Doctor Who: John Barrowman, David Tennant Torchwood Reunion Canceled

Torchwood: Absent Friends, the audio drama that would reunite David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor with John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, will not be released. Big Finish Productions on Friday announced that it would pull the new audio adventure from its release schedule, stating, “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” The decision comes as Barrowman’s habit of exposing himself on the sets of Doctor Who and Torchwood is being revisited while his former Doctor Who co-star Noel Clarke is under investigation for sexual misconduct. The renewed attention comes from a clip of Clarke describing Barrowman’s behavior during a convention panel, which has been circulating online. It is not the result of any new allegations as Barrowman’s misbehavior since he was reprimanded in 2008.

“I met with John and reprimanded him [to] make it clear to both John and his agent that behaviour of this kind would not be tolerated,” Doctor Who/Torchwood executive producer Julie Gardner told The Guardian. “To my knowledge, John’s inappropriate behaviour stopped thereafter.”

Last week, Barrowman released a statement about his behavior. In his statement, Barrowman states that his “high-spirited behaviour” was “only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and backstage” He goes on to say that, “With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously. Since my apology in November 2008, my understanding and behaviour have also changed.”

Gareth David-Lloyd, who played Ianto Jones opposite Barrowman on Torchwood and was to reprise the role in Absent Friends, offered a statement to Metro recalling his experience with Barrowman’s behind-the-scenes behavior:

“In my experience on Torchwood John’s behaviour on set was always meant to entertain, make people laugh and keep their spirits and energy high on what were sometimes very long working days. It maybe that because we were so close as a cast that professional lines were sometimes blurred in the excitement – I was too inexperienced to know any different but we were always laughing. The John I knew on set would have never behaved in a way he thought was affecting someone negatively. From what I know of him that is not his nature. He was a whirlwind of positive energy, always very generous, kind and a wonderfully supportive lead actor to have at the helm of the show.”

What do you think of Big Finish shelving Torchwood: Absent Friends? Let us know in the comments.