John Simm will return as Doctor Who villain The Master, four years after making his ‘final’ appearance as the character on TV.

Simm will make his debut in Big Finish’s range of Doctor Who audio plays in January 2021, appearing in the story Masterful alongside a number of other actors who have played the Master.

Produced to mark the 50th anniversary of the character’s first appearance, Masterful will also feature Simm’s predecessor in the role, Derek Jacobi, and his successor, Michelle Gomez (who played the first female incarnation of the Master, known as ‘Missy’).

The limited edition release will also include appearances from Eric Roberts (the Master in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie) and Geoffrey Beevers (who played the character in 1980s Doctor Who), plus three actors – Mark Gatiss, Alex MacQueen and Milo Parker – who have exclusively played the wicked Time Lord on audio for Big Finish.

“It’s a real honour to play this character: the nemesis of the Doctor,” said Simm. “He’s everything the Doctor is but he’s evil. And it’s been great recording with Big Finish. You don’t get bored, it’s fantastic. It’s fun. It went really quickly. And I got to work with Derek Jacobi.”

“I had one of the best days of my life in studio with Sir Derek Jacobi and John Simm, towering actors and simply two of the warmest, loveliest human beings you could ever hope to spend time with,” added producer David Richardson. “This may be a line-up of pure, unadulterated evil – but behind every sinister smile there’s a lovely actor we’re blessed to work with!”

Doctor Who: Masterful is now available to pre-order as a limited edition eight-CD box set (priced at £44.99), or on download (at £39.99) at the Big Finish website.