Actor John Barrowman quit Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins 32 minutes after he arrived at base camp, it has been revealed. The Doctor Who star, 57, was part of the sixth series of the Channel 4 reality show, which returned to TV screens on Sunday evening and showed celebrities taking part in SAS winter warfare training in the south islands of New Zealand. Barrowman, who opened up about the flashing allegations he faced in 2021 while on the show, could be seen throwing up sometime after the first challenge. After the contestants put on their uniforms and got ready to see their accommodation, Barrowman, started heaving and told the group “I’m out”.

Asked by Mark “Billy” Billingham if he would like to see a doctor, Barrowman then said: “No… I’m done.” He added: “I just… it’s not for me, I know who I am and what I’m about, it’s not for me.” The narrator of the programme said: “After only 32 minutes on base, number 13 John is the first recruit to leave the course.”

During the episode, Barrowman addressed the accusations that he had repeatedly exposed himself on the set of the BBC One sci-fi series Doctor Who and its sister show Torchwood. He said: “The press made the allegation that I was going around putting my d**k on everybody’s shoulders. Having that happen to me ruined me, but this course is going to help me push through this and I want people to see the kind of person that I really am.”

He later added: “On Doctor Who and Torchwood, I had to do a lot of nude scenes. If I were being stupid, I would do something stupid. I would shake and waggle or I might do a scene where I might have one of my b*****ks hanging out. The press made it out that I was a sexual deviant. We’ve all done stupid things and silly things, but what’s been said about me will never go away now.”

The series’ first episode also saw Bobby Norris, known for appearing on The Only Way Is Essex, open up about his desire to overcome his fears and phobias and detail the online abuse he has faced. “I had fears and phobias before, but I think that is the nature of my job, a lot of people get online abuse and trolls and stuff”, he explained. “People took the time to digitally impose my face onto videos of people being beheaded, shot, disturbing dark s**t. I fell down a rabbit hole of just filling my face with Botox, because really, it was like a mask. One day (it) just didn’t feel like it suited me anymore. I wanted to just be happy in my own skin being me.”

The Real Reason Behind the Exit: A Case of the Vegan Tofu?

Barrowman, in an interview with The Sun, revealed the reason behind his abrupt departure. He claimed that the vegan tofu offered as the only food option before the first challenge was to blame for his nausea. The actor, who suffers from motion sickness, explained that the long car journey to the base camp combined with the vegan meal led to intense projectile vomiting. He decided to quit, saying, “I don’t need to prove to people who I am. I’m not going to make myself ill or sick or hurt myself in order to try to prove something that I don’t need to prove.”

However, comedian Shazia Mirza, another contestant on the show, provided a slightly different perspective on Barrowman's departure. In an interview with Metro.co.uk, she stated that Barrowman quit after the contestants returned to camp following an ice bath challenge, saying, “John Barrowman just thought, “F*** this. I don’t need to do this.” And he handed his arm band in after that.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins? Not John Barrowman

While Barrowman's quick exit from the show shocked viewers, it sparked debates about his commitment to the challenge. Some questioned his reasons for signing up in the first place, given his short stint. Others criticized his decision to leave, given the opportunity to prove himself on the show. Despite the controversies, John Barrowman's short-lived participation on Celebrity SAS certainly added an unexpected twist to the premiere episode, raising questions about the pressure, the challenges, and the potential impact of vegan tofu on a celebrity's endurance.

The sixth series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins airs on Channel 4 every Sunday and Monday from September 22, at 9pm.