Absent Friends was the planned fiftieth story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range from Big Finish Productions. It was written by James Goss and had already been fully recorded, but was pulled before release following allegations about John Barrowman's sexual misconduct on the set of Doctor Who.[1][2] Along with the unbroadcast radio plays Journey into Time and City of the Saved, this is one of only three performed DWU-related stories known to have been fully recorded, but cancelled before being officially broadcast or released in any form. Out of these three, Absent Friends is alone in not being a pilot episode for an unexecuted series.
- You may be looking for the Doom Coalition audio story.
This release would have brought the Tenth Doctor into the Torchwood series directly, playing off the Torchwood Institute's original aim, to capture and contain the Doctor, as established in series 2 of Doctor Who. It would have seen the Doctor messing up, with Jack sort of taking the lead over him, rather than vice versa.[3]
The cancelled story was originally slated for release in May 2021.[4] In January 2022, it was announced that another audio would be numbered 50X in the range, with Big Finish reiterating they have no plans to release Absent Friends at this time.[5]
Publisher's summary
On a dark and stormy night in Cardiff, the city is in danger, and the Doctor’s put himself in charge of Torchwood in order to save it. In a sealed recording studio, the voices of the dead have been playing for 17 years. Was it the project of a madman, or is this the site of something terrible? Torchwood has been hunting for the Doctor since 1879. And now they’ve found him. They may regret it.
Cast
- Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
- Tenth Doctor - David Tennant
- Mishka - Ayesha Antoine
- Devin - Colin McFarlane
Notes
• Had this story been released, it would have marked the first in-person appearance of the Doctor in an instalment of Torchwood.