HE’S travelled through time, been a West End leading man and even written a series of comic books.

But John Barrowman has revealed he has a particular passion for pantomime.

John will be spending the festive season in Manchester playing Dick Whittington in the region’s most spectacular panto at the Opera House and he can’t wait.

“It’s brilliant,” he said. “It gives you a chance to get on stage and be stupid. It’s totally great - you are getting paid to do it and people are applauding when you do.

“But there is just something very special about a pantomime. It has become such a core part of my Christmastime now but it’s also such a core part of Britain’s culture.”

John will be appearing with comedy duo The Krankies - this will be the seventh seasonal show they have starred in.

“When we did our first pantomime together a lot of people in the industry said ‘it’s never going to work. He’s an actor and they are comedians. They’ve both got their own way of doing things’.

“What they didn’t realise is that we all just enjoy having fun. We love a laugh and that’s what makes it work. We are laughing at ourselves just as much as the audience when we do this every night.”

John, probably best known for playing Captain Jack Harkess in Doctor Who and the spin-off series Torchwood, believes that this unlikely partnership is partly due to a shared upbringing in Glasgow.

John lived in the city until he was eight when the family moved to America.

“Janette, Ian and I do get on so well,” he said. “I think it stems from the fact that we all have links to Glasgow and share that Glasgow sense of humour. It’s a city where humour is so important.”

Although he can remember going to see Peter Pan at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall when he was a child, it wasn’t until he returned to the UK in 1989 that his love for pantomime really developed.

“I remember going to see my friend Bonnie Langford in panto and sat there thinking ‘what is this?’.

“I’d just done straight theatre or West End musicals at that point and although I’d heard of this thing called panto I really didn’t know anything about it.

“But then I did my homework and looked at the history of it. To be a performer you have to know panto; you have to know what an important part it has to play in this industry. If you don’t you’re lost.

“I would argue with anyone who would try to undermine pantomime or say it’s an inferior form of theatre. For me it’s an introduction for children and families to the theatre.

“The children who came to see me when I first started doing panto have now got children of their own and they are bringing them along to the shows and often they are coming with their grandparents too. I have a multi-age range fanbase now because of pantomime. It’s an art form which has been in British culture for generations.”

As a man of many talents, John has never struggled to adapt to the specific demands of pantomime.

“I think it helps because I have never not been who I am in front of audiences, so when people come to see me in a pantomime, they know what they are going to get,” he said.

John will be making Manchester his home over Christmas.

“I’ll be living in Manchester until the show ends in January,” he said. “My husband Scott is coming over and we’ve taken on a place not just for ourselves but also one for his parents and sister who are joining us. So it will be an in-law family Christmas.”

After Dick Whittington, John’s diary is already looking pretty full. Immediately after the show ends, he’s be flying out to Australia for a one-off concert in Melbourne. And he’s already had 30 offers to attend fan conventions around the world.

“It’s a multi-million dollar industry,” said John, who is a star guest thanks to both his Torchwood links and also for playing Merlyn in the sci-fi series Arrow.

“I’ve got a company in States that represents actors for all of the comic conventions for all the genre shows around the world called Entertainment 13. We have about 25 clients on our books now and it’s going quite well.

“When I go to a convention, I don’t appear as a character. I’ll do a bit of my show with some comedy and a few stories and I’ll usually end with a song.”

Given his many talents John refuses to be pigeonholed.

“Doing what I do is a great way to make your living,” he said. “That’s why I never choose favourites.”

Dick Whittington, Manchester Opera House, Saturday, December 9 to Sunday, January 7. Details from 0844 871 3018 or www.atgtickets.com/manchester