At home with John Barrowman

When TV channel Watch told us they were re-running last year’s Torchwood: Children Of Earth (in which a mysterious alien menace takes mental possession of every child on the planet) we saw – at last! – an opportunity to finagle an invitation to John ‘Captain Jack’ Barrowman’s home.

It was during the January snows we travelled to a smart coastal cul-de-sac, 20 minutes south of Cardiff, and John’s Welsh bolthole (he also keeps a property in London). In previous encounters with the song-and-dance man-turned sci-fi star, he’d told us he had a huge collection of merchandise related to his TV work, so aside from checking out his décor, we were also keen to see his stash.

Chez Barrowman doesn’t disappoint. Passing the full-sized Dalek prop in the lobby, you venture into the walk-in garage where 42-year-old John has got a 1982 Mercedes SL380 and a rare left-hand drive 1936 Dodge.  ‘I used to have a DeLorean,’ he says. ‘I figured if the Doctor has his Tardis, Captain Jack needs his own time machine’.

Into the closet-like ‘messy room’, books are a-bulging (many of them Doctor Who and Torchwood novels). From there to the living room (via a quick peep in the loo, with its Spiderman and Superman prints) and then the informal lounge, discreetly decorated with New York street scenes and personal photos.

Up a spiral staircase, and there’s John’s office. The walls are covered with framed prints of magazine covers he’s appeared on. In addition, there are Torchwood posters, Captain Jack action-figures, a stack of Barrowman postcards waiting to be signed, a plaque commemorating over 60,000 copies sold of his autobiography… loads of Barrow-phernalia in short.

And you can see for yourself. Exclusive pictures of our visit to John’s home are available in this week’s Total TVguide (the one with the EastEnders anniversary cover). Plus, John recorded his special links for Watch’s Torchwood week from that very room.  

By Graham Kibble-White