NOT many former Nelson schoolboys are involved in life-or-death struggles across the fabric of space and time.

But Edge End High old boy John Simm will step into the great unknown when he reprises his role as The Master in the Christmas Day showing of Dr Who.

In an episode entitled End Of Time, the famed Time Lord David Tennant is set to regenerate and his successor Matt Smith will take over.

Simm has already appeared as The Master, another Time Lord driven insane by a sneak glimpse into the space-time continuum, during three episodes.

Simm is said to have taken the megalomanic role so he could prove to his eight-year-old son Ryan that he had a proper day job.

“He can never watch anything I’m in and this was perfect because he loves Dr Who,” he said.