“I Get Slightly Envious”: Sacha Dhawan Wants The Master to Face Off Against Ncuti Gatwa’s ‘Doctor Who’

The last time Doctor Who fans got to see the titular Time Lord battle their longtime rival The Master was October 2022 in “The Power of the Doctor”, a special episode dedicated to the 100th year anniversary of the BBC and marking the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run as The Doctor and Chris Chibnall as the series showrunner. Since then, an enormous shift in the very groundwork of the iconic sci-fi series has taken place, with Disney now owning rights to Doctor Who, David Tennant reprising the role for a brief stint, followed by the arrival of the enigmatic Ncuti Gatwa who has now played the role ever since.

In typical Doctor Who fandom fashion, ever since Gatwa’s arrival, speculation has been rife about exactly who or what the titular Time Lord will do battle with. Season 14 saw the introduction of the still-unknown Mrs. Flood, whose villainous true identity remains shrouded in secrecy. As well as this, the return of an iconic classic era villain in Sutekh saw the Whoniverse explode with excitement. So, with Season 15 on the horizon, which villain is next? Well, in an exclusive interview with The Radio Times, Sacha Dhawan – the most recent actor to play The Master on screen – has opened up about the possibility of the return of the character. After initially joking, “Oh my God, I’m coming back! I’m coming back!”, Dhawan said he would “love to come back” to the show, adding:

“There’s certain things I’ll read… I think Ncuti [Gatwa] has mentioned the Master at some point… I think there’s more to play with – and I get slightly envious seeing how much fun they’re having in Cardiff.”

A ‘Doctor Who’ Spin-Off is Also on the Way

The future of Doctor Who is back in safe hands with Russell T. Davies at the helm, with what many consider to be the show’s modern “golden age” between 2005 and 2010 overseen by the man himself. As part of said “golden age”, Doctor Who branched into spin-offs, with the children-friendly The Sarah Jane Adventures and the more mature Torchwood helping boost the worldwide appeal of the franchise. This is something lost in recent years, with nearly a decade going by without as much of a sniff of a Doctor Who spin-off. That is until now, with it being announced that a UNIT-based spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea is on its way.

Set to feature the likes of Jemma Redgrave, Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alexander Devrient, and Ruth Madeley, The War Between the Land and the Sea will be a stand-alone miniseries dedicated to the Earth-based work of UNIT to defend their world from incoming alien threat. A synopsis for the spin-off reads, “When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.”

Sacha Dhawan has given an update on the potential return of The Master in Doctor Who.