John Simm reveals all-time favourite Doctor Who episodes

Doctor Who star John Simm has a surprising pick for his all-time favourite moment playing The Master.

Simm's incarnation of the evil Time Lord was responsible for some of The Doctor's most crushing defeats over the past 13 years – with his Master spanning multiple eras of The Doctor's life.

But which moment was his favourite? Becoming Prime Minister and leading the Toclafane's invasion of earth, or causing the Tenth Doctor's regeneration with his creation of an earth full of Masters?

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Actually, no! Simm revealed to Doctor Who director Rachel Talalay that he most enjoyed playing Mr Razor, the servile hospital worker aboard the Cybermen's ship in 'World Enough and Time' and 'The Doctor Falls'.

BBC

"My favourite bit, believe it or not, was being Mr Razor... I adore these two episodes and remain incredibly proud to have been involved in the demise of not one but two Doctors," he explained to Talalay.

In this story, The Master disguised himself as Mr Razor to trap The Doctor's companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) below deck, forcing his nemesis and his own future incarnation Missy (Michelle Gomez) to come down for his big reveal.

The stunt brought to mind the tricks from previous Master incarnations played by Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley, both of whom frequently wore disguises as part of their scheming,

This two-parter was the end for both Simm's Master and Gomez's Missy after a laser screwdriver duel, though Sacha Dhawan has since popped up as a regenerated version of the character.

Ben Blackall//BBC

Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US, and will return for a festive special.

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Justin Harp

Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.