back in 2007, 2009 and 2017. “He’s an iconic character,” Simm said. “He’s the nemesis of the Doctor, the evil Doctor… It’s a real honour to play him.”

While Sir Derek Jacobi only briefly played the Master on television back in 2007, he’s continued to play the role since 2017 in his own audio series The War Master. “He has a wonderfully wicked sense of humour which is lovely to indulge oneself in,” Jacobi said. “The stories are very good, he usually comes out on top… heroic villains are the best things to play.”

Limited edition

Of course, a multi-Master story celebrating the character’s 50th anniversary wouldn’t be complete without Geoffrey Beevers, the only surviving Master from the Classic Series. He reveals what makes Masterful so unique:

"It’s really different but it’s really good, because it explores who the Master might have been had he taken a different course in eternity. It’s beautifully written and it’s quite a challenge doing the transition into what that sort of person might have been – and back again – and what affect it has on him afterwards."

That definitely sounds exciting. You can order Masterful on CD and download right now from Big Finish’s website, either in a three-disc standard edition or as a limited edition eight-disc box set. Along with the story, the box set also includes a “behind the scenes” disc, two short stories, plus a brand new audiobook called Terror of the Master. Overall, it looks like an exceptional box set for an exceptional villain.

Will you be listening to the Master’s 50th anniversary story? Are you excited about John Simm playing the role once again? Do you think the TV series should have done something equally ambitious? Let us know in the comments below!

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