Michelle Gomez has said that playing the first female Master on Doctor Who was on par with Hillary Clinton running for the US presidency.
The 43-year-old Scottish star said that she was a big fan of the show from a young age and couldn’t quite believe she had got the part.
“When my agent called to say that I’d be taking on this role - I’m a huge Who fan, my family were and I grew up with Doctor Who - so I just couldn’t get my head around it,” she said at a Q&A panel in London on Monday.
“I thought: ‘my god, being like the first female Master is up there with being Hillary Clinton running for female presidency’. It’s like that big in my household,” Gomez added.
In pictures: Doctor Who series 8
In pictures: Doctor Who series 8
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Missy, The Doctor and Clara in the Doctor Who series eight finale
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Missy screams at The Doctor
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The Cybermen return
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Missy seen in a graveyard with the Cybermen
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Sanjeev Bhaskar in the Doctor Who series 8 finale
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The Time Lord seen in a graveyard
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The Cybermen in the Doctor Who series 8 finale
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Doctor Who and Missy in the Doctor Who series 8 finale
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The Cybermen return
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Peter Capaldi in the Doctor Who series 8 finale
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Kate Stewart, Osgood and The Doctor
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Look familiar? The Cybermen march through London
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Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi star in 'Doctor Who'
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Clara is seeking answers in 'Dark Water'
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Can the Doctor defeat Missy?
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Chris Addison as Seb and Michelle Gomez as Missy
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The invasion begins as the Cybermen emerge
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Chris Addison in the Nethersphere
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Missy and the Doctor in 'Dark Water'
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The Cybermen appear again in 'Dark Water'
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The Doctor is not where he thinks he is in 'Dark Water'
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What has this little girl noticed? The Doctor investigates in 'In the Forest of the Night'
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The Doctor finds himself in a forest version of London in Doctor Who episode 'In the Forest of the Night'
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A girl starts to run from an unseen threat in Doctor Who episode 'In the Forest of the Night'
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What have Danny and the kids found?
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The Doctor leads the group as they run for their lives
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It's London but not as we know it in Doctor Who episode 'In the Forest of the Night'
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Danny takes the pupils from Coal Hill School to the museum
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Clara and a student from Coal Hill School look at the rings on an ancient tree
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The Doctor finds another inquisitive pupil from Coal Hill School in the Tardis
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The Doctor investigates London
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Danny is trying to figure out where his group have ended up
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The Doctor and Clara investigate strange goings-on in London, after the city is transformed into a forest
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Clara and Rigsy try to escape something on the floor
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What's happened to the Tardis?
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Clara takes the lead in 'Flatline' while the Doctor remains in the Tardis
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The Doctor tries to make something in the Tardis for Clara
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There are strange goings-on near the railway
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Rigsy looks at a "murals of missing people
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Clara tries to unlock a door with an odd-looking contraption
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Something is coming in 'Flatline'
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Jovian Wade as Rigsy in 'Flatline'
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Christopher Fairbank as Fenton in 'Flatline'
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Clara takes charge of the Sonic Screwdriver this week
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Singer Foxes makes a cameo in 'Mummy on the Orient Express'
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David Bamber stars as Captain Quell in 'Mummy on the Orient Express'
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Professor Moorhouse played by Christopher Villiers in 'Mummuy on the Orient Express'
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Perkins the chief engineer of the Orient Express
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Ellis George as Courtney Woods in 'Kill the Moon'
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The Doctor is not happy about the terrible dilemma that faces him and the fate of the Earth
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The Doctor goes to investigate what is going on under the surface of the Moon
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The dark side of the Moon: The Doctor and Captain Lundvik investigate
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Captain Lundvik is surprised to see a teenage schoolgirl in space
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Captain Lundvik played by Hermione Norris
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Clara embarks on a journey into space with Courtney Woods and the Doctor
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Tony Osoba as astronaut Duke in 'Kill the Moon'
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Captain Lundvik is perplexed as she is forced to make a decision about the fate of the Earth
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The Doctor takes on the deadly Skovox Blitzer in 'The Caretaker'
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The Doctor goes undercover at Coal Hill School in 'The Caretaker'
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Nightmare student: Courtney Woods played by Ellis George
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A familiar face joins the staff at Coal Hill School in 'The Caretaker', where Clara works as an English teacher
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Danny Pink finally meets the Doctor in 'The Caretaker'
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English teacher Adrian, who works at Coal Hill School with Clara and Danny
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The deadly Skovox Blitzer and the Doctor meet
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Danny Pink encounters the Doctor for the first time in 'The Caretaker'
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A familiar face joins the staff at Coal Hill School in 'The Caretaker'
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Clara and Danny are in trouble in 'The Caretaker' when a deadly force threatens the Earth
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The Doctor at work in his workshop at Coal Hill School
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Danny Pink is not quite sure what he has just witnessed in 'The Caretaker'
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The Doctor tries to communicate with the Skovox Blitzer
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Mr Porrima (Trevor Sellers), The Doctor , Clara (Jenna Coleman) and Psi
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With Clara by his side, there's no turning back
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The twelfth Doctor turns bank robber...
