MASTER OF DISGUISE

Michelle Gomez on playing the enigmatic Madame Rouge

What kind of research was required for the role of Madame Rouge? Rouge appears in her strange time machine at the end of the season premiere. What did you enjoy about her introduction?

The introduction is absolutely preposterous and ridiculous. The thing I most enjoyed was the fact that I was in this show called Doctor Who. I played the Master. There was lots of chat in the Doctor Who fandom as to why the Master never gets a time machine. Before the revamp, I think the Master might have had his own time machine, but I certainly didn’t get one. I was willing to step into anything that could transport me. I would step into an old Gucci bag. I get on Doom Patrol and all of a sudden, I have a time machine. It felt so right.

In what ways does Rouge’s amnesia add another layer to the character?

It meant that she could be anything, any time, any place, anywhere. She could change on a dime. She was really unpredictable, and I loved playing that. I also liked finding the humanity in that, as well, of really not knowing who you are. You could play that to comedic effect. But, actually, there’s something deeply disturbing and upsetting about not being able to place anything. I had a good chat with Jeremy Carver when it first came onto my radar. I had a few questions for him. My first was, actually, “Why is she called Madame Rouge? Am I going to be delivering a dodgy French accent?” I was kind of into that for a minute. He was like, “No, no, no. Just do your own voice. She’s not actually French.” We don’t really know who she is, apart from the fact that she’s called Madame Rouge. I feel I was born to play madams. Am I ever going to play a character with a real name? How about Fiona or Allison? It’s the Master! Madame Satan! I was like, “I can’t play another Madame. Really? No.” I spoke to Jeremy and, yes, I could.