Doctor Who's John Simm Denies Fans 'Slur'

Former Doctor Who star John Simm has angrily denied claims he was fed up with the attention he gets from the show's fans.

The actor, who played the Time Lord's nemesis The Master in five episodes of the sci-fi programme, allegedly said he was annoyed at fans coming up to him in supermarkets when he is with his children.

He was quoted in the Radio Times as saying: "I do get a lot of Doctor Who. God almighty, I'll be so happy when that's gone from my life. They're lovely, I'm sure, but I won't miss it."

As part of the interview, which Sky News understands was recorded in full on tape, he added: "It's great to be into something, but for goodness' sake, really? I'm not The Master, I'm not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I'm just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!"

Simm has now taken to Twitter to deny the claims .

He said: "The Radio Times has really done a number on me re Dr Who 'quote'. Thanks for that! Suffice to say It was taken out of context AGAIN.

"To 'Whovians' or whoever. It's a non story. I always try to be polite to fans and am v proud of my time in the show.

"You can choose to believe what you like but I really meant no offence.

"Stopped doing print interviews a while ago coz of this, if you see one its either old or thrown together."

He also denied shopping at Tesco, adding "that's nothing against" the supermarket.

Fans' website DrWhoOnline said on Twitter: "Let's hope your time on the show isn't quite done yet."

The Life On Mars, The Village and Mad Dogs star also allegedly said that he hated attending award ceremonies - and not because he may have been snubbed by judges.

He was quoted by the Radio Times as saying: "I've always found that whole thing really weird. You're not that bothered about it, because acting's not a competition. It's all subjective.

"But when you do get nominated, of course you've got a competitive streak and you want to win it and you get really p****d off when you don't.

"It's just a horrible thing to have to go through, so I prefer to have nothing to do with them."

He added: "I really hated it when I went (in 2011). I can't bear those red carpet things. And then you've got a camera in your face so the world gets to watch your expression as you lose."

A spokesman for the Radio Times said: "Far from 'doing a number' on John Simm, Radio Times published a wide-ranging 1,200-word interview with an actor our readers admire, who - as we said in the piece - is unquestionably on top of his game.

"We didn’t even ask John a question about Doctor Who, he chose to bring it up himself.

"The interview was conducted almost a year ago on set in South Africa while John was shooting the new series of Mad Dogs. It's running in this week's issue of Radio Times because the programme is now being broadcast on Sky 1."