Melbourne
March 29-30, 2025
Melbourne Showgrounds
10 years after its epic finale, Torchwood’s legacy lives on strong, so it’s not surprising our Friday night Adelaide panel with John and Carole Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd had fans buzzing.
Here are some highlights.
On keeping busy in Adelaide
John: “I always do a Peter Alexander shop when I land.”
But that’s not all he’s been up to, proudly declaring, “I rode a tram,” before being congratulated by Gareth and sliding into a verse of The Trolley Song.
On Torchwood’s success
Gareth: “I think it was ahead of its time when it came out; the issues, the characters, the extent to which the characters were flawed. I think it’s still groundbreaking today.”
Carole: “I also think there’s something with the relationships in the show that appealed to people.”
John: “No one was ever defined and put into a corner; everybody had the chance to grow. And we were all pretty hot, too.”
Did John bring his heels?
John: “You’ll just have to come see my panel tomorrow, won’t you? I might have an outfit or two planned. I bought a really good one today. Peter Alexander had a sequined rainbow coat and hot pants.”
On Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who
Carole: “I think it’s about f-ing time we had a woman Doctor. There’s a lot of women in my generation that fell in love with the show in part because of the companions, because a lot of the time the champion was a stronger woman in the context in the show.”
On a music video that was never meant to be made public
After discussing his musical endeavours and fan crowdfunding, John urged fans to watch Doctor Who wrap party special The Ballad of Russell and Julie, a video that they made for fun with no intention of releasing.
On working with your sibling
When asked how it is to work with your sibling, John quickly joked it as “awful”, before Carole chimed in and said, “if it wasn’t for the money…”
On becoming a writer
Gareth: “I was sitting around waiting for a producer to give me a job, and I thought, ‘What’s the point of waiting for someone in a suit to tell me when to be creative?’ If you’re a painter you go in your garage and you paint; if you’re a writer, you sit and write.”
On the Ianto shrine in Cardiff
Gareth: “It’s very flattering to think that a work I’ve been involved with has moved people to erect a shrine.”
Carole then recalled a time when her and John were in Cardiff working on another project and he thought it would be funny to stop by and make a scene, screaming “he’s dead” over and over, with fans visiting the sacred location both in awe and wildly confused.
What happens when fans give “Supa-Stars” Tim Tams?
John: “I’m gonna rub those all over my body.”
Oh, and John tried to steal someone’s baby. We’ll just leave it at that.
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