John Barrowman made a shock return to Doctor Who as bisexual hero Captain Jack Harkness
John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who (BBC)
Doctor Who fans were thrilled when John Barrowman made a surprise comeback as the “omni-sexual” time traveller Captain Jack Harkness, a decade after he last appeared on the show. Warning: Major spoilers follow.
Captain Jack made his return during Sunday night’s “Fugitive of the Judooon”, accidentally abducting The Doctor’s companions while trying to deliver a warning to the Time Lord (Jodie Whittaker).
After beaming Graham (Bradley Walsh) into his ship, he mistakes him for The Doctor – who he has only ever met as male – and plants a deep, long kiss on his lips.
Fans were robbed of a Captain Jack-Doctor reunion, but the cliffhanger ending (The Doctor came face to face with another, previously unseen version of herself played by Jo Martin, the first black woman to take on the role) sets the stage for another appearance by Barrowman.
John Barrowman was asked back by Doctor Who show runner Chris Chibnall.
The Scottish-American actor said it felt “absolutely amazing” to return to the fold, a little more than a decade after his last stint on the show.
“I wouldn’t say vindication is the word because you know me, I’m not negative,” he told RadioTimes.
“But put it this way – there’s a little grin on my face.”
Captain Jack’s return was set in motion after show runner Chris Chibnall called Barrowman out of the blue.
“I just started jumping around on the street and I was like ‘Yes! Yes!'” the actor said.
Captain Jack Harkness actor on kissing Bradley Walsh.
He added that Captain Jack Harkness continues to be “flirtatious, sassy and determined”, telling RadioTimes that he improvised a little when it came to filming his kiss with Walsh.
“The director said to me ‘Do what you want’, so I held on. I don’t think Bradley’s ever been kissed that long in his life!
“It was great. You can tell I was very happy and excited to be back.”
Captain Jack broke new ground when he joined the rebooted series in 2005, becoming the first LGBT+ character in Doctor Who‘s history.
Doctor Who made history with bisexual hero.
Barrowman has previously said that the character is “bisexual, but in the realm of the show, we call him omnisexual, because [characters] also have sex with aliens who take human form.”
That Captain Jack Harkness was a swashbuckling action hero who just happened to be LGBT+ was not overlooked by the queer community, who have regularly ranked him as one of the best gay or bisexual TV characters of all time.
Though he hasn’t appeared on Doctor Who since the 2010 special, “The End of Time: Part Two”, Captain Jack was given his own spin-off, Torchwood, which aired between 2006 and 2011.
Since then, Barrowman has publicly campaigned for the character to be brought back, reprising the role in a series of Torchwood audio plays.
Now that he has made his big comeback, Barrowman teased that he would come back “at the drop of a hat” if asked, but refused to comment on the episode’s cliffhanger ending.
“You can read into it all you want, but I’m not saying a thing.”
