So kiss it Star Wars and Star Trek (humble apologies but I’m trying to sound non-geeky just for a second) www.DoctorWhoTorchwood.com clearly rules and that pleases this geek!!!!!

Glaswegian-born John, 41, who plays Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, has become friends with fellow Scot David, who is quitting as the 10th Doctor at the end of the year.

But John, who is gay, hadn’t met Matt until five minutes before our interview, and was clearly a bit giddy at the chance encounter.

He laughed: “I feel like I’ve had an affair against David because I’ve met the new guy. I liked him but, David, my heart is always with you.”

John was in the BBC’s London HQ to chat to me about his new variety show, Tonight’s The Night, and met Matt in the press office.

John said: “He walked right past me and he and I sat and had a chat. He’s got some big shoes to fill when David leaves, but he’ll bring his own spin to Doctor Who.

“He’s very handsome, very quirky but striking. I think he’ll do very well.”

But he’s not Scottish like David or you, I point out. John grinned: “Well, we can’t be greedy and Captain Jack will still be there. We don’t know yet, but the man who is now in charge, Steven Moffat (who is from Paisley), was one of the ones who created Captain Jack and he will always return to help the Doctor when he’s in need.”

John is chatting in his Glaswegian accent, not the American one you hear on Doctor Who or when he’s a judge on the BBC1 musical talent shows with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Any Dream Will Do, I’d Do Anything and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Chatting to Scots, he uses his Scottish accent, although he moved from Glasgow to Illinois when he was eight. The accent may change but John’s heart is in the right place and he’s proud of his roots.

For the new show, he’ll even wear a blue and white Saltire costume, although it will be sparkly, of course.

John hosts the six-part Tonight’s The Night, which will be on our screens in the spring on Saturday nights.

It’s all about revealing people’s hidden performing dreams. Whether it’s singing, juggling or belly-dancing, it could see you duetting with your favourite pop group or dancing in a hit West End musical.

There have been claims that it’s the BBC’s attempt to grab back viewers from ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, but John disputes this.

“It’s not a competition. There is no winner,” he pointed out. “Everybody’s a winner. There’s noprize. It’s just about dream fulfilment.

“Anyone on the show will be trained before they go on. We don’t want people to look bad.

“Look, I’ll be blunt. It’s not there to take the p**s out of the public.”

For those old enough to remember Jim’ll Fix It, it’s also not that. John said: “I used to watch that and shows like Opportunity Knocks growing up in Scotland. But this isn’t about people writing in and saying I want to drive a bus and skid across a road. On Tonight’s The Night, you’ll have to drive the bus while other people will be dancing and singing, ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday’.”

John is defensive about the project because it was his idea. The entertainment all-rounder has starred in West End musicals, presented television shows, acted, competed in Dancing On Ice and released his own music. Tonight’s The Night is a bit of all that.

He said: “This has been something I’ve been hoping and working towards, for 20-odd years really, to bring variety and performance back on to the BBC with a modern twist.

“Having done the Andrew Lloyd Webber programmes, I know performance shows are loved. But I wanted to bring back a variety show to the BBC. That was the challenge.”

He’s recording a pilot, which won’t be broadcast, to see how the format works. And, as a Scot, he is desperate that there will be lots of Scots in the mix.

John reckons, with Keith Jack coming second in Any Dream Will Do and Ashley Russell competing to play Nancy in I’d Do Anything, there’s “an extreme amount of talent in Scotland and we need to bring it down here”.

But he’s not just looking for youngsters who want to be stars. He wants belly-dancing mums who haven’t told their families about their secret hobby but would love to perform on television. Or it could be reuniting members of a school band. Another strand will see soldiers, firemen, nurses and police officers performing.

John said: “It’s going to be full of surprises. Every week, I will do a challenge against a mystery celebrity to raise cash for charity.”

It seems just like 2008, this year will see John hardly off our television screens.

Torchwood is coming back later this year and will be moved from BBC2 to BBC1. He is hoping for a new series of his CBBC show, Animals At Work. And he’ll be on a 17-date tour from May, promoting his album, Music Music Music, which includes the Gary Barlow track, What About Us. He comes to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on May 14 and says the tour is “about 80 per cent sold out”. At the end of the year, he plays Robin Hood in panto at the Cardiff International Arena after a very successful debut last Christmas in the all-singing, all dancing, all-ice skating show at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

But it seems John is feeling the credit crunch, just like the rest of us.

“This year, in particular, I want to keep working because it’s going to be a hard one with the economy,” he said.

His busy schedule has also put paid to plans to adopt a child with his architect partner Scott Gill, whom he married in a civil partnership two years ago.

