Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star John Barrowman has revealed that he had ‘thoughts of suicide’ after the fallout from the ‘flashing scandal’ that he was involved in.
In 2021, the Torchwood actor issued an apology for being accused of ‘repeatedly exposing himself’ on set.
A woman who was a runner on the early seasons of the Doctor Who revival alleged to The Guardian that Barrowman would ‘get his genitals out on a regular basis’, which she claimed the actor ‘thought was really funny’.
Another woman claimed to the publication: ‘It was kind of accepted that it was his thing.’
Following the allegations, Barrowman addressed his ‘tomfoolery’ in a statement sent to the outlet, insisting that his ‘high-spirited behaviour’ was ‘only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and backstage’.
He continued: ‘With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously.’
The BBC also said at the time: ‘The BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behaviour and we’re shocked to hear of these allegations.
‘To be absolutely clear, we will investigate any specific allegations made by individuals to the BBC – and if anyone has been subjected to or witnessed inappropriate behaviour of any kind we would encourage them to raise it with us directly.
‘We have a zero tolerance approach and robust processes are in place – which are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect best practice – to ensure any complaints or concerns are handled with the utmost seriousness and care.’
In a new interview, Barrowman has recalled how heavily he was impacted when he believed that he had been ‘cancelled’ due to the accusations regarding his behaviour on set.
Speaking to The Mirror, the former Dancing On Ice judge said: ‘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.’
He added that the thought of his family and friends, including his husband Scott Gill, made him reconsider.
Barrowman also shared that he ‘lost a lot of trust in other people’, as there were some individuals who he thought would be there for him, but weren’t as they were ‘scared’.
Addressing his behaviour on set that came under fire three years ago, he outlined: ‘Something that was a stupid prank that was done amongst cast members and who the cast members never complained, never said anything about, but a narrative was created that apparently I was going around and throwing my c**k on people’s shoulders, which was not true.
‘We had pranks, but they were amongst the company members and we all laughed and had fun. I was being, in a sense, publicly punished and humiliated for those things and also being cancelled.’
He emphasised that he would ‘never do anything to harm a woman or a man or anybody, transgender, you name it’, stressing that he would not want anyone to think of him as a ‘sexual harasser’.
On a recent episode of Celebrity SAS, it was revealed that Barrowman quit the Channel 4 series after just two hours on the first day.
Last year, he addressed the reports that he had made an early exit, urging people on X to ‘watch the show and see the truth’, and not spread ‘unsubstantiated information’ before seeing how the events unfolded.
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Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is available to watch on Channel 4.
Need support?
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
If you're a young person, or concerned about a young person, you can also contact PAPYRUS, the Prevention of Young Suicide UK.
Their HOPELINE247 is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. You can call 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org.
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