Doctor Who: John Barrowman Still Game To Return As Jack Harkness

by Calvin Barr
– on Oct 25, 2018
in TV News

John Barrowman says that he would very much like to return to Doctor Who as Captain Jack Harkness. The cavalier time-traveller is among the most beloved supporting characters from the Doctor Who modern era, and the character eventually went on to lead the series spin off Torchwood, which ran from 2006 to 2011. Barrowman expressed interest in bringing Captain Jack back years earlier, and now in the wake of Jodie Whittaker’s era as the Doctor, he’s still as keen as ever. As the series’ first openly bisexual character, he’s become an icon of queer representation in television among fans.

Captain Jack first appeared in 2005, aiding the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in stopping an alien mind-controlling epidemic during the London blitz bombings of World War II. The character went on to assist the Doctor regularly, and it was implied that he and the Face of Bo, an ancient deity seen in numerous adventures, were one in the same. Following the events of “Journey’s End” in which Harkness and the Torchwood crew helped the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) thwart the Dalek’s plan to end reality, his last appearance in Doctor Who is of the Doctor bidding him and the rest of his companions farewell in “The End of Time,” which marked Tennant and showrunner Russell T. Davies’ exit from the series. Now that Chris Chibnall has taken over creative direction, the character may have a new opportunity to be written back in.

Barrowman told Good Morning Britain that he’s grateful for the longevity of Captain Jack’s impact on himself and the fans. He’s leaving the door open when it comes to returning to Doctor Who.

“Listen if they asked me, I’d go back at the drop of the hat, and I’ve always said that from the day I moved on from Torchwood and Doctor Who to other things. If they asked me, definitely – Captain Jack Harkness changed my life, Doctor Who changed my life. It led to so many other things, and I would love to play Jack again at some point.”

Being a long-time fan of series, Barrowman has praised Whittaker’s debut performance in “The Woman Who Fell To Earth,” although he was reportedly disappointed that the classic theme song wasn’t included in the premiere. He also has a standing invitation to return to his role on Arrow as Malcolm Merlyn, which the actor seems to be open to as well.

Since Torchwood ended with Jack’s resurrection as a presumably immortal being, there are an infinite number of adventures that he could have been on during the Steven Moffat-led era of Doctor Who. Barrowman’s irresistible cowboy charisma combined with Tennant’s “allons-y” vibrato in their roles made for some of the best chemistry in the series, and since Whittaker is embodying the most wide-eyed, vivacious version of the Doctor so far, bringing them together could offer immeasurable delight. Given his flirt-first, gender-be-damned tendancies, his would-be relationships to the new companions would have its own set of possibilities. So far, relatively little is known about Graham, Yasmin, and Ryan, beyond Ryan’s tension with Graham, as his unwanted step-grandfather. Since the most recent Doctor Who series has been so well received, bringing back a fan-favorite could step it up to one of the best loved of all time.