10 Biggest Doctor Who Conspiracy Theories

Doctor Who’s 2021 San Diego Comic-Con panel promised appearances from all of the main cast, plus a very special surprise guest.

Some fans believed this to be John Barrowman, who had returned to the show as Captain Jack Harkness the previous year. In the end it turned out to be Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson, who had been cast as Doctor Who’s next spacefaring hero, Vinder, in Flux.

There were comparisons between the two characters from the off, not least Vinder being a roguish freelance space traveller with no quarrels about using guns. This led many fans to believe that Jack was originally set to appear in Flux, and that Vinder was a hastily-conceived replacement.

The conspiracy goes that Barrowman was sacked as a result of the allegations of him exposing himself on set during RTD1, which resurfaced in April 2021. Flux still had a couple of months filming to go at that point, so the timelines might add up.

Much more convincing however is the theory that he was physically unable to appear, due to being locked down at his home in Palm Springs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering Jack was reintroduced to the Whoniverse with much fanfare in 2020, it would've made a lot of sense for him to be in Flux, and his weird offscreen exit in Revolution of the Daleks only adds fuel to the fire. Was another departure scene filmed – perhaps one where he didn’t depart at all, but stayed behind on the TARDIS? Only for the current scene to be thrown together when his planned appearance in Flux fell through?

Due to the controversy surrounding Barrowman these days, we might never know for sure. But some would say the evidence speaks for itself.