Steven Moffat has addressed rumours that he is responsible for preventing Torchwood’s return to TV.

The rumour, for those not following so far, has originated from comments made by John Barrowman over the past several days.

Barrowman initially claimed in an interview that “certain egos” were in the way of the spin-off’s return. He then dropped some not-so-subtle hints that one of these figures was Steven Moffat: “I’m being told that it can’t come back until it’s got approval from certain people involved with Doctor Who … But that might change when somebody leaves, and when somebody new and wonderful comes in.”

Moffat himself has now issued a response on the matter. He says: “You may be aware that John Barrowman has been saying, publicly, that I’ve been blocking a new series of Torchwood. To be very clear – I haven’t blocked it; I wouldn’t block it; I wouldn’t even be ABLE to block it. I didn’t even know a revival had been mooted till I read about it on the Internet. As John perfectly well knows, it’s not my show and I could no more prevent it happening that he could cancel Sherlock.

“I am bewildered, and a little cross, even to be included in this conversation. For the record, I really liked the show (especially the third series) and would be very happy to see more – monsters and mayhem, why not? But the fact is, it has nothing to do with me. Please pass this on to the anxious and the angry – I’ve had enough hate mail now.”