What is the actual explanation behind his popularity?
Was it his dashing good looks? Perhaps, but many companions looked good, including some who actually ended up tremendously unpopular, such as Mel.
Was it his flamboyant expression of LGBT inclinations? Perhaps, but some people who were actually LGBT actually found him slightly pandering and too stereotypically hypersexual, and thus not really their best representation, and frankly, I don't blame them either.
But the main secret to the character's success is probably not difficult to explain:
Comedy. Captain Jack Harkness had to be one of the single funniest companions the Doctor ever had. His blunt innuendos pushed all boundaries of decency to the point in which it was hard not to be amused by them.
But he was more than just a funny guy. Jack Harkness' expression of comedy was often his coping mechanism for the variously dangerous situations he was in, and his means of breaking down tension with the often intense Ninth Doctor, meaning he was not only hilarious, but also a vital means of changing the story's tension, whilst making the story feel more alive and believable to fans watching the show.
But it's only natural. Like most good characters, Jack Harkness had many sources and underwent lots of changes, which is usually how one creates characters that naturally fit and connect with many others as he did. His origins lay in the Marvel Comics witch, Agatha Harkness, who was every bit as prone to character development and secret-keeping as he was. Loosely based on her, Russel T. Davies constructed the character around the idea that he would begin as a cowardly character who would become extremely courageous towards the end, starting as somebody who hid in the shadows and exploited others, but grew into somebody who faced down the Daleks without any shred of fear.
Because of his very peculariar and highly specific function, Jack Harkness unsurprisingly ceased to be the companion when the Ninth Doctor got replaced by the more energetic Tenth.
Of course, this is the good Captain's story function. What you probably came for was a tribute, and I will never fail to deliver in this area!
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