For a show that’s all about regeneration and change, Doctor Who fans sure do like wishing that old favorites would return. But that’s only to be expected when the revived series has served up so many amazing characters. And, as it is does feature time travel, there’s no reason why the Doctor can’t bump into a familiar face once in a while. In fact, if it were up to fans, there’s one face (of Boe) that she’d meet first.
Radio Times ran a poll asking folks to name the character from the show they’d most like to see come back. Nearly 2,000 people voted and the answer was unanimous – John Barrowman needs to return as Captain Jack Harkness. A whooping 38% of those polled are fans of the dashing Time Agent, far beyond the number that voted for second place – Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble, with 14%. Alex Kingston’s River Song, meanwhile, got 13% in third place and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) rounded out the top four with 9%.
RT spoke to Barrowman about his character’s victory and the star was shocked with his win. “Wow! I knew he was popular,” he said, “but I didn’t think he was that popular,” The actor went on to tell the site about the impact that Jack, as the first openly non-heterosexual hero on Doctor Who, had on fans.
“I don’t want to make it sound like I’m boosting my ego, but there have been young people who have said to me: ‘Captain Jack made me realise I don’t have to apologize for being who I am, for being pan or being bi or being trans.’”
As for how Jack has impacted his own life, Barrowman promised that he would play him again “at the drop of a hat” if he was asked.
“And I have Captain Jack to thank for changing my life financially – I’m going to be honest here!” he laughed. “But Captain Jack, for me, is somebody who I’ll always love. And I’ve said that if I’m ever asked to come back and play him, I will do it at the drop of a hat!”
In fact, we’ve just heard about one way that Captain Jack could return. Barrowman recently spoke about how he met with former showrunner Russell T. Davies and the pair chatted about making a movie that reunited him with David Tennant and Piper. He’s also always trying to get the BBC to get a Torchwood revival going.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens on that front, but Doctor Who season 12 will bring back the Tenth Doctor’s old enemies, the Judoon. Look out for the Time Lord’s return to TV early next year.