Barrowman criticises "grumpy" Eccleston

[Larry]

Saturday, April 12 2008, 09:59 BST

By Daniel Kilkelly, Entertainment Reporter


John Barrowman has claimed that Christopher Eccleston was "grumpy" on the set of Doctor Who.

The actor, who plays Captain Jack Harkness on the BBC One sci-fi hit, admitted that he did not enjoy spending time with Eccleston when they worked together on the programme.

Eccleston took on the role of The Doctor for one series, which aired in 2005. He was replaced by David Tennant, who is currently starring in his third series.

"Chris was always grumpy. You don't always have to be intense. There comes a point when intensity makes you miserable - I think that was the case with Chris," Barrowman told the Daily Record. "I much prefer working with David - he likes to have a bit more fun, he's more charismatic as a person.

"Chris might have been a great Doc but he was darker and had a chip on his shoulder, he was not as much fun on set as David. I will give him the credit that he was the first Doctor to bring back the series and made a damn good job of it.

"But I just wouldn't go to the pub with him. On the other hand, David's been to my house, we went to the Madonna concert with our partners - we socialise together. He's a lot more fun."


.

to be honest I don't think that comes as a real supprise especialy from what I've seen of Ecclston in interviews .

[Wayne]

we went to the Madonna concert

But this means that Eccleston has far more Kudos than Tennant will ever have.

[Dino]

Oi, Chris!
Barrowman just looked at your bird
spilt your pint
called your sweater "a bit fruity"
started doing D.I.Y next door to you at 2 O'Clock in the morning
described your mother as a whore
then scratched the paintwork of your car with his key!
Go 'ead son! Smash his teeth out! (stir stir)

[Captain Tancredi]

Trouble is, compared to John Barrowman, 99% of the population are grumpy- he really does have the most uncanny knack of brightening up the world simply by being on a television screen for a couple of minutes.

[Stuart Wallis]

I wonder whether this is just the press trying to stir things for the sake of some column inches. John doesn't seem to be the fashion accessories at ten paces type.

[MacNimon]

I read the whole article yesterday, and to be honest when read in context he is actually comparing the 2 actors to play the Doctor, rather than simply criticising Chris. Despite the cover headline 'Captain Jack Hits Back'...

[MacNimon]

Here's the whole interview...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/enterta...6908-20380322/

Torchwood star John Barrowman on why he can't say no to TV job offers

Apr 12 2008 By Paul English

Doctor Who has faced the wrath of the Daleks, fought off the Cybermen and slammed the Slithene but the Timelord has another force to contend with - John Barrowman's sharp tongue.

The Scottish actor, who plays Captain Jack in the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, has slammed the ninth incarnation of the Doctor - Christopher Eccleston - as miserable.

John, whose career took off after he appeared alongside Eccleston in the returning series of Doctor Who, claims his former co-star had a big chip on his shoulder during his critically acclaimed turn as the Doctor.

Glasgow-born John says: "Chris was always grumpy. You don't always have to be intense. There comes a point when intensity makes you miserable - I think that was the case with Chris.

"I much prefer working with David - he likes to have a bit more fun, he's more charismatic as a person.

"Chris might have been a great Doc but he was darker and had a chip on his shoulder, he was not as much fun on set as David.

"I will give him the credit that he was the first Doctor to bring back the series and made a damn good job of it.

"But I just wouldn't go to the pub with him. On the other hand, David's been to my house, we went to the Madonna concert with our partners - we socialise together.

"He's a lot more fun."

The 41-year-old all-round entertainer is sharing his thoughts on Gallifrey's most famous son and the rebirth of the franchise while nibbling on a flapjack at BBC Scotland.

The fact that he's here is testament to the fact that Russell T Davies' decision to cast him as the bisexual Captain Jack delivered his career an inter-galactic boost.

His return to Scotland to host new show The Kids Are All Right gives him cause to dust down the Glaswegian accent he only uses when back in his hometown. But his American tones are to the fore when he's appearing - as he does a lot - on TV.

