John Barrowman Stirs Up Torchwood Fans by Visiting Ianto Jones Shrine

John Barrowman riled up Torchwood fans by visiting a landmark dedicated to Ianto Jones. Barrowman returned to the Doctor Who universe as his beloved character Captain Jack Harkness on New Year’s Day during the “Revolution of the Daleks” Festive Special. Barrowman debuted as Harkness in the early seasons of the revived Doctor Who and then played the character as the lead in the adult-aimed spinoff series Torchwood. Harkness and Jones (Gareth Lloyd Jones), another member of Torchwood, were lovers. In the Torchwood: Children of Earth miniseries, which served as the final season of the series, Jones died in Jack’s arms.

Fans created a shrine to Jones in Cardiff, the home of Torchwood‘s production. Though Torchwood: Children of Earth debuted in 2009, the Ianto Jones shrine remains intact today. Barrowman paid a visit, incognito, as you can see by the Tweet embedded below.

“Out for my walk and nobody knew it was me paying some respect to Ianto,” Barrowman tweeted. This visit got Torchwood fans talking, especially after “Revolution of the Daleks” name-dropped Gwen Cooper, the other surviving Torchwood member, and as Barrowman’s Doctor Who future remains up in the air.

“I have no idea, you’ll have to talk to the producers,” Barrowman told RadioTimes when asked about returning as Captain Jack in future Doctor Who episodes. “I’ve always said, if I’m asked I will do it at the drop of a hat – I will happily come back to the TARDIS any time I am asked. Except I’ll be grey-haired now, so we have to work that into the plot, that something happened to Jack’s hair! Or they’ll dye it – they can sort it out. But I don’t know what the future holds. We have to wait and see.”

Despite Ianto Jones’ death, Gareth David-Lloyd still plays the character in Torchwood audio stories from Big Finish Productions. He next plays Ianto in Torchwood: Absent Friends, which also stars Barrowman as Harkness and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor in a crossover story celebrating Torchwood‘s 15th anniversary and five years of Torchwood audio adventures.

“Fans have been asking for this for a long time,” Barrowman said in the project’s announcement. “Now that it’s okay and it’s been cleared, it’s great to have him on board. There’s an interesting dynamic going on here because Jack still wants to follow him but yet wants to impress on him that he’s still the leader.”