Torchwood: John Barrowman’s Deal with Arrow, Plus Steven Moffat Denies Blocking Revival
By Leah Tedesco
If John Barrowman were to be asked to return to Torchwood, the producers at Arrow would accommodate him. He claims that Moffat is the reason for the hold-up, but the Doctor Who showrunner says that he is not to blame.
Back in June of 2015, we shared an article which quoted John Barrowman as saying that the producers of Arrow told him that, hypothetically, they would make special arrangements for him to be able to work on Torchwood again. Amidst the current hoopla regarding the push to get the popular program back in production, he recently brought up this same point to Huw Fullerton of Radio Times.
In July of the current year, Barrowman created quite a stir when he announced that he was in talks to produce more Torchwood for television. Last week, in another interview with Fullerton, however, Barrowman put a bit of a damper on our hopes. In it, the actor says that the things which are holding up a Torchwood revival (side note: that phrase sounds like something straight out of the southern United States) are “egos” and politics at the BBC.
After that interview, a video surfaced of Barrowman on a panel at Comic Con Honolulu in July, discussing the same issue, only this time with more cheek.
Oh lordy. pic.twitter.com/Ba936I4PZ3
— Jamie ✨ (@jamiecourtier00) September 11, 2016
The following is the full panel:
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Barrowman says that Torchwood cannot return until “certain people at Doctor Who” approve it, but that he does not understand why this would be the case. They may be in the same universe, but they are independent entities. He goes on to say, “that might change when, um… somebody leaves… and somebody new and wonderful comes in.” To be fair, Barrowman was given this information from a Torchwood executive producer. On the other hand, while it is understandable that the actor is frustrated — and that he is looking forward to Chris Chibnall coming in as the next Doctor Who showrunner — that dig at Moffat was quite rude.
Well, as it turns out, Moffat claims that he has nothing to do with the matter, anyway. Josiah Rowe of Doctor Who News shared a quote from Moffat stating that not only does he not hold the authority to block a new series of Torchwood, but he would not do so if the power were in his hands. The spin-off is something that he enjoys, “especially the third series.” He is “bewildered and a little cross” about the mixup, and rightfully so.
"Please pass this on to the anxious and the angry – I’ve had enough hate mail now."
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Related Story: Barrowman in Talks to Produce More Torchwood for TV
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