The National Lottery. Eurovision: Your Decision. The X Factor. Any Dream Will Do. I'd Do Anything. Doctor Who. Torchwood.

Just a selection of the shows to have featured him over the last 12 months.

Is he over-exposed?

Maybe. But he cares not a jot.

John says: "I don't think like that. But if you're asking me if I am on too much, then no, I don't think so.

"That's negative. I think in a positive realm. There are periods when I'm not on TV. I will take breaks. Last year there were four months when I wasn't on TV.

"My business is entertainment and that either means being on stage, TV or on the radio. I have to run myself like a business.

"I could be the flavour of the month, I'm realistic about that, but that's why I've delved into so many different things.

"It was a business decision on my part, it wasn't just a fluke. When I was in theatre in London's west end for so many years I got involved in kids TV because I knew it would help with box office and would make me a prospect for theatre producers. Five years ago I'd no clue that I'd be on Doctor Who, let alone that the character would be so popular that he'd end up with a series of his own. "But back then I wasn't thinking about where I'd be in five years.

"I was a staple in the west end with dreams and hopes.

"And then they happened," he says. Moving to America with his family and being forced to change his accent to fit in has arguably made him the character he is.

Who's to say whether the world of showbiz would have taken to him as readily had he been talking in native tongue when he came to London as a drama student before breaking into kids TV on Live & Kicking in the early 90s. He makes no attempt to hide his trans-Atlantic slide.

When presented with a Scottish journalist wielding a dictaphone, his chat is delivered in a clear, pleasant west of Scotland tongue.

But when forced to speak to one of his business associates - an agent, a manager, a PR girl - out comes the Yankee drawl that BBC producers obviously think adds a certain other-worldly glamour to their entertainment shows.

Although anyone who heard him talking to the girl from Falkirk on I Can Do Anything might think otherwise...

John simply calls it 'bi-dialectualism'. He says: "It just seems natural for me to talk this way when I'm here, yet when I talk to my partner Scott it's with an American accent.

"Sometimes I need to have some pronunciations of the answers on The Kids are All Right spelled phonetically to make sure I'm saying it right, otherwise I'd look an idiot, wouldn't I?"

What about his internal voice? Does that have a Scots accent or an American one?

"I don't know if I can answer that," he says.

"I've never thought about it. I suppose the next time I dream I should think about what accent I dream in.

"When I speak American I'm not denying being a Scot, I'm so proud of my Scottish background.

"A lot of people when they go to the States to live and work find that they're stronger about their heritage.

"I wore a kilt to my high school prom at a time when they basically thought I was turning up in a skirt - they're just idiots in the American mid-west some of them." The sensibilities of the pro-Bush mid-west might also be offended by John's take on another controversial issue - that of same-sex parenting.

His autobiography, released several weeks ago, is still a big-seller. In it, the singer, actor and TV pundit reveals how former Corrie star Suranne Jones offered to become a surrogate mother to him and his partner Scott Gill.

He says: "One of the things I'd like to do in the future is have kids. Scott and I have dogs at the moment, and I'm not actively pursuing it, but it is something I'd like to do some day."

He denies that working with children in his quiz show - where youngsters' general knowledge is tested against that of adults - has made him clucky, but is adamant that vulnerable kids need love regardless of the sexual preference of their guardian.

"There are a lot of kids who need to be adopted, whether you're adopted by a straight, gay or bisexual couple or whatever. All the kid wants is love and nurturing and to be given a chance. Scott and I have an awful lot to offer."

Could he do it in Scotland?

"Why not?," says the actor. "There will always be narrow mindedness from some people. "That will always be there. But living with two gay men doesn't make you gay.

"That's what I believe. I didn't wake up when I was nine years old and decide I wanted to be gay. I was born that way. Those narrow minded people have a right to their opinions. But they must respect the fact two men or women in that situation are trying to give a child a good chance at life. My nephew is a prime example of that.

