Jason Donovan: 'Dad says I have two left feet'

Jason Donovan: 'Dad says I have two left feet'
Jason Donovan: 'Dad says I have two left feet' (Image credit: BBC)

Jason Donovan is set to add dancing to his CV when he teams up with Kristina Rihanoff to compete against the new batch of celebrity hoofers as Strictly Come Dancing (Friday, September 30, BBC1 HD, 9pm). We caught up with him for a few pointers... I agreed to do Strictly because I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and hopefully get fit at the same time... My father says I have two left feet, and this is the perfect opportunity to prove him wrong. I believe a person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm, but a good suntan also helps. I’m looking forward to the Strictly experience... Spray tans, Craig Revel Horwood, bring ’em on! No waxing, though. I think I will stick with the masculine, hairy chest for those open-shirted Latin numbers and remain true to the real me. Because I'm in the theatre, people will think dancing is just part of the whole package... But I've never had any formal training in movement. Having spent nearly 18 months playing a drag queen in Priscilla on the West End stage, I’m certainly not afraid of the odd sequin here and there! Usually when I go on stage it’s for up to two hours... A dance on this show only lasts about a couple of minutes and it’s quite hard to get into anything in that time, so you’ve got to admire what these professional dancers do. By the same token, they’ve got to admire what we do. My friend Gary Barlow is a massive fan of Strictly... I think he secretly fancies himself in sequins with a spray tan and a bit of waxing. He can throw some good shapes. He’ll definitely be watching, but also avoiding telling me the truth at all costs. Nothing has ever come naturally to me... Whether it’s acting or singing, I have had to work hard all my life, and I still work hard. If that leads to good results, so be it. People call me a heart-throb... I’m a father of three, so I would argue those days are gone. But if that’s what people think, great, I don’t mind.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.