Fans were left outraged as John Barrowman returned to television on Sunday night for ITV's All Star Musicals despite Doctor Who flashing claims. 

Barrowman issued an apology in May after responding to historical claims of 'inappropriate behaviour' on the set of BBC drama Torchwood, an admission that led to him being dropped from popular mainstream show Dancing On Ice. 

But the West End star, 55, returned to ITV for the all-singing all-dancing extravaganza prompting a mixed response from viewers.

Taking to Twitter, one outraged license payer wrote: 'Why is John Barrowman still getting work?! Absolutely will not be watching.'

Another quipped: 'Hopefully Barrowman will be keeping his boys in the barracks tonight.'  

A third said: 'You’re seriously telling me they couldn’t find a new host. Disgusted.' 

In November, Barrowman - who has been replaced by Oti Mabuse on Dancing On Ice - insisted the controversy surrounding his past antics was 'exaggerated' as he gave his first interview since being sacked. 

Speaking in an interview with Lorraine, he said: 'All the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done.'

Barrowman described his past actions as 'silly behaviour' and insisted that he would 'never do it now' after previously admitting to 'tomfoolery' on the sets of Doctor Who, where he began playing Captain Jack Harkness in 2005 and spin-off series Torchwood a year later. 

He explained: 'I think that if it was now, it would be crossing the line. I think that something that happened 15 years ago, it was bawdy behaviour, silly behaviour, it was being done in the confines of the set, and we were like a family, working together.

'The fact that it was stories that I’ve already told. I’ve been telling them for years. I haven’t hidden anything, they’ve been exaggerated, and they’ve tried to turn them into sexual harassment which it absolutely is not.'

He added: 'The one thing for me, all the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done. The continued bashing is not good. We've moved on.

'Like I said, I would never do it now but what we’re not allowing people and myself to do… we’re not allowing people to learn to adapt and to change, and that’s the most important thing.'