John Barrowman has revealed that the drama surrounding his flashing on the Doctor Who set are ‘exaggerated ‘ as he gave his first interview since he was sacked from Dancing On Ice in the wake of the claims.
The actor, 54, issued an apology in May for exposing himself on Doctor Who set in historic incidents, with the star since dropped from the ITV skating show’s judging panel.
And speaking in an interview with Lorraine on Tuesday, John gave his side of the story as he candidly said: ‘All the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done.’
His side: John Barrowman has revealed that the drama surrounding his flashing on the Doctor Who set are ‘exaggerated ‘ as he gave his first interview since he was sacked from Dancing On Ice in the wake of the claims
The TV star described his past actions on set as ‘silly behaviour’ and insisted to host Lorraine Kelly, 61, that he would ‘never do it now’ after previously admitting to ‘tomfoolery’ on the sets of Doctor Who, where he began playing Captain Jack Harkness in 2005 and spin-off series Torchwood a year later.
When questioned by Lorraine if he felt his behaviour had ‘crossed the line’, John agreed that if it were to happen today then it would be, but was quick to accuse people of turning his actions into ‘sexual harassment’.
He explained: ‘I think that if it was now, it would be crossing the line. I think that something that happened 15 years ago, it was bawdy behaviour, silly behaviour, it was being done in the confines of the set, and we were like a family, working together.
‘The fact that it was stories that I’ve already told. I’ve been telling them for years. I haven’t hidden anything, they’ve been exaggerated, and they’ve tried to turn them into sexual harassment which it absolutely is not.’
Sorry: The actor, 54, issued an apology in May for exposing himself on Doctor Who set in historic incidents, with the star since dropped from the ITV skating show’s judging panel (pictured filming Doctor Who in 2007)
The actor went on: ‘The one thing for me, all the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done. The continued bashing is not good. We’ve moved on.
‘Like I said, I would never do it now but what we’re not allowing people and myself to do… we’re not allowing people to learn to adapt and to change, and that’s the most important thing.’
When asked if he feels he has ‘changed’ and ‘adapted’ from how he was in the past, John said: ‘f course I have. And we’ve moved on. From this point I want to move on and continue to move forward.’
John added to Lorraine that he felt ‘nervous’ about giving the interview and admits he feels like he constantly has to ‘monitor’ everything he does, adding that he’ll continue to be his ‘outrageous’ self but in a ‘different context’.
He said: ‘I’m extremely nervous, and that is not me. The fact of the matter is I know throughout my career and everything I’ve done, it’s promoting people to be yourself, to not be ashamed of who you are and at the moment what’s happening is I feel like I’m having to monitor everything.
‘Exaggerated’: speaking in an interview with Lorraine on Tuesday, John gave his side of the story as he candidly said: ‘All the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done’
Axed: ITV revealed last month that John will not form part of the judging panel for the upcoming series of Dancing On Ice five months after he apologised for exposing himself on Doctor Who sets in historic incidents
‘I’ll get past that. I’ll still have fun, I’ll still be silly, I’ll still be outrageous but in a different context to what it was 15 years ago… And we can’t change that. It’s not going to happen again.’
No charges were brought against the media personality after allegations about him exposing himself were revealed in May following more serious allegations of sexual harassment against his Doctor Who co-star Noel Clarke.
The incidents came to light in a resurfaced video on YouTube from 2014 and filmed at sci-fi convention, Chicago Tardis.
It was released by The Guardian newspaper which had investigated Clarke’s behaviour on the Doctor Who set.
In an interview in front of a live audience, Clarke is seen regaling fellow cast members Annette Badland and Camille Coduri with tales of John’s behaviour on the set of Doctor Who, exposing himself ‘every five seconds’.
In an interview with Weekend magazine, John said his behaviour on set was to ‘defuse awkwardness’ whenever he was filming a sex scene in Torchwood.
Candid: When questioned by Lorraine if he felt his behaviour had ‘crossed the line’, John agreed that if it were to happen today then it would be, but was quick to accuse people of turning his actions into ‘sexual harassment’
He said: ‘As Captain Jack Harkness I was the star of Torchwood, so I felt it was down to me to lead the company and keep them entertained. When I was doing a nude scene or a love scene it was clear in the script I’d be naked and everyone would have known about that at least 48 hours in advance.
‘So I’d be waiting in my trailer wearing just a robe with a sock over my “parts”. Then, if I were standing waiting to film a scene where I needed to be nude and someone came into view, I’d make a joke to put them and myself at ease.
‘My actions were simply designed to defuse any potential awkwardness among the cast and crew.’
He added: ‘I’ve never been someone who’s embarrassed about his body so it didn’t bother me if anyone saw me naked. The motivation for what I’d call my “tomfoolery” was to maintain a jokey atmosphere. There was absolutely nothing sexual about my actions and nor have I ever been accused of that.’
John revealed he was called for a meeting with Doctor Who and Torchwood executive producer Julie Gardner who told him to reign in his behaviour.
The actor added he can now see his behaviour was ‘juvenile’ and it would not be something he would do today.
Revealing all: John added to Lorraine that he felt ‘nervous’ about giving the interview and admits he feels like he constantly has to ‘monitor’ everything he does
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