"He has spent a lot of time with me and my partner.

"He's 17 and I dressed him in drag at Christmas for a panto and the last party he went to was with Scott and 32 gay guys.

"But, make no mistake, my nephew is as heterosexual as they come."

For now, those plans can wait.

There's talk of a follow-up album to the one he released last year, and his star shows no sign of waning, despite talk about this series of Doctor Who being the penultimate so far as David Tennant is concerned.

"I think that so long as the people watch and enjoy it then Doctor Who should continue - but that's up to the producers of course.

"Torchwood is the biggest hit on BBC America, much bigger than Doctor Who. So I'm sure there will be more of that," says John, the American Scot known fromGlasgow to Gallifrey.

"But I guess you have to bring in change to a show. Whatever they decide to do I'm all for it."

The Kids Are All Right, BBC1 6.05pm Saturday. Doctor Who, BBC1, Saturday, 6.45pm





The best - and worst - Dr Who spin-offs

Torchwood star John Barrowman makes an appearance at the end of this series of Doctor Who. We take a look at the other crossovers - successful or otherwise - from the Doctor Who franchise.

THE DESTROYERS
In the mid 1960s, attempts were made to make a series on the Daleks. Much like them, it never got off the ground.

K9 AND COMPANY
In 1981, a pilot episode of a spin-off featuring the Doc's dug and assistant Sarah-Jane attracted 8 million viewers. In those days of fewer channel choices, such viewing figures wouldn't have been frothed over as much as they would have today. Amazingly, this concept - subtitled 'A Girl's Best Friend' was never expanded beyond a one-off pilot. K9 has more recently been the subject of a rumoured animated spin-off for kids.

DIMENSIONS IN TIME
A Children In Need special from 1993, this featured all the surviving actors who had played the Doc over the years, as well as several assistants. It was all done in a tongue in cheek style, despite crossing over with EastEnders. Further Doctor Who specials aired in 2005 and 2007 with David Tennant.

CURSE OF THE FATAL DEATH
Another charity get together, this featured Rowan Atkinson as the Doc for Comic Relief. When he regenerated he was played by Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Richard E Grant and Joanna Lumley.

ROSE TYLER: EARTH DEFENCE
Commissioned by the Beeb, this was cancelled by Doctor Who revivalist producer Russell T Davies. Set to feature Billie Piper's character fighting to save the world, it was deemed 'a spin-off too far' by Davies.

[WhiteCrow]

This seems a bit unfair.

I was always unhappy we only got Chris for the role for one year. But he was and still is regarded as a very fine serious actor. It's thanks to that piece of casting that the role of Doctor Who was taken seriously, you had to be an actor to play it and not a childrens TV presenter.

When the other part of your team is "popstress turned actress" you need a name everyone knows for people to take it seriously. Chris's work paved the way for others to follow - now everyone wants to be the next Doctor.

I don't mind if Christopher is a bit of a grump - as long as he's a professional when he comes to acting.

On the other side of the coin, John and crew were having such a fun time making Torchwood series one, they never once thought of the poor audience who'd have to endure!

[Larry]

when you see Christopher, being interviewed the one think that is very obvious is how uncomfortable he looks and that he dose come over as a shy and reserved person.

[Milky Tears]

But Ecccleseesttoneees was a gurning ****. He even left the series mid-gurn.

[Dave Tudor]

Companions complaining about a former Doctor being grumpy? Oh my god - Eccleston is the new Hartnell!!

[Larry]

Companions complaining about a former Doctor being grumpy? Oh my god - Eccleston is the new Hartnell!!

well at least he didn't throw his script across the room at somme poor frightened stage hand yelling how rubbish it was..

[Rob McCow]

We don't know that yet, Larry! He may have done all kinds of things that have been kept under wraps!

But it's highly likely that he was just a little bit of a Grimstopher Grumpleston.

[Stuart Wallis]

Every planet's grim oop North...