3. Michelle Gomez - Doctor Who
It's back to Scotland again for our next entry, and comedy actress Michelle Gomez, best known before this role for Riverdancing up a hospital corridor in surreal sitcom Green Wing. Her announcement as a guest star in Series 8 of Doctor Who wasn't the most seismic in the show's history. If Whovians knew the part she'd been lined up for however... well, the internet would have shattered before being glued back together by a mad monkey. Her revelation she was in fact the Master sent shockwaves through the online forums and cliquey pubs. We'd already had a fair taste of her eccentric, powerful performance throughout the run. Now Gallifreyan fanatics needed to reassess and get a handle on this new development quickly. Showrunner Steven Moffat's decision had been so incendiary it could well have exploded the programme altogether. Was it possible for Peter Capaldi's Doctor to have a flirtatious relationship with his former mate-turned-megalomaniac? That question got roundly answered when Gomez was immediately asked back to open the antics of Series 9.
Steve Palace
Contributor
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
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Steve