Two Time Lords will get new bodies on Doctor Who very soon. In addition to the Doctor regenerating this season, his arch enemy/best friend, the Mistress (“Missy”), will also regenerate. Michelle Gomez has confirmed she is leaving Doctor Who.
“Everybody’s leaving, so I’m going to. I mean, what would I do without Peter and Steven? Who would I be?” Gomez told the Radio Times on Tuesday. She also confirmed that her team-up with John Simm was a surprise, because she hadn’t read the script prior to the former-Master’s appearance on the Doctor Who set. “I was sitting next to him, and then we started reading and it was obvious that I hadn’t read the script, because I started shrieking at things, as various events unfolded in that episode.”
In terms of Doctor Who history, Missy is easily the most important and relevant version of the Time Lord, known as the Master, second only to John Simm, who played the character in the David Tennant era, starting in “Utopia.”
John Simm as the Master
Because Simm’s Master and Gomez’s Missy are essentially the same person, the episode (or episodes) in which they team up could very well be what forces the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) to regenerate. The Master’s (Simm) last action was saving the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) from Rassilon (Timothy Dalton), but that was a fluke. The character has never been altogether sane, consistent, or friendly to the Doctor.
At this point, Missy’s role in Season 10 of Doctor Who is still unclear. She’s only been glimpsed in the trailers, and several fans are convinced she is the person inside the mysterious vault the Doctor has been guarding since “The Pilot.” And though Missy is just as unstable and villainous as her previous incarnations, some still hold out hope she may turn to the good side, if even for a moment.
A possible casting replacement for Missy’s next regeneration has not been discussed or announced.
Doctor Who airs on BBC and BBC America on Saturdays at 9 p.m. Eastern.
See also: How Doctor Who Season 10 Will Be Socially Conscience
