Torchwood star Gareth David-Lloyd speaks out on allegations John Barrowman exposed himself on set
Barrowman has admitted to ‘tomfoolery’ and said that he’s ‘changed’ over the years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Torchwood star Gareth David-Lloyd has addressed the the allegations that John Barrowman regularly exposed himself on set.
On Friday (30 April), a 2015 video from a Doctor Who convention was unearthed, in which actor Noel Clarke alleged that Barrowman would expose himself on the show’s set and take “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.”
Barrowman has since admitted to “tomfoolery” on the set of both Doctor Who and its spinoff Torchwood after more accusations surfaced in a Guardian report.
The actor said that his “high-spirited behaviour” was “only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and backstage”, and that his behaviour has “changed” since the shows were filmed in the mid-to-late Noughties.
He added: “With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously.”
David-Lloyd, who starred in Torchwood as Ianto Jones, has spoken out, telling Metro.co.uk: “In my experience, John‘s behaviour on set was always meant to entertain, make people laugh and keep their spirits and energy high on what were sometimes very long working days.“
Defending Barrowman, he continued: “It maybe that because we were so close as a cast that professional lines were sometimes blurred in the excitement – I was too inexperienced to know any different but we were always laughing.”
David-Lloyd said that he believes Barrowman “would have never behaved in a way he thought was affecting someone negatively”, adding: “From what I know of him, that is not his nature.”
He continued: “[Barrowman] was a whirlwind of positive energy, always very generous, kind and a wonderfully supportive lead actor to have at the helm of the show.’
Julie Gardner, an executive producer on Doctor Who and Torchwood, confirmed to The Guardian that she had received a complaint about Barrowman’s on-set behaviour “around 2008”.
“I met with John and reprimanded him [to] make it clear to both John and his agent that behaviour of this kind would not be tolerated,” Gardner said, adding that she also spoke to the show’s other executive producers and the head of BBC drama commissioning. “To my knowledge, John’s inappropriate behaviour stopped thereafter.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments