Captain Jack Harkness Won’t Return To Doctor Who, But Someone Else Might

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness

I’m beginning to wonder if the folks behind Doctor Who aren’t just pranking us. Three months into the year, there’s still no official confirmation whether any previous Doctors (the characters or the actors who played them) will return for the big 50th anniversary episode, and it seems like most of the related stories of late have been somebody denying that they’re returning, or saying they haven’t been asked. Today, it’s Captain Jack Harkness.

Actor John Barrowman, who played the dashing, omnisexual Captain Jack in both Doctor Who and the spinoff Torchwood, had seemed hopeful about returning in recent weeks, but that hope has been dashed, courtesy of a blunt tweet from Barrowman earlier this week.

 

So there you have it: no Captain Jack. Sure, he hasn’t been a part of the show for a while, but he’s still a beloved part of the mythology, so you’d think they could come up with some small way to include him. His absence wouldn’t be that worrying if it weren’t arriving amidst the continued lack of announcements about just what the hell they actually have planned for this so-called anniversary blow-out. Sure, it’s possible they have huge plans and all the former Doctor actors have just been instructed to “deny everything,” but the continued parade of denials have the troubling air of legitimacy about them.

Even more troubling, after Barrowman’s earlier claims that he was in talks with the BBC to be involved in some capacity, his sister Carole said that the BBC was “mad at him,” presumably for speaking out of turn. I can’t honestly imagine the BBC would nix Barrowman’s return just out of spite, but you never know.

While Barrowman is out, there is one other Who guest star hinting that she might return. Sophia Myles, who played Madame de Pompadour in the outstanding 2006 episode “The Girl in the Fireplace,” sent out several teasing tweets this week that could hint at the character’s return.

 

 

 

Obviously, there are no clues whether she would be returning for the anniversary episode or something else. Hell, she could just be an emotional vampire who feeds off the futile hopes of her fans, but it’s worth noting that there have been rumors about Madame de Pompadour becoming an actual traveling companion of the Doctor for a long time. As much as I like her and I love that episode, I’d almost rather she not return. It would take away some of the tragic beauty of “The Girl in the Fireplace” to see her gallivanting around the cosmos in the Doctor’s magic blue box.

[yop_poll id=”5″]