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...and he looks more than ready to take on the challenge
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The Doctor and Clara are walking right into danger's way...
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... and must evade the Bank of Karabraxos' intensive security
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Saibra, played by Pippa Bennett-Warner
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The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) must take on one of his most difficult tasks yet
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The Teller - a formidable creature with the ability to detect guilt
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On the Doctor's team: Psi (Jonathan Bailey)
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The Bank of Karabraxos' head of security Ms Delphox, played by guest star Keeley Hawes
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The bank heist is on
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The Doctor and Clara enter the bank of Karabraxos
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Orson Pink a time traveller in 'Listen' played by Samuel Anderson
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The Doctor poses the question of whether we are every truly alone in 'Listen'
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Orson Pink embarks on his voyage in 'Listen'
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Peter Capaldi as the twelfth Doctor surrounded by his calculations
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The Doctor boards a spaceship in 'Listen'
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Danny Pink does not look impressed in 'Listen'
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The Doctor tinkers about with the controls on a spaceship in 'Listen'
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Orson Pink played by Samuel Anderson, who also plays Danny Pink
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Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald
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The Doctor and Clara meet Robin Hood in 'The Robot of Sherwood'
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The knights are not what they seem
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Robin Hood played by Tom Riley
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The Doctor is not pleased when he finds an arrow in his Tardis
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One of the deadly knights belonging to the Sheriff of Nottingham in 'The Robot of Sherwood'
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Robin teaches Clara to shoot an arrow
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Clara, the Doctor and Robin Hood get captured in 'The Robot of Sherwood'
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Robin Hood and his band of merry men
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Clara and the Doctor stumble across something in 'Into the Dalek'
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The Doctor and the Dalek meet
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The Daleks attack in 'Into the Dalek'
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Journey Blue investigates goings-on in 'Into the Dalek'
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Zawe Ashton as Journey Blue in 'Into the Dalek'
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The Doctor faces one of his oldest foes
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Clara meets the Daleks
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Michael Smiley as Colonel Morgan Blue in 'Into the Dalek'
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Clara steers the Tardis
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Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, the new companion and a teacher at Coal Hill School
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Clara and the twelfth Doctor embark on their first adventure together
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The new Doctor and Clara in the Tardis
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The Doctor and Clara have their first real heart to heart since he regenerated in 'Deep Breath'
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The Doctor on the banks of the Thames stares up at the creature that has been terrorising Londoners in 'Deep Breath'
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Madame Vastra has a plan of action in 'Deep Breath'
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Peter Capaldi as the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in 'Deep Breath'
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'Deep Breath' is Peter Capaldi's first full-length adventure as the twelfth Doctor
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While the long-running sci-fi show has featured female Time Lords during its 51-year history, this is the first time the Master regenerated into a woman. The character was previously played by John Simm in 2010.
There is continued speculation over whether the Doctor will be played by a woman and who would take up the role. Peter Capaldi is currently starring as the twelfth Time Lord in the series.
Audiences have not seen the last of Missy either, only last week the actress let slip that she would be making a comeback next year in series 9.
In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, she confirmed the news, “Yes. Yes is my answer. I’ll be back,” before quickly saying, “Can I say that? Am I allowed? If not... well, I guess we'll have to see how she's received."
It has also emerged that Gomez had previously been offered a different part on the series but had turned it down due to work commitments.
However, she had emailed showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat to keep her mind if he ever needed a “razor cheek-boned villainess”.
She was subsequently asked to play Missy, which Moffat wrote with Gomez in mind.
Her performance as a deranged Mary Poppins-esque version of the Master has been met with praise all round from the critics.
Doctor Who will return for a Christmas Special. Series nine will be broadcast next year with Peter Capaldi returning as the Time Lord.
Read more: Doctor Who, Death in Heaven - review
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