Celeb SAS star John Barrowman's heartbreak on wedding day and health battle after flashing co-stars

John Barrowman
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


John Barrowman has been through some tough times recently, revealing he contemplated suicide after being trolled online after it was revealed he had repeatedly flashed his Doctor Who co-stars. The multi-talented actor, singer and author is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and spin-off Torchwood, and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowverse.

But tonight he will take on a completely new challenge as he is put through his paces on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4. But what do you know about the star's life off-camera?

Below we look at his life with his husband, the heartbreak he suffered on their wedding day, his changing accent and his apology over flashing 'his chap' at his Doctor Who co-stars.

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John Barrowman's changing accent

John, 57, was born in Glasgow and lived there until he was eight, when his family moved to the US for his dad's job managing the Caterpillar tractor factory in Aurora, Illinois. He returned to the UK in 1989 and never went back.

His accent has often caused confusion, with him adopting different accents depending on what he is doing. He first adopted an American accent after being mocked by kids at school in the US.

He's known ton speak in his American accent while in public but switches back to his original Scottish accent when with his family. This was first publicly revealed when he visited his parents during the making of his 2008 documentary The Making of Me.

He also uses it when in Scotland (including during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony).

John Barrowman's husband and heartbreak on wedding day

John met his husband, Scott Gill, met back in 1993 after Scott went to watch a play John was in. They entered into a civil partnership in 2006, with the cast of Torchwood and executive producer Russell T Davies as guests at the ceremony in Cardiff.

The pair later got legally married in California in 2013. He revealed the reason they got legally married after law changes, saying on ITV show Loose Women: "We were in a situation once where we were coming back into the US, and being a family in the UK, we were in the line coming through customs, and they said, 'Who is this?'"

"I said, 'This is my partner', because we didn't say husband at that time, and he said, 'We don't recognise that here in this country, get out of the line and get over there'. So I said to Scott, 'When this passes, we are going to go, however we are, go to the registry office and get married, and we did – we woke up in the morning, we got out of bed, put on shorts and a t-shirt, drove down to the registry office, and there's a video of us driving there singing."

The day was 'really emotional' for John, who ended up being asked by several other gay couples in their late 60s, 70s and 80s to be their witness as their families had disowned them.

John Barrowman's health battle after flashing co-stars

John Barrowman has admitted he thought about taking his own life after being accused of flashing cast members on the set of Doctor Who. The actor, 57, said his world came crashing down and his career in TV came to a standstill after the claims emerged in 2021.

He told The Mirror: "I had thoughts of suicide, going out and trying to do certain things and harm myself, and a couple of times debating how I was going to kill myself. The thing was I couldn’t do it because of my family and friends."

John issued a public apology in May 2021 after the claims emerged that he had flashed cast members repeatedly. It came after a 2015 video from a fan convention was unearthed, in which co-star Noel Clarke alleged that he took “his d*** out every five minutes”.

At one point in the clip, Clarke asks his co-star Camille Coduri whether she remembers “that time he put it on your shoulder in the makeup truck?” to which she responds: “Yes, I do." His co-star Freema Agyeman also said in an interview to The London Paper newspaper: "John will walk about with his chap [penis] hanging out, having conversations with people."

Julie Gardner, an executive producer on Doctor Who and Torchwood, confirmed that she received a complaint about Barrowman's on-set behaviour "around 2008", and said he was reprimanded at the time.

In 2021, John issued a statement saying his actions were never sexual and were just 'tomfoolery'. He said: "My high-spirited behaviour which was only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and back stage has been well-documented, including in my autobiographies and even in song.

"There were a couple of times during filming where I'd resort to tomfoolery, but none of this was ever intended nor interpreted as being sexual in nature. 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 later addressed the issue on the Lorraine show, saying: "I think if it was now, it would be crossing the line. Fifteen years ago was bawdy behaviour...the fact it was stories I've already told, haven't hidden anything...they've tried to turn them into sexual harassment which it absolutely is not. All the people that are making a fuss about it: they weren't there, they don't know the context of things that were done with my chap. Like I've said, I would never do it now."