Sacha Dhawan gave away Doctor Who Master role early to Steven Moffat
"I was like, ‘He’s got such a huge reaction to that, why?' I’d just given away the biggest secret."
There aren't many shows which strive to keep their casting a secret as much as Doctor Who: Roles are usually announced months after the actors find out they've got the parts, and it can be a struggle for them to keep things under wraps.
One star who managed it was Sacha Dhawan, whose surprise casting as The Master was kept airtight right up until his first episode aired.
However, it turns out he actually did let the secret slip to one former showrunner - Mr Steven Moffat.
Speaking with RadioTimes.com exclusively about his new show Wolf, Dhawan recalled a dinner he had with Moffat, where he accidentally gave away the big reveal.
He said: "I do remember when I was doing Doctor Who and I was quite new to stepping into the universe, as it were, and I went for dinner with Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue for Dracula - before we started filming, we just had a little meal. And for some reason I assumed that Steven was still attached to Doctor Who."
He continued: "And I said, 'Oh, you know, I'm playing this character who's got this tissue compression eliminator,' and I could see in Steven’s face, he went, ‘Are you playing The Master?’
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"And I got absolutely told off because it was supposed to be a secret. I just assumed that Steven was still part of the show, and I realised he wasn’t on it anymore and I’d given away one of the biggest secrets.
"As I said it to him on the day, I knew something, because I could tell by his face he just was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I was like, ‘He’s got such a huge reaction to that, why?' I’d just given away the biggest secret."
Dhawan isn't the only cast member to admit to a slip-up when trying to keep a lid on his casting - Ncuti Gatwa, who will play the Fifteenth Doctor, revealed earlier this year that he found keeping the secret "very difficult", and that he would "often get a little tipsy in Soho House, make a new best friend in the bathroom, tell them and run off".
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Dhawan recently teased that he is "involved in a few things that I can’t talk about" when it comes to Doctor Who.
Could he be returning to face off against Gatwa's Doctor? Only time will tell.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here. You can also watch Sacha Dhawan in Wolf, which is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.
For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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