John Barrowman is the ubiquitous star of stage and television, whose roles in shows from Doctor Who and Torchwood to Desperate Housewives have paved the way to his latest prime time role as the new judge on Dancing On Ice. He has just released a new album, A Fabulous Christmas, and later this month begins an eight-date UK concert tour. It is, he says, a very personal labour of love.
‘My very first memories of singing began at Christmas services in Glasgow,’ says Barrowman, 52. ‘My parents went to a Presbyterian church and that was where I first heard and sang all these beautiful carols. The feeling it gave me was so warm and extraordinary, there was an instantaneous connection for me to this music.’
John Barrowman is the ubiquitous star of stage and television, whose roles in shows from Doctor Who and Torchwood to Desperate Housewives have paved the way to his latest prime time role as the new judge on Dancing On Ice
When John came out as gay to his parents in his late 20s, his family were totally supportive and embraced his partner, Scott Gill, whom he met in 1993 and married in 2013 in California after a civil ceremony in Cardiff in 2006
When he was eight years old, his family moved to Illinois, USA, where his father worked for Caterpillar machinery. The young Barrowman continued to sing in church there, but he started to feel doubts about spending time with the parishioners.
‘This music I loved belonged to a religion where who I was and what I was – a gay man – was not wanted. Presbyterianism is fire and brimstone. The community I loved was conflicted about someone like me.’
When he came out as gay to his parents in his late 20s, his family were totally supportive and embraced his partner, Scott Gill, whom he met in 1993 and married in 2013 in California after a civil ceremony in Cardiff in 2006.
Eventually, Barrowman’s parents moved to Florida, where his father became a deacon at their local Presbyterian church. Barrowman continued to sing regularly at Christmas services, with Gill also taking part in the nativity.
‘And then the pastor gave a sermon on the evils of homosexuality and how anyone who was gay should go to hell. He spoke throughout his sermon on how being gay was against God. My parents sat there and listened, appalled.
‘After the service, both my parents told him they were disgusted by what he had said. My mum said: “My son and his husband have both given up their time to be part of the church at Christmas and these are the people you want to send to hell?’’ ’ He shakes his head: ‘The pastor turned up a few hours later at their home to apologise, but my parents were still incredibly angry. My father had been a part-time deacon at the church and he just walked away from it.
‘The pastor then explained that his wife had left him because she had realised she was a lesbian. My mother was even more angry because he’d taken his personal situation and abused his position in the church to spread his anger. She told him he should be ashamed because his wife needed support and understanding and he had no compassion. He also left the church soon after that.’
Barrowman has tears in his eyes as he reveals that the first people to hear his new album, which includes Silent Night, Away In A Manger and O Holy Night, were his parents. ‘They said nothing as the songs played,’ he says. ‘And then at the end my father put his hand on my knee and my mother just said, “John, this is just beautiful.”
‘What it meant to me was reclaiming my right as a gay man to sing these songs that were part of my past, to add my voice to that religious community and to join in the celebration of the birth of a baby. Recording the album was the most emotional performance process I have been through. There are only four songs on the album where I didn’t break down in the studio, because it meant so much to me.’
Barrowman first became well-known on the BBC children’s TV show Live And Kicking in the early Nineties, but it was his portrayal of the pansexual time traveller Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who in 2005 and the spin-off Torchwood that cemented his reputation.
‘I’m not denying my looks have helped,’ Barrowman says. ‘But I treat myself as a business’
Since becoming a TV star, he has had the freedom to pursue a wildly varied career, from reality shows – Barrowman’s memorably upbeat appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2018 won him third place and yet another generation of fans – to Olivier-nominated performances in West End shows, such as Cameron Mackintosh’s Miss Saigon and Sam Mendes’s The Fix, to regular stints in pantomime.
He has presented This Morning, made 12 previous albums and will take over from Jason Gardiner as a judge on the forthcoming series of Dancing On Ice. ‘I don’t do reality shows to get myself work,’ he says. ‘I went into the jungle because I wanted to test myself. I knew I could do it and I liked the idea of people seeing me as I really am.’
Barrowman acknowledges he has made a very good life for himself – ‘through a lot of hard work’, he adds. He is worth an estimated £10 million, with homes in London, Cardiff, Hollywood and Palm Springs. In 2014, he was awarded an MBE for services to entertainment.
Much has been made about his suave good looks – he was once described as the perfect cross between Hugh Grant and John Kennedy Junior. ‘I’m not denying my looks have helped,’ he says. ‘But I treat myself as a business.’
Recently, he was criticised for making £100,000 in two days at a Comic Con event, where fans are charged for selfies and autographs. He leaps to defend himself: ‘You are paid by the promoters, but you set the fees you charge, no money is exchanged on the day. I have been doing this for almost ten years and my price has never changed from £40 an autograph. A lot of people charge up to £150 and it’s just handed over and then it’s on to the next person. But I like to make it a special experience. I chat to everyone, I give them time.’
Barrowman has no regrets – bar one. He would like to have a child. In the past, Doctor Foster actress Suranne Jones (he starred with her in the West End) agreed to be his surrogate, but she has gone on to marry and have her own child.
‘I have to keep waiting because my partner is not yet committed and for me it has to be a massive commitment for both of us,’ he says. ‘It’s a huge decision and it has to be right.’
Does he, however, have any future surrogates in mind? What about his jungle friend, actress Emily Atack, who sings on the Christmas album with him?
‘Emily would be marvellous,’ he says. ‘I would be very happy if she agreed, because the baby would have a fantastic sense of humour. Life is nothing without being able to laugh.’
John Barrowman’s new album, ‘A Fabulous Christmas’, is out now. His UK tour begins in Bristol on November 30