Has the role of the Master been cast for Series 34?

It has been rumoured for months now, that the Master is set to return in Series 34 (8) of Doctor Who, when the show airs in the autumn. Back in January, it was strongly rumoured that Charles Dance could be taking on the mantel of Master from the fabulous John Simm. This may now not be the ase. 

Below is how Umbridge1986 on Deviant Art visualised Charles Dance as the Master

Speaking at the Newcastle Film And Comic Con, Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor, was asked who his favourite Doctor Who villain was. Sylvester revealed his favourite Doctor Who villain was the Master. He then went on to say that the Master would be back this year, but not played by John Simm. McCoy didn't reveal the actors name but said he knew who had been cast and that he'll be very scary. 

Former Eastenders actor Steve John Shepherd (Michael Moon) may already have been cast as the Doctor's  arch-nemesis and fellow Time Lord  – the Master.

 

Looking nothing like his fastidiously dapper and clean shaven Walford wideboy character Michael Moon, whom he portrayed between 2010 and 2013, Steve has grown a beard that’s a dead ringer, none too dissimilar for the type sported by Roger Delgrado and Anthony AInsley, who both played the Master in the 70s and 80s.

Also, the snap appears to show the actor standing by a craggy seaside outcrop that suspiciously resembles the windswept South Wales coastline – also, its upload date of January 19 is around the same time the new series of Who would have been filming in Merthry Mawr, just a short Tardis ride from both Porthcawl and Ogmore-by-Sea.

It’s a coincidence which seems to add credence to the ongoing internet rumours that Shepherd is a shoo-in for the coveted role, whispers which were inadvertently started by Shepherd himself late last year when he appeared on ITV’s Daybreak programme to reveal he was about to start work on a big project in the New Year but “couldn’t go into the details.”

We shall have to await news from the Doctor Who camp whether this speculation is correct. In the meantime; below, a fan's tribute to Steve John Shepherd as the Master.