John Barrowman says he's been 'blackballed' and 'can’t even get an audition anymore’
John Barrowman is about to hit the road again after a three years he describes as “devastating”. He was, in his words, “blackballed” after accusations of flashing on the set of Doctor Who.
After the accusations came to a head in 2021 he issued a statement saying: “With the benefit of hindsight I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously. Since my apology in November 2008 my understanding and behaviour have also changed.”
He had hoped that would be the end of it but he went on to lose almost everything, he says in an interview with WalesOnline from his house at Palm Springs, California, where he lives with his husband Scott Gill and his parents who have recently moved in. He lost his role as a judge on ITV’s Dancing On Ice and other work dried up. He claims many of those he worked with “turned their backs” on him.
“I think I’ve been badly treated, definitely,” Barrowman says ahead of returning to Wales for the second leg of his tour in February. The conveniently-named Laid Bare includes dates in Swansea, Carmarthen, Llandudno, Newtown, Brecon, Aberdare, and Newport. He hopes the tour will inject some life back into his career which he admits has taken a huge hit.
“I’m disgusted at the way my Doctor Who and Torchwood family turned their backs on me – 99% of the things that were said about me were bulls*** and I’m under the impression that the person who started it all, the journalists who ran with it and the online judge and jury who think they can say what they like, seem to have a privilege to ruin someone’s life and career. No-one was offended, no-one was upset. It was created by ‘a source’. It was crap. I ended up being good clickbait and it has lasted for three years. It’s been devastating – to the point I was blackballed. I can’t get into a room for an audition or a meeting anymore. That’s why I’ve decided to talk about it and lay it bare on stage because it’s quite disgusting how people have treated me. I have always been up front and honest and talked about everything and for people to take that and manipulate it is disgusting. Only the truth comes out of my mouth.”
So what happened? “If I was naked on set it’s because it was written into a script and if I was wiggling it or being stupid it was to make myself feel comfortable because I’m standing there stark b****** naked. And to be blunt, when I did that stuff, everyone came down from the office to watch it because they knew John Barrowman was naked on set.
“I wouldn’t do it now. I’d never do it now. It’s a different time. We’d now have coordinators to make everyone feel comfortable, including myself. I’d think about things more now. Sometimes rather than going back to my trailer I decided I’d stay naked on set so we could get the scene done quicker.” For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
There are still tickets available for Laid Bare, perhaps owing to Barrowman’s dwindled reputation, but he says those there will see a side to him they’ve never seen before. “Wales means a great deal to me and I’m really excited to be coming back,” he says. “I do feel like I’ve kind of been adopted by Wales. My father-in-law served in St Athan just outside Cardiff so when we started filming there with Doctor Who and Torchwood I knew about the area and we were drawn to it. My husband’s family own land too in the Gower and we have our home in Sully on the coast which we are renovating at the moment because we want to start using that more in the summers.
“For Laid Bare I really wanted to get around Wales and do some of the regional theatres and feel closer to the audience. Laid Bare is exactly that – we’re stripping it back. You’re going to be entertained, going to learn things about me you might not expect me to talk about. I think it will catch people by surprise a little bit. In the tradition of what I was brought up with in musical theatre when I can’t speak anymore I add a song to it which then helps express how I feel. It’s sort of stand-up with music. But it’s a bit of everything really. There is a question and answer session with the audience and they can ask anything they want to ask. I’ve had the most frivolous to really the hardest questions but I’ll answer them all.”
Can he still watch Doctor Who? “I’m not bitter. Bitter is very different to upset. I’m upset about what happened. I’m still a big fan of Doctor Who. I love watching it and I enjoy Torchwood too. That’ll never change because of what happened. I can still watch Dancing On Ice. I’m good friends with Colin Grafton and I loved watching The Vivienne. What was upsetting at the time when I left Dancing On Ice was only Ashley Banjo and Holly and Phil reached out to me at the time. No-one else did. There is a double standard in the industry which needs to be addressed I feel.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be at peace because I don’t think I deserved what happened to me. But I’m content with where I am at. I've seen a therapist. I've done everything I needed to but what I’ll never get over is how people turned their backs on me because I’m loyal.”
