Doctor Who star Michelle Gomez: 'The first female Master is as big as Hillary Clinton running for president'

The Scottish star also confessed that she is a huge fan of the show and didn’t quite believe she had got the part

Buttoned up: Peter Capaldi and Michelle Gomez in Doctor Who (BBC)

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.

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.

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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.

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