View source for Desperately Unhappy Kids Write To Captain Jack Asking To Be Adopted

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| publication = The People
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| date = 2007-06-03
| author = Tim Oglethorpe and Jon Wise
| pages = 37
| language = English
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Desperately Unhappy Kids Write To Captain Jack Asking To Be Adopted. I'd Love To Give Them A Home;

Exclusive Star Of Dr Who On His Young Fans - And The Lusty Women Who ...

HIGHLIGHT: SCI-FI: With Billie Piper in Dr Who; DREAM JUDGES: John, Zoe Tyler, Denise Van Outen and Bill Kenwright; PARTNER: John with Scott, left; FULL MAILBAG: Dr Who star John Barrowman gets all sorts of requests from show fans Picture: PETER ROSENBAUM/SCOPE FEATURES.COM

TALENTED John Barrowman dreams of becoming the king of weekend TV - and on current from, he's sure to succeed.

The busy actor will be judging the final of reality show Any Dream Will Do AND make his comeback in Dr Who this Saturday.

Being in TWO hit BBC shows on the same night is almost greedy.

But John's growing popularity means he is getting used to receiving sackloads of fan mail - most touchingly from kids awestruck by his heroics as timer traveller Captain Jack Harkness in Dr Who and spin-off series Torchwood. 

John, 40, explained: "The saddest letter have been from those youngsters who see me as Captain Jack and reckon I would make the perfect dad.

"They obviously don't have very happy home lives and see dear old Jack Harks-ness as their passport to a better life.

"I hate to think of any child being unhappy so I write back and tell them that unfortunately I cannot adopt them but that Captain Jack will be looking out for them."

John added: "I do feel a great deal of responsibility, as a cast member of both Dr Who and sister show Torchwood, and I'm not sure we always realise the power of the series.

"I was just coming off set, from filming a Dr Who scene with a Cyberman, and a boy who was the son of somebody involved with the production was standing close by.

"When he saw the Cyberman - who was just an actor in a costume on his way to have a cup of tea - he had this look of total fear on his face.

"He ran to me for protection. He put his arms round my leg and said 'Captain Jack will protect me'.

"I think I said something corny like 'Don't worry, kid, Captain Jack is here to look after you'.

"But it made me realise how seriously kids take a show like Dr Who and how frightened they can be by situations that don't worry adults at all."

John also has a huge fanbase after starring in top West End stage musicals such as Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera.

And although John is openly gay - he "wed" his long-term architect partner Scott Gill, 42, in a civil partnership last December - it doesn't stop randy women throwing themselves at him. He said: "I seem to get a lot of letters from women in lust. Ireceived one saying how lovely her daughter was and perhaps I would consider marrying her.

"She even included a picture of her daughter in a bikini so that I could see just how wonderful she was.

"Then I got another letter, from the same woman, containing a picture of herself in a bikini which was obviously aimed at luring me in the same way as the picture of her daughter.

"I thought that was a bit kinky, especially when I also read some of the mother's suggestive remarks and proposals for the two of us.

"But that was nothing compared to some of the other letters I've had.

"Some really quirky stuff has come my way, including one or two that were pretty disturbing and not exactly calming for me.

"I've even had to send some on to psychiatrists because it's obvious the people who have written them need proper, professional help, the kind that I cannot provide."

John does, however, treasure one unusual photo he received in the post.

He revealed: "Someone had superimposed a picture of me, as Captain Jack, sitting on this big bomb.

"Only it wasn't a big bomb anymore but this huge sex aid. The caption read: 'Captain Jack's Love Device'. I laughed until I cried."

John admits he does fancy women - and doesn't rule out one day taking things "a little further".

"There are women I find attractive and I love to flirt with them," he said, grinning. "What's more, I wouldn't categorically rule out the idea of making love to a woman, at some point.

"So I probably share more in common with my bisexual Dr Who character than I was previously prepared to admit!"

John was born in Glasgow but left Scotland for the US when he was eight, after his dad's job with a heavy machinery company was relocated to Illinois.

Young John quickly learned to speak with an American accent to avoid being picked on by classmates.

He'd been dreaming of a role in Dr Who ever since those early days. He said: "I've always been a mad keen fan.

"Even in the US I still followed it. The first doctor I saw was played by Jon Pertwee, then Tom Baker and then Peter Davison. They were all wonderful actors.

"When I was in the musical Sunset Boulevard in London, back in the 1990s, Jon Pertwee gave me this fantastic collection of memorabilia.

"It included bullets the Doctor had fired at The Daleks and I treasure every last item of it.

"And now I just love seeing my character's action figure from Dr Who.

I got this huge thrill from leafing through the Argos catalogue and seeing myself there. I am now part of my own Dr Who memorabilia collection."

John first starred in the series in 2005, in scenes with the Doctor's then sidekick Rose, played by Billie Piper.

Dr Who star David Tennant and the series' scriptwriter Russell T Davies are like "family" to him during filming in Wales, he revealed.

"We all stay in the same Cardiff apartment block when doing the show and we give people quite a shock when we are in the lift together," said John.

"They probably think they have been transposed to The Tardis.

"We call our apartment block Dr Who Towers and our conversations together, as we head towards the ground floor, are all about 'So which monster are you fighting in this week's episode?' Or: 'Which planet are you on this week?'"

John took time out from his busy schedule to work as a judge on Any Dream Will Do, alongside actress Denise Van Outen, voice coach Zoe Tyler and producer Bill Kenwright.

The star said he is "having a ball" deciding who should be the next Joseph in the top stage show.

"I'm a gay man around lots of gorgeous guys so why wouldn't I be?" said John.

"But, seriously, I know, having done quite a bit of musical theatre, what these guys are going through.

"I feel for them, the nerves, the tension - and the likelihood of rejection. But I'm sure the best will win out."

Words of wisdom from a star whose own hard work has won through.

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