Scott went to Cambodia last year and helped design and build an orphanage.

But John laughed: “Adopting is on hold at the moment unless you want to see John Barrowman with a sparkly blue and white suit and a baby hanging off his back in a rucksack.”

Well, Tonight’s The Night for that, John.

HOW TO BE A STAR ON TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT

IF you know someone whose achievements or talents deserve to be in the spotlight, tell John Barrowman and his team now.

No matter how big, small, or crazy that performing wish is, they will do their best to grant it.

Email them now on tonightsthenight@bbc.co.uk or, drop a line to PO Box 60941, London, W12 2AP. This is not a talent contest with regional auditions.

The trailer will be simultaneously broadcast at New York ComicCon 2009 – where series star Eve Myles and director Euros Lyn will be taking part in a panel session. The series  has proved a big hit with audiences in the US where it is BBC America’s highest-rated series.

The upcoming third series  sees a major change of format, telling just one story over five consecutive nights on BBC One.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth finds Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David Lloyd) still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends.

Despite their pain, they have a job to do. This time they are faced with their fiercest threat to date – one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiralling into danger…

The popular Doctor Who spin-off, starring John Barrowman, is set to make its prime-time BBC1 debut – and a new video preview released by series bosses hints that the show will be more spectacular than ever.

The tantalising 60-second snippet has been posted on the Internet. It is also being broadcast at the New York ComicCon 2009 convention this weekend, which is being attended by Eve Myles, who plays Gwen, and director Euros Lyn.

Torchwood has proved a big hit with US audiences and is BBC America’s highest-rated series.

An industry insider said the storylines in the new series will be darker than ever, taking it in a more adult direction.

In addition, a number of big-name stars are lined up to appear in the show.

Film and television critic Gary Slaymaker said: “Torchwood has grown up as time has gone on. Cult TV is no longer cult. There’s definitely a want, if not a need, for fantasy television. It’s no longer the place for the geek.

“There are so many new series, like Demons and Being Human, that kick off with the same kind of vibe as Torchwood.

“It’s going to be a shock to the system, but why not?

“Nothing is set in stone, either. You can tell this by the way they killed off two of their major characters in the last series. It’s really going to punch people in between the eyes.”

The new series will be a single story, told in five nightly instalments, called Torchwood: Children of Earth.

It is being described by bosses at the Beeb as the “greatest adrenalin-fuelled, high-octane adventure yet”.

Children of Earth will feature guest appearances by a number of familiar faces, including Peter Capaldi, who appeared in political comedy The Thick Of It and Doctor Who. In Torchwood, he will play Mr Frobisher, a civil servant who hides “a terrible secret”.

Also appearing is Paul Cop-ley, who has starred in Coronation Street and The Lakes.

And series three will introduce Bad Girls actress Liz May Brice in the role of a covert Government agent determined to expose Torchwood.

No, your not imagining things, poor old Captain Jack is being forced (by an evil worse than he has ever encountered before) to sing the Doctor Who Theme Tune.

Luckily for this immortal, he has plenty of time to live it down!

Here’s a little clip for those that just can’t get enough:

Synopsis:
As John Hart begins a violent attack against everything Jack holds dear, the Torchwood team must fight to survive, and save Jack’s long lost brother Gray.

Taking Captain Jack prisoner, he sends him back in time for a long overdue reunion. Without their leader, Torchwood are faced with a city flooded with Weevils, on the brink of destruction. But who is Captain John really working for? Can anyone trust him? And how great a price must Torchwood pay to save the city?

Cast:
Captain Jack Harkness — John Barrowman
Gwen Williams — Eve Myles
Owen Harper — Burn Gorman
Toshiko Sato — Naoko Mori
Ianto Jones — Gareth David-Lloyd
Captain John Hart — James Marsters
Rhys Williams — Kai Owen
PC Andy Davidson — Tom Price
Weevil -- Paul Kasey
Cowled Leader — Paul Marc Davis
Dr Angela Connolly — Golda Rosheuvel
Nira Docherty — Syreeta Kumar
Charles Gaskell — Cornelius Macarthy

TORCHWOOD IS COPYRIGHT © TO THE BBC
NO INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.

#40 -- Most Discussed (Today) -- Entertainment -- United Kingdom
#34 -- Most Viewed (Today) -- Entertainment -- United Kingdom
#97 -- Top Favorites (Today) -- United Kingdom
#31 -- Top Favorites (Today) -- Entertainment -- United Kingdom
#43 -- Top Rated (Today) -- Entertainment -- United Kingdom.

Category:  Entertainment

keep coming back for more great Torchwood and Doctor Who Footage