Titan Comics has scrapped plans to publish its Doctor Who graphic novel centering on Captain Jack Harkness following news of allegations raised against John Barrowman.
All traces of "Doctor Who 2021 Event," its working title, have been removed from the Penguin Random House website, and RadioTimes.com received a statement from Titan Comics which read, "We have no plans to publish this comic collection at this time."
The news follows yet another announcement from Big Finish Productions that the audiobook featuring the reunion of Barrowman's Harkness character and the Tenth Doctor will not see distribution. The audiobook had been set for a May 2021 release, but a statement from the Doctor Who and Torchwood audio producer revealed, "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 synopsis of the graphic novel, which has since been deleted, read, "In the midst of kicking alien butt – and looking good doing it – Captain Jack Harkness is suddenly transported through a time-window to 19th Century Cardiff… again!" The plot of the novel was supposedly connected "directly with episode two of the hotly-anticipated series 13," meaning that it's possible Barrowman may have been involved with the 13th series of BBC One's hugely popular franchise.
Barrowman made his debut as Captain Jack Harkness in Series 1 of Doctor Who in 2005, remaining a fixture in Series 3, 4 and 12. Harkness is the central character of Torchwood, a Who spinoff, which aired on BBC from 2006 until 2011. It was during this period when Barrowman's alleged behavior took place, as multiple witnesses have come forward accusing the British-American of exposing himself on a routine basis.
One woman has gone on record saying that Barrowman "would get his genitals out on a regular basis… he'd just sort of have his balls hanging out his trousers or something, which he just thought was really funny." Another anonymous source has claimed that, while she did not feel unsafe, his behavior made her feel "really uncomfortable." She continued, "Sometimes he'd call me into his dressing room, and I would knock on the door and he'd say, 'Oh, look at this,' and he'd just have his willy out, standing in the doorway."
The allegations against Barrowman came about after a 2014 video of Noel Clarke, his Doctor Who co-star, reemerged. Clarke, also facing accusations of sexual harassment, admitted in the recording that Barrowman had a tendency to expose his genitals on set. Portraying the character of Mickey Smith, one of the Doctor's companions, Clarke stands accused of "unwanted touching or groping, sexually inappropriate behaviour and comments on set, professional misconduct, taking and sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos without consent."
In response, Barrowman has said, "With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously." He claimed, "Since my apology in November 2008, my understanding and behaviour have also changed." Characterizing his actions as "high-spirited behaviour," he went on to insist that he "only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and backstage."
Source: RadioTimes.com