The Phobia: The Goatee

The Cause: The Master in Doctor Who

Facial hair can be a sign of real character, dating back to the Biblical days. Just look at those huge bushy growths that both Moses and Jesus cultivated. Even God is regularly depicted as possessing a luscious beard. But that highly coiffured thing known as ‘the goatee’ has become known to hordes of Whovians as the follicular haven of the devilish Time Lord known as The Master…

Roger Delgado first strode onto our screens as The Master in ‘Terror of the Autons’ back in 1971, with a nation of children catching a brief glimpse of the goatee as they scurried behind the sofa. Our eyes were forced to confront the dark growth, tinged with streaks of white, as the camera frequently zoomed in on his mouth when he unleashed his hypnotic skills. “You will obey me!” he boomed.

The 1980s saw the advent of the mullet, but The Master, now portrayed by Anthony Ainley, wisely steered clear of such a move. A more youthful adversary for The Doctor, the goatee was now resplendent in full black bristles to match the clothing. Attention was once again drawn to the area courtesy of the fiend’s tendency to emit a cheeky grin whenever committing one of his evil acts.

In between Delgado and Ainley, there were other Masters – and goatee-less they were too. The fact that they had no actual skin at the time meant that any facial fuzz would have been ever so slightly incongruous…

Admittedly, the latest incarnation of The Doctor’s arch nemesis, played by John Simm, is minus the fuzz (and doesn’t he look naked without it?). But The Master’s legacy will live on for the many who lived in fear of the dreaded goatee throughout the 1970s and 80s…