1980–1989: Television career and Neighbours Donovan made his first television appearance at age 11 in a guest role on the Australian series
Skyways in 1980. In the episode, his on-screen sister was played by future
Neighbours co-star
Kylie Minogue. He also appeared in the series
I Can Jump Puddles (1981) and
Golden Pennies (1985), In addition to his regular role in
Neighbours, Donovan appeared as "Happy Houston" in the 1988 Australian
World War II mini-series
The Heroes, based on the historical novel by
Ronald McKie. He won the 1990 Logie Award for "Most Popular Actor in a Mini-Series". Donovan left
Neighbours in 1989. Twenty years later, he said that he had been asked to return to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary in 2010, but was unable to do so due to other work commitments.
1988–1991: Pop career While he was still appearing in
Neighbours, Donovan followed Minogue (who had already left the series by this point) by pursuing a pop career. His early exploration of music included recording a demo written by pub rock band
Noiseworks, and he was offered the chance to record the song "
Waiting for a Star to Fall", later a hit for
Boy Meets Girl. However he followed Minogue by signing a recording contract with
Mushroom Records in Australia, and with
PWL in the UK. Although the production team of
Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) initially resisted working with Donovan, fearing recording with a second
Neighbours star would be "too tacky", the trio quickly warmed to him, recording his first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us", after it was rejected by
Rick Astley. The track was released in 1988, reaching number five in the UK and number three in Australia. Donovan agreed to the duet with Minogue without reservation, feeling it would be good for his career. The issue of UK pop magazine
Smash Hits that featured Minogue and Donovan on the cover to promote the release also sold one million copies. The singer said he initially had no idea the song would go on to be so successful, and thought it might just be an album track. Donovan then embarked on an extensive world tour in 1990, The "Doin' Fine Tour", against the wishes of his label, which wanted him available for promotional duties. The tour covered the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, Australia, Singapore and other parts of South East Asia. The Dublin concert was recorded and released on VHS in 1990; and released on DVD in 2010. While the decision to tour upset
Pete Waterman and Donovan's record label, the singer credits the live shows with ensuring his longevity as a stage performer, after
Andrew Lloyd Webber attended one of the shows and was impressed with his performance. Donovan's management felt a return to acting was a way to transition, as his "shelf life as a pop star was coming to an end." Although he had been a mild drug user who had smoked
cannabis joints up until this point, in the months after his libel action Donovan began using cocaine. In a 2007
Marie Claire interview, and also in his 2007 autobiography
Between The Lines: My Story Uncut, Donovan stated that suing
The Face was the biggest mistake of his life. The album was unsuccessful, failing to reach the UK Top 20 and was not released at all in his native Australia. His contract with Polydor was not extended and it would be Donovan's last album for 15 years.
1995–1999: Drug addiction, The Last Bullet and continued musical work Donovan later admitted that by 1995 he had a serious drug problem, taking around three grams (1/10 oz) of cocaine a day. In early 1995, he attended model
Kate Moss's 21st birthday party at
The Viper Room in Los Angeles, where he suffered a drug overdose. Later in 1995, Donovan starred in the Australian TV film
The Last Bullet with
Koji Tamaki, directed by Michael Pattison, which was set in World War II on the Pacific island of
Borneo. In 1998, Donovan took the lead role of
Dr. Frank N. Furter in the UK touring production of
The Rocky Horror Show, where he met stage manager Angela Malloch. After the pair had a brief relationship, Malloch became pregnant and gave Donovan an ultimatum that he had to stop using drugs if he wanted to be part of their child's life. In late 1999, Donovan said that he still used cocaine, stating: "I still have a joint and I still take coke, but not as much as I did two years ago." In 2011, he stated that he has been drug-free since 2000, the year his first child was born.
2000–2006: Fatherhood, MDA and participation in ''I'm a Celebrity...'' Donovan's daughter
Jemma Donovan was born in March 2000. Since then, with his drug problems now under control, he continued to act on stage and television, and had a role in the medical-legal television drama
MDA (2003–05), on Australia's
ABC network. Since 2003, Donovan has also lent his voice to the
Buzz! series of quiz video games. In late 2004, he was headlining in the stage musical
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the
London Palladium. He finished his original run on 13 March 2005, but was then invited back from June onwards to play in the final two months of the show, until its closure on 4 September 2005. Following this, he has toured the UK performing a few gigs and returned to the stage in January 2006 to star in a UK tour of
Stephen Sondheim's
Sweeney Todd. After this, he returned to Melbourne to star in David Eldrige's Australian transfer of the London drama
Festen. Donovan took part in ''
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2006 and finished in 3rd place. He took part in many Bushtucker Trials, which included wearing a helmet full of insects and playing a giant game of Operation. Donovan lost out on the King of the Jungle Crown to Matt Willis. Despite his loss, during an interview on The Steve Wright Show on BBC Radio 2 (January 2008), he said that his appearance on I'm a Celebrity...'' had revitalised his career.
