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John Barrowman misses out on Doctor Who 50th anniversary

"The bottom line is I was not asked," says the disappointed star of Torchwood.

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2013-04-24_1008Torchwood star John Barrowman is upset” about not being invited to participate in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special.

“Everyone on Twitter tries to make it like it’s my decision, but the bottom line is I was not asked,” he has told TV Line.

“[The producers] don’t want to put Jack in it. And I know fans are really upset about it, as was I.”

“People have tried to say it’s my schedule – it’s absolutely not. I was told by the producers of Arrow that if I was asked to do the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who they’d let me go and do it.

“It was nothing to do with my schedule. It’s just a matter of fact that I wasn’t asked.”

He explained: “I understand why they did it. They want to move forward, they want to try some different things.

“I know from how [former showrunner Russell T Davies] approaches things, they’re not doing it just for the uber fan; they’re doing it for the wider audience. And if they’re going to bring a character back it wouldn’t be just for the uber fan, it would be for everybody. So perhaps that’s the thinking they had.”

The Steven Moffat-penned anniversary special is currently in production and is scheduled to air later this year.

8 Responses

  1. My personal view is that Moffat “owns” the 50th anniversary story- and I don’t mean that in a bad or nasty way. As show runner, he has the right to write the story, and he has a specific vision on what that story will be. If it doesn’t involve classic Doctors or previous companions, so be it. The fact that Billie Piper and David Tennant are returning isn’t mainly a sop for the fans, but that they fulfil the agenda he has for the story.

  2. I would have loved to see Christopher Eccleston in the 50th, heck I really wish he had done more than one series.

    I agree you can’t have too many stars retuning as it would bog done and not get on with the story.

  3. There’s only so many characters you can fit into a story, and you don’t want to jam too many in. Russell T Davies loved to overpopulate his stories, but Steven Moffat not so much.

    I was hoping that the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, could come back, to solidify his canon somewhat, but, unless it’s a secret surprise, that doesn’t seem to be happening either.

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