John Barrowman has expressed his pride at playing Captain Jack on Doctor Who.

The actor - who appeared as a companion to Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant's incarnations of the Doctor - said that the character broke down barriers.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Barrowman said: "I was the first male person ever to kiss the Doctor. It kind of blew over everyone's head. It wasn't till about five episodes later that everybody went 'Oh my God! Yeah, you kissed him!' And that was it.

"I am absolutely proud of being a part of it. You've got these young teens in school being bullied because of the sexuality that they are just discovering.

"They write to me all the time to say that Captain Jack helped them be strong and positive about themselves, rather than hiding and being embarrassed. It was a great, great thing to have a hero who really doesn't give a s**t who he kisses," he added.

The Torchwood star also revealed that he has got over his initial disappointment at not being invited to appear in the 50th anniversary special 'The Day of the Doctor'.

He explained: "Of course I was disappointed in the first instance, but things have to move on.

"Anybody who's a fan and who's been in the show would have liked to have been invited back, but it just didn't happen and there's no sense crying over spilt milk. It's going to be a great anniversary show and I'll be watching like everybody else."

Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special 'The Day of the Doctor', starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper and John Hurt, will air worldwide on November 23.

Watch Matt Smith and Steven Moffat talking to Digital Spy about Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special below:

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