Geoffrey Beevers

Geoffrey Beevers, sometimes credited as Geoffery Beevers, (born 15 January 1941^[1]) played the Decayed Master in The Keeper of Traken, but was credited on-screen and in Radio Times only as "Melkur" to keep the Master's return a surprise.

For his appearance as the Master in The Keeper of Traken, Beevers wore the same hooded robe as worn by Peter Pratt in The Deadly Assassin. However, on this occasion the original rubber mask — which had deteriorated too badly to be saved — was replaced with green makeup and face paint (the latter being used to paint teeth onto Beevers' lips), which allowed Beevers to give the character more facial expression.

He played the Master again in the Big Finish Productions audio dramas Dust Breeding (2001) and Master (2003), after Big Finish were unable to reach a suitable deal with Anthony Ainley, as well as several stories for The Fourth Doctor Adventures, Mastermind, The Light at the End, Ravenous 4, Masterful and the spin-off series Jago & Litefoot. He also wrote and performed his own Master story for Big Finish, I Am The Master, and portrayed an alternative version of the Master in the Doctor of War mini-series.

He shared his memories of The Keeper of Traken on the documentaries Being Nice to Each Other and The Return of the Master, as well as contributing to The Ambassadors of Death's audio commentary.

Personal life[]

Beevers was married to the late Caroline John, who was also in Doctor Who as the Third Doctor's companion Liz Shaw. He appeared alongside her in the Liz Shaw spin-off videos The Devil of Winterborne and Unnatural Selection. Prior to that, he appeared with her in one of The Stranger videos, Eye of the Beholder. Caroline John also appeared in Dust Breeding as Madame Salvadori. The couple also had a daughter, Daisy Ashford.