An audio adventure which would have re-united John Barrowman and David Tennant has been cancelled. The two actors starred as Captain Jack Harkness and the Doctor in the BBC science-fiction drama Doctor Who. The charismatic Captain Jack character joined the show in its 2005 revival series and went on to star in spin-off Torchwood. Barrowman starred in a number of Doctor Who audio adventures since his time on the flagship show and recently returned as Captain Jack in “Revolution of the Daleks”, the Doctor Who New Year’s Special.
Recent weeks have seen Barrowman’s conduct on the Doctor Who set come under the spotlight. In a resurfaced video filmed at a sci-fi convention in 2014, Doctor Who actors Noel Clarke, Annette Badland, and Camille Coduri discuss Barrowman allegedly exposing himself to others. In the clip, Clarke says “Barrowman was there taking his d*** out every five seconds.” Representatives for Clarke, who played Mickey Smith in the series, described the video as a ‘good-humoured conversation’, though Clarke himself has faced a number of sexual harassment claims. Crew members also describe being made uncomfortable by Barrowman, alleging incidents including the actor exposing his genitals in his dressing room.
The audio adventure publisher Big Finish (via io9) announced that the upcoming series Torchwood: Absent Friends, which would have starred Barrowman and Tennant, has been cancelled. The statement did not allude to the sexual exposure claims against the actor. However, this follows the actor being dropped from an upcoming immersive Doctor Who theater show, Time Fracture. Read the full statement from Big Finish:
“Big Finish has taken the decision to remove Torchwood: Absent Friends from the Monthly Range release schedule and has no plans to publish this title at this time.”
In the context of the ‘MeToo’ era, sexual harassment on the sets of movie and TV shows has faced increasing scrutiny. Barrowman’s behaviour has long been discussed by cast and crew members, some of whom dismissed the conduct as light-hearted or in good humor. However, with Clarke fielding a number of allegations, the alleged unprofessional culture on-set of the BBC show has been framed in a new context. Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner reprimanded the actor in 2008 for his behaviour on the set of Torchwood and Barrowman made an public apology at the time. There are no known allegations against the actor since this admonishment.
Whovians may be disappointed to learn the audio adventure Torchwood: Absent Friends has been cancelled. Captain Jack was a popular character in the Doctor Who world, noted for his cheeky rapport with the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth incarnations of the Doctor. The character was popular enough to lead the spin-off Torchwood through four seasons. However, fans will note the importance of taking sexual harassment allegations seriously. Cancelling the audio adventure may be the best course of action while the BBC investigate allegations of harassment on the Doctor Who set.
Source: Big Finish (via io9)
Originally from https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-torchwood-barrowman-tennant-reunion-cancelled-big-finish/