John Barrowman has given what many Doctor Who fans consider a hint that Captain Jack Harkness will appear in this year’s Christmas Special!
Even now, two Doctors and six years after his last appearance, John Barrowman’s Jack Harkness is still considered one of Doctor Who fans’ favorite not-quite-companions.
Captain Jack first showed up in season 1 of the Doctor Who reboot, making the moves on both Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and the Doctor himself.
Credit: Whovian Feminism
He would travel with the Doctor and Rose for a while, before tragically sacrificing himself — but luckily, Rose had used the powers of the TARDIS to make him immortal, which led to the fantastic but too short Torchwood spinoff.
Captain Jack, aside from being fantastic, is also one of the series’ only LGBT characters, being a confirmed bisexual who has had relationships with both women and men (the love of his life commonly accepted as being Ianto Jones).
Related: Doctor Who spinoff dreams: What we really want is Torchwood
So obviously we would love to see Jack return for some hi-jinks with current Doctor Peter Capaldi! Especially if we get a few more hints that he’ll one day become the Face of Boe.
John Barrowman himself fueled the fire this week, releasing this teasing video:
In the video, Barrowman is returning from Cardiff to London after a book signing, but says, “I will be back in Cardiff in about a week and a half… but I’m not telling you what for. Shhhh!” Curiously, Doctor Who also starts shooting in Cardiff this month. Coincidence? Impossible.
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to learn whether new companion Bill (played by Pearl Mackie) will appear in the Christmas Special. Peter Capaldi previously told Radio Times, “I don’t know whether they would be involved in the Christmas special, because it’s so specific, the story we’re doing with the companion.”
With Steven Moffat stepping down as Doctor Who showrunner after series 10, we could see him wanting to send one of the New Who’s defining characters, off in style. Especially seeing as Moffat himself wrote “The Empty Child,” the episode which introduced Jack Harkness to the Doctor Who universe.