John Barrowman shares the touching, heartfelt advice he gave to Phillip Schofield when he came out as gay
John Barrowman with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on the set of This Morning
John Barrowman has revealed he had an emotional heart-to-heart with his friend and colleague Phillip Schofield when he came out as gay.
Schofield came out as gay in February, opening up about a years-long struggle with his sexuality during his marriage to wife of 27 years Stephanie Lowe.
Phillip Schofield was ‘upset, afraid and sad to be hurting other people’.
In an interview with OK! Magazine, Barrowman revealed that he had comforted Schofield in his This Morning dressing room when he came out as gay.
Barrowman, a frequent This Morning guest host, said: “I’ve known Phillip for years and I’d never imagined those headlines. I’m not saying I hadn’t thought about it, but that’s none of my business.
“I’ve met his wife, who is lovely. I feel for her because although Phillip is out and living his truth, he loves his family so much.
“I had a chat with him, the night it all came out in the press, in his dressing room and I saw his face. It’s a face I’ve had before – upset, afraid and sad to be hurting other people.
“I said to him, ‘It will get better, the people around you who love you will understand. You’ll get through it.’ I’m so pleased for him and hopefully it will lead to a greater happiness for him and his family.”
This week, Schofield announced a tell-all book which will delve into his life story.
John Barrowman opens up about his hopes to start a family.
Elsewhere in the interview, Barrowman spoke about his hopes of starting a family with husband Scott Gill.
The 52-year-old star said: “I’d like to adopt or foster and also have one of my own. I’d like to do a reality show where we search for our baby mummy to show how difficult it is for LGBT+ couples to go through the process of adopting, fostering or having a child.
“A lot of foster kids are being sent back because families can’t afford them right now, which is horrible. I want to help, but if I suggest it to Scott, he’ll say, ‘Just go ahead and do it,’ which means, ‘If you want to do it, go ahead but I’m not going to take responsibility.’
“I know I can’t just go out and buy a couple of kids like I’m buying a car.”
Scott Gill and John Barrowman (Robin Pope/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Barrowman also spoke about the casual homophobia that he and Gill experience in their daily lives – including being questioned at customs because they were not recognised as partners.
He said: “I’ve always been unapologetic about who I am. If you don’t like me, I don’t care. I’m going to live my life as I want to with Scott and if you disagree with that then I don’t have time for you.
“We were checking into a major UK hotel once and the guy on reception refused to give us a room with a king-sized bed, so we couldn’t sleep together. I threw a fit.
“Then two years ago I posted a video of me dressed in drag on Instagram while we were in talks to collaborate with a major product. After seeing the video, the brand told me it wasn’t the kind of image they wanted linked with their product.
“Things still happen daily that we have to stand up against.”
