Jason Donovan’s daughter Jemma joins cast of Neighbours
Jason Donovan’s role as Scott Robinson on Neighbours in the 1980s made him a household name. Now his daughter Jemma Donovan, 19, is set to make her on mark in the TV industry after taking on a role in the same Aussie soap drama.
Neighbours is turning into a family affair.
Jason Donovan still ranks as one of the Aussie soap’s biggest stars after playing Scott Robinson opposite Kylie Minogue from 1986 to 1989.
Years later, Jason’s father Terence also had a stint on Ramsay St as easygoing Doug Willis.
Now it is time for Jemma Donovan to follow in her family’s footsteps; playing Harlow Robinson on the 10 Peach show.
Jemma, 19, is the oldest of Jason’s three children with wife Angela Malloch. Brother Zac is a year behind and sister Molly a decade younger.
Jemma grew up in England and started her professional acting career at age 11 opposite Hugh Bonneville in the BBC One film Mr. Stink, written by David Walliams (Little Britain).
In 2015 she appeared in the French-American 10-part Netflix series Spotless, playing troubled teen Maddy Bastiere.
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Last year, Jemma decided to audition for Neighbours with the full support of dad, Jason.
“I wanted to audition for Neighbours because it has such an attachment to my family,” Jemma says.
“My dad always said he had great experiences on it. He was really into me trying for it — auditioning and having a go and see what happens.
“He absolutely adored it (Neighbours). He always speaks very highly of his time on the show. He definitely encouraged me and set a good tone for the audition.
“I auditioned for another character originally. After my audition they (Neighbours producers) probably didn’t feel like I suited that character.
“They wrote the character of Harlow because it kind of follows a similar storyline to mine — moving from the UK to Australia with some family here.
“In that sense it is quite similar (to real life) which is cool and really fun to play. I can see the similarities and differences (with Harlow) and use that to my advantage.”
Jason was quick to congratulate his daughter on winning the role saying: “Neighbours is an incredible learning curve for any young actor. There are so many great memories for me.
“This is Jemma’s moment. My dad had a wonderful few years and I’m sure Jemma will also embrace the experience and honour the past.”
It was a past that Jemma had to catch up on with a crash course of footage on the internet. As a child she was largely oblivious to Neighbours and her father’s soapie super-stardom.
“I was aware of it (Neighbours) but never watched it,” Jemma says. “I feel like such a terrible daughter because I’d not watched him in any of it. He wasn’t on when I was watching TV.
“Auditioning for the role I started to watch it because I wanted to get an idea of what I was potentially going into.
“And the other day I started watching clips of my dad because everyone kept asking me: ‘Have you watched any of your dad?’ and I’d say: ‘No, maybe I should have’.
“To me, he’s just my dad. He always helps me and he’s always been there for me and supportive of whatever I want to do.”
Jemma says both her parents had encouraged her to follow her dreams to Australia provided she had an education behind her. It was while fulfilling their wishes at school that she realised her true passion was in entertainment. And just like her old man, who famously recorded a hit duet with his then-girlfriend, Minogue, Jemma also loves to sing. But, for now, the focus is Neighbours.
Jemma says the Donovan legacy didn’t weight too heavily on her mind on her first day on set.
“It [first day] was a terrifying experience — it always is when you start a new job,” she says. “I was coming into a very established cast and a well-oiled machine.
“You’re getting to know people and you’re also having to introduce a character who is new and different.
“Just the amount of scenes they film in one day [is a challenge] … Your character’s doing one thing in one week [of episodes] and then the next week she’s doing something completely different but you’ve got to shoot it [the two lots of scenes] on the same day.
“It involves all of your emotions, all of your skills to bring it [together]. You are never sitting back doing nothing.”
Jemma says while the entire cast had been welcoming, she quickly forged bonds with castmates Zima Anderson (Roxy) and Olivia Junkeer (Nashvi).
“They’re girls my age and they’ve been so kind to me,” she says.
“I love being around them. We have a lot of fun together.”
She adds that she also has a lot in common with her character, Harlow who also hails from the UK and, like her dad Jason’s character, is part of Ramsay Street’s original residents, the Robinsons.
“She is the granddaughter of Paul Robinson (Stefan Denis) which is really fun because I get to work with Stefan a lot,” she says.
“He has been on the show so long. He has a great understanding of the show. He’s a really good mentor on the show.
“Harlow is trying to get some answers and we’ll see if she finds any. We shall see!”
* Neighbours, weeknights, 6.30pm, 10 Peach.
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