WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Doctor Who: Redacted Season 2

Summary

• Doctor Who: Redacted Season 2 reveals the current state of Torchwood, with all hubs closed and the organization defunct.
• Abby and Shawna visit Torchwood Two in Glasgow, where they meet a mysterious century-old man hosting an alien life form.
• It's unlikely that Torchwood will appear in Doctor Who Season 14, but there are rumors of a Torchwood revival in RTD's new Doctor Who era via UNIT.

Doctor Who has revealed what happened to Torchwood after their last TV appearance 12 years ago. The more adult-orientated Doctor Who spinoff aired between 2006 and 2011, coming to an abrupt end with the UK/US co-production Torchwood: Miracle Day. While it was thought that the BBC's deal with Starz may lead to more from Torchwood, it was never to be, despite the best efforts of Captain Jack Harkness actor John Barrowman. Audio production company Big Finish have resurrected Torchwood as an ongoing series, but there has been nothing new on the BBC for 12 years, until now.

Ahead of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials in November, the BBC dropped Doctor Who: Redacted season 2, which contains some interesting teases for the anniversary specials. Redacted season 2 continues the investigations of Cleo Proctor (Charley Craggs) and her two friends Abby (Lois Chimimba) and Shawna (Holly Quin-Ankrah) for their Blue Box Files podcast. Disagreeing on the best angle for their latest episode, Cleo investigates mutated rats in London's Docklands, while Abby and Shawna decide to investigate further into the mysterious Torchwood Institute.

Doctor Who: Redacted Season 2 Brings Back Torchwood (With A Twist)

Torchwood had previously established that there were three hubs located in London, Glasgow, and Cardiff, covering three major cities out of the United Kingdom's four countries. Doctor Who: Redacted season 2 finally pays a visit to Torchwood Two, located in Glasgow as Abby and Shawna try to unearth more information for their conspiracy theory podcast. However, like its London and Cardiff counterparts, Torchwood Glasgow is also a shuttered institution, and has been ransacked by a mysterious thief who is selling his alien haul on the black market.

While in Glasgow, Abby and Shawna meet the mysterious Archie, who seemingly ran Torchwood Two all by himself. Archie was first referenced in Torchwood's pilot episode "Everything Changes", when Captain Jack referred to him as a "very strange man". Shawna and Abby find out how strange when they discover that he's over a century old and his body plays host to a strange alien life form. It's heavily implied that it's the small alien, and not its Glaswegian host, who was really running Torchwood Two.

What Redacted Reveals About Torchwood After Miracle Day

Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper were all that was left standing in Torchwood: Miracle Day, with the institution no longer active following Children of Earth. There were hints that they may resurrect Torchwood after the events of Miracle Day, but that wasn't to be the case. Given the abandoned state that Abby and Shawna find Torchwood Two in, it appears that the organization is now defunct. It's possible that the Grand Serpent (Craig Parkinson) put paid to any attempts to resurrect Torchwood when he shut down UNIT during Doctor Who: Flux.

The original Torchwood House from the David Tennant era of Doctor Who, which inspired Queen Victoria to found the institution is a National Trust heritage site. Visiting the former stately home of the MacLeish family, new couple Abby and Shauna are informed that it also hosts weddings. It's a far cry from the werewolf attack seen in Doctor Who season 2, and an even further cry from the less-than monogamous antics of Captain Jack's Torchwood. Interestingly, Torchwood House's tearoom is run by an enigmatic woman called Morag Stewart, whose name provides an intriguing link to UNIT.

Will Torchwood Be Back For Doctor Who Season 14?

As it's likely that John Barrowman's Captain Jack won't return to Doctor Who any time soon, it's unlikely that there will be a Torchwood presence in season 14. Doctor Who: Redacted has all-but confirmed that the Torchwood Institute is a dead thing, with only a handful of former operatives still aware of its existence. Earlier in 2023, there were rumors that Eve Myles was set to return as Torchwood's Gwen Cooper in either Doctor Who season 14 or the long-rumored UNIT spinoff series. This certainly seems like the more likely route for any Torchwood revival in RTD's new Doctor Who era.

RTD created Torchwood after all, and he may want to return to the idea of an Earth-based alien investigations' spinoff show for the Disney+ era. The sex and violence of Torchwood may be unpalatable to the notoriously squeamish Walt Disney Corporation, so a more family friendly UNIT spinoff might feel like a safer option. It's therefore highly likely that Gwen Cooper may have been headhunted by Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) at some point after the events of Miracle Day, setting up the former Torchwood agent as part of Doctor Who's future.