John Barrowman, 58, admits ‘I regret nothing’ as he finally speaks out on being cancelled after ‘misconduct’ storm
Actor John Barrowman has admitted he “regrets nothing” as he gave a candid interview about being cancelled for “misconduct” while filming on the sets of Doctor Who and Torchwood.
The 58-year-old actor explained how he has been “completely blacklisted” after allegations of inappropriate behaviour during filming between 2005 and 2011 came to light in 2021.
Barrowman was accused of repeatedly “exposing himself” on set when he starred as Captain Jack Harkness in the two shows, and has since struggled to find work in the industry.
Despite this, he stated in a new interview: “I don’t regret anything,” adding: “It’s not so much regret; it was something that was stupid and silly and it was done.”
Speaking in a televised conversation set to air on STV’s Scotland Tonight, the Scottish-American actor continued: “I don’t look back and go… Because at the time, everybody was laughing. Everybody on set was having a laugh.”
When aksed by presenter Rona Dougall if colleagues agreed his actions on set were “silliness and a bit of a carry on,” he responded: “Nobody complained.”
“On Doctor Who, I was not the star. David [Tennant] was the star,” he went on.
“I was one of the companions. But everybody was doing outrageous, silly things. It’s just that they weren’t dragged into this situation by a piece of lazy journalism.”
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When asked about allegations suggesting he was “basically flashing,” Barrowman strongly refused.
He argued the “flashing” accusations were “misconstrued,” adding: “I was not walking around flashing people randomly and doing things like that.
“If I were doing a nude scene, they’d say, ‘Do you want to go back to the trailer?] [and] I’d say, ‘No just leave me here.’
“It was meant to be a closed set – and I’d say, ‘Leave me here and let’s save time, I’ll just stand here and it’ll save time that I don’t have to go back, have to change, then you have to bring me back and we have to start all over again.’
“So I would stand there, if I was in a nude scene, completely naked, and if somebody walked on set, which they weren’t supposed to, I might just do something like that [jiggles] and it was nothing outrageous.”
He went on to describe the period of filming for the series as “a different time”.
Barrowman recently spoke out against the cancellation of ITV chef Gino D’Acampo, who this year found himself embroiled in a misconduct scandal following complaints, which go back more than 12 years. He has denied the claims.
Speaking recently to The Mirror, Barrowman commented: “Nothing lies ahead for me because of all the c**p that was said about me, which is not true.”
He shared: “It’s the same with Gino D’Acampo at the moment.
“Which is unfortunate because they’re the ones who – the TV shows, and I use this as an example – like the one where he’s on the TV show and he’s standing there cooking in an apron but he’s naked.
“Now he didn’t decide to do that. Production asked him to do it.
“So, they’re sexualising him in the same way as when I was on camera, and they would do something like, ‘You got to be naked. You’ve got to do this.'”
Scotland Tonight: A Conversation with John Barrowman airs on Thursday, March 13 8:30pm on STV and STV Player.