The BBC pledges to investigate Doctor Who allegations

Over 20 women have come forward to accuse Doctor Who star Noel Clarke of sexual misconduct. The BBC says it’s taking the accusations seriously.

The other week, it came out that over 20 women had accused Noel Clarke — who played Mickey Smith on Doctor Who between 2005 and 2010 — of sexual misconduct and harassment. That, in turn, inspired people to bring up an open secret about Doctor Who star John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), who’d been known to expose himself on the set for years.

Barrowman has apologized for his behavior before and did so again after this new wave of attention, although his statement on the matter read as a bit flippant. “With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that upset may have been caused by my exuberant behaviour and I have apologised for this previously,” he statement. “Since my apology in November 2008, my understanding and behaviour have also changed. Producer Julie Gardner said she reprimanded Barrowman for his behavior after someone filed a complaint about it on the set of Torchwood. “To my knowledge, John’s inappropriate behaviour stopped thereafter,” she said.

Clarke also issued a statement, saying he was “deeply sorry” for what was alleged, and that “some of my actions have affected people in ways I did not intend or realize.” That said, he and his attorneys are categorically denying every allegation made against him.

The BBC is committing to investigating these claims, releasing a statement to Entertainment Weekly:

"The BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behavior and we’re shocked to hear of these allegations. To be absolutely clear, we will investigate any specific allegations made by individuals to the BBC — and if anyone has been subjected to or witnessed inappropriate behavior of any kind we would encourage them to raise it with us directly. We have a zero tolerance approach and robust processes are in place — which are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect best practice — to ensure any complaints or concerns are handled with the utmost seriousness and care."

After Doctor Who, Clarke went on to write and direct his own films, and even won a prestigious BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. That award was provoked after The Guardian the accounts of women accusing him of sexual harassment.

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