Actor John Barrowman has opened up about his decision to quit Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after less than an hour on the show. The former Dancing On Ice judge, 57, blamed ‘vile tofu’ for giving him a stomach upset, abruptly ending his stint on the survival programme.
Not long after he had arrived at base camp and started the gruelling training in New Zealand alongside Pete Wicks – currently taking part on Strictly Come Dancing – and former prime minister Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel, John was seen throwing up and being violently sick during the first challenge in the opening episode of the new series.
‘I’m done,’ he declared. ‘It’s not for me, I know who I am and what I’m about, it’s not for me.’ Despite being offered medical care and the support of a doctor, the ex-Doctor Who star told his fellow contestants, ‘I’m out.’
John later explained, ‘I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, but they made everybody eat vile tofu. I would never eat tofu in my life, but you’re so hungry, you just eat it.’ The actor, who has motion sickness, then endured a two-hour car journey to the site of the task, which didn’t sit well following his meal.
‘Then it was projectile vomit everywhere and the tofu came up. I thought, “I’m not going to make myself ill or hurt myself in order to try to prove something that I don’t need to prove”,’ he told The Sun. ‘And it was seriously me going, “I am completely comfortable with who I am”. I’m completely a happy person. We’ve all got our issues and problems, but I’ve made a mistake.’
John – who lives in Palm Springs, California with husband Scott Gill – shared a behind-the-scenes clip of him after the incident. ‘I was very emotional,’ he said.
Some viewers were less than impressed with John, who has announced a string of live UK shows in 2025, following his brief appearance on Celeb SAS.
‘It will take me longer to eat my dinner than John Barrowman lasted in the new series of Celebrity SAS,’ one watcher said. Another remarked, ‘Barrowman could have at least done a day to see how you got on.’
Others supported his decision. ‘Glad you made the right choice for you and your physical and mental wellbeing - you don't have to prove yourself to anyone,’ a fan commented, with another adding, ‘Best thing you could do, to quit, when you realised it wasn't for you and as you obviously were unwell!’
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, also featuring former Love Islanders Georgia Harrison and Ovie Soko and TV presenter Cherry Healey, airs every Sunday and Monday night at 9pm on Channel 4.