John Barrowman John Barrowman is a bundle of energy. That's probably obvious from his CV which has included everything from TV to the West End stage, often simultaneously. Remarkably, there hasn't been a five, 10 or 15 year plan behind this success. So what is the secret? Come on Barrowman. Spill.
John leans forward conspiratorially. "I don't know," he says, breaking into laughter.
"I've never let anyone say no to me?" he suggests, after a few seconds. "If they have, I've asked them to give me a good reason and if it's bull, I've set out to prove them wrong. If I'd had a formula, I'd have bottled it! And then I'd be richer than Simon Cowell!"
As John explains, his mum thinks it's all down to one key quality. Honesty.
"Yes, I guard myself on certain things, but I'm pretty honest," confirms John. "If people ask me a question I'll give them a straightforward answer. And I enjoy doing it, but how it's happened, I don't know. I'm very happy."
It's possibly that open and frank attitude that's made John a star, even with Middle England's often less-than-open-minded views of homosexuality. John thinks for second.
"You know what?" he asks, "everybody has to change. I'm not trying to make a statement or anything but because of the position I'm in, I feel I have to at times. But it's 2008, nearly 2009. Men sleep with men, women sleep with women. There are many more important things to worry about at the moment."
For John, that's probably the new CD, Music Music Music. After the (gold) success of previous album Another Side, a follow-up was always likely. However, anyone expecting the conventional 'star does cover versions' thing may be surprised. Particularly the first single…
"Don't ever judge a book by its cover," admonishes John, with a grin. "When I did my first album, Sony asked me what would be my dream song, and I said I would love to have an original song written by Gary Barlow. And I kid you not, after the first album had been a success, we went in for the meeting about the second album. I didn't even open my mouth and they handed me something and said 'here's your Gary Barlow track'. And that's how the single came about.
"There still are covers on the album, but many are songs that people probably won't know. For example, there's Think Of Me, which is a Keith Urban song. He's a country and western singer that people will know because he's married to Nicole Kidman, but it's a song that's never been recorded over here. And it’s not the 'dead dog' sort of country!"
With a tour lined up for the New Year, a stint doing pantomime in Birmingham over Christmas – "my second time there" – and TV work for the BBC, BBC America and BBC Worldwide lined up, the Barrowman rollercoaster shows no signs of slowing. Is John the hardest working man in showbusiness? He shakes his head.
"Simon Cowell. He's the hardest working man in showbusiness although I think he's probably got it a little easier than I do, because he probably doesn't fly commercial airlines. I won't lie, I have been on private jets before, but his private jet is probably 10 times bigger than mine."
John laughs his naughtiest laugh and his eyes glint. "And that's the only thing that would be bigger...!"