2007–2009: Return to music career and soap operas Bournemouth. Donovan performed a medley of songs from
Joseph along with other actors who have played the eponymous role (
Donny Osmond and
Lee Mead) at the
Concert for Diana in July 2007. In early 2008, Donovan had a role in ITV's post-watershed soap opera
Echo Beach; the series was cancelled after 12 episodes. He also presented
Sunday Night with Jason Donovan, a programme on
The One Network of British local radio stations. On 25 September 2008, Donovan performed in the canteen at the head offices of
Tesco in
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. He was promoting his forthcoming album,
Let It Be Me, which was released on 10 November 2008. The album, his first for 15 years, reached No. 28 in the UK. In 2009, Donovan performed as Tick (Mitzi) in the London stage musical production of
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the
Palace Theatre. Also in 2009, Donovan began appearing in television commercials (with
Kerry Katona and
Coleen Nolan) for the frozen food supermarket chain
Iceland in the UK.
2010–2013: Soundtrack of the 80s, Strictly Come Dancing and Sign of Your Love In September 2010, Donovan took part in the BBC television series
Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his family tree back several generations. Donovan's fifth studio album,
Soundtrack of the 80s, was released in October 2010. The album is composed of cover versions of well known 1980s hits such as "
Drive" (
The Cars), "
(I Just) Died in Your Arms" (
Cutting Crew) and "
Sign Your Name" (
Terence Trent D'Arby) and several others. The same year, Donovan played the role of The Artilleryman in the 2010–2011 stage show ''
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. The show toured the UK and Europe, starting in November 2010 and finished in Germany in January 2011. Donovan also voiced the part of Toby the Kangaroo in the environmental animated film Animals United''. In February 2011, Donovan appeared on the BBC series
Ready, Steady, Cook. Later in 2011, he performed on the
Here and Now Tour, and also toured in a production of
The Sound of Music playing Captain Von Trapp. The production co-starred
Verity Rushworth as Maria. From September 2011, Donovan took part in the ninth series of the BBC's
Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with dancer
Kristina Rihanoff and finished third in the competition. Donovan presented a
voice-tracked radio show on
Heart each Sunday from 10am to 12noon. Donovan temporarily left the station in 2013 In March 2012, Donovan released a new album of
covers,
Sign Of Your Love, which peaked at number 36 in the UK Albums Chart. In May 2012, Donovan was interviewed by
Piers Morgan on the
ITV series ''
Piers Morgan's Life Stories'', in which he talked openly about his career, his past, his former relationship with Kylie Minogue, and his battle with drugs. During the interview, Donovan also said that he had undergone
hair transplantation to counteract his thinning hair. In summer 2012, he appeared as a judge on ITV's talent search show
Superstar. In late 2012, Donovan again toured the UK and Europe in a new version of ''
Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds'', this time playing Parson Nathaniel. In 2013, Donovan reprised his role as Tick/Mitzi in the UK national touring production of
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. On 5 May 2013, Donovan was heard narrating Pick TV's budget version of
Rude Tube, entitled
Video Surf. Donovan said in January 2015 that he was invited to return to
Neighbours for the show's 30th anniversary celebrations, but he declined the offer, adding "it's just not something I want to do". However, he agreed to take part in the documentary special
Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.
2015–2019: Radio, Tours and Joseph return Since 2015, Donovan has presented Jason Donovan's 80s Rewind (known as All 80s from 2015 to 2017) on
Heart Radio, which airs on Sunday evenings from 7pm until 10pm. In 2016, Donovan toured the UK with his
Ten Good Reasons and Greatest Hits Tour. In 2017, Heart 80s Radio was launched and he began presenting Sunday Mornings from 9am to 12noon in addition to his 80s Rewind Sunday Evening Show on Heart. In December 2017 it was announced that in the new year Donovan would be taking his second break from his radio shows. In summer 2019, Donovan returned to the
London Palladium in a new production of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, this time playing the Pharaoh alongside
Sheridan Smith as the Narrator and
Jac Yarrow as Joseph.
2020–present: Dancing on Ice and Neighbours finale For Christmas 2020, Donovan was due to make his
pantomime debut as The Evil Ringmaster in
Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the
Birmingham Hippodrome, however due to the
COVID-19 pandemic the panto was postponed to Christmas 2021. In 2021, Donavan competed in the
thirteenth series of
Dancing on Ice, paired with
Alexandra Schauman. However, he withdrew from the competition in week 6 due to a back injury. In July 2022, Donovan returned as Scott to
Neighbours for a one-off cameo appearance (alongside Kylie Minogue as Charlene) for what was believed (at the time) to be the show's final ever episode. Subsequently, Amazon announced that they had picked up the series for their Freevee streaming service, and Amazon started filming the revived series in April 2023. From August 2024 Donovan started playing the role of Frank-N-Furter in a touring UK stage performance of
The Rocky Horror Show. ==Personal life==