Jemma Donovan
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Jemma Donovan (born 28 March 2000) is a British-Australian actress. She made her role acting debut in the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
television film ''
Mr Stink ''Mr Stink'' is a children's book written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in the United Kingdom in 2009 by HarperCollins. It was adapted into a 2011 stage musical and a 2012 television film broadcast by the ...
'' when she was 12 years old. In 2015, Donovan played Maddy Bastière in the French-American series '' Spotless''. After relocating to Australia, Donovan joined the regular cast of ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
'' as
Harlow Robinson Harlow Loomis Robinson (born September 20, 1950) is a Matthews Distinguished University Professor of History at Northeastern University who specializes in Soviet and Russian cultural history, with writings on Soviet film and performing arts. ...
. Three members of her family had previously starred in the soap opera, including her father
Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...
. She made her debut in July 2019 and also appeared in the spin-off series '' Neighbours: Erinsborough High''. She left the serial in July 2022. Shortly after moving back to the United Kingdom, Donovan secured the role of "party girl" Rayne Royce who died from being pushed in her swimming pool by
Romeo Nightingale ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that have appeared or will appear in the serial in 2018, by order of first appearance. All characters were introdu ...
in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
soap opera ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
''.


Early life

Donovan was born and raised in
London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. She is the daughter of actor and singer
Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...
and his wife Angela Malloch. She has a younger brother and sister. Her grandfather is actor Terence Donovan and her grandmother is actress and presenter
Sue McIntosh Sue McIntosh (née Menlove) is an Australian television actress, presenter and journalist. Career During the 1960s and 1970s, McIntosh was an actress who worked in British and Australian television. Her early credits include a 1965 episode ...
. Her aunt
Stephanie McIntosh Stephanie McIntosh (born 5 July 1985) is an Australian actress, singer and songwriter. She played the role of Sky Mangel in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 2003 to 2007. She made a brief appearance for one episode in 2015 as part ...
is also an actor and singer. Donovan realised she wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry while she was in school. She began attending drama classes when she was 10 years old.


Career

Donovan was 12 years old when she played Pippa in the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
television film adaptation of the
David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...
children's book ''
Mr Stink ''Mr Stink'' is a children's book written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in the United Kingdom in 2009 by HarperCollins. It was adapted into a 2011 stage musical and a 2012 television film broadcast by the ...
''. Donovan said working on the film made her fall in love with acting. In 2015, Donovan played Maddy Bastière in the French-American dark comedy-drama series '' Spotless'', which was distributed by
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
internationally. She spent six months filming the series and she called it one of the best experiences of her life, as it taught her a lot about the industry. She admitted that she did not want to go back to school afterwards. Donovan relocated to Australia in 2018, where she went on a number of auditions arranged by her father's agent, including for ''
Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
''. Donovan's final audition was for the long-running soap opera ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
''. Her father, grandfather, and aunt had all previously starred in the serial. She originally auditioned for the role of
Roxy Willis Roxy Canning (also Willis) is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Zima Anderson. Anderson secured the role two years after relocating to Melbourne in the hope that she might win a part on the sh ...
, but producers felt she was not right for the part and it eventually went to Zima Anderson. Donovan was also unsure about being able to portray Roxy having read the "raunchy" scripts. Producers later created the character of
Harlow Robinson Harlow Loomis Robinson (born September 20, 1950) is a Matthews Distinguished University Professor of History at Northeastern University who specializes in Soviet and Russian cultural history, with writings on Soviet film and performing arts. ...
and Donovan was cast in the role. Harlow's storyline resembled Donovan's own move from the UK to Australia. Of joining the cast, Donovan commented "I am so happy and very honoured to be a part of a series which has been enjoyed by generations. I really like my character Harlow. She is very headstrong, and I enjoy playing that type of character, who's not so intense, knows what she is doing and likes to get involved and Harlow seems to have those qualities." Donovan later admitted that she had not watched the show before she was cast. She made her debut as Harlow in July 2019. That same year, she also appeared in the spin-off series '' Neighbours: Erinsborough High''. In 2021, Donovan returned to the UK to film a special storyline for her character, alongside
Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
. Donovan's departure from ''Neighbours'' was confirmed in May 2022. She returned to the UK permanently after filming her final scenes, which were broadcast that July. In October 2022, Donovan joined the main cast of British soap opera ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' as Rayne Royce. Donovan's character was part of a new group of 20-somethings living in a share house, which harks back to the serial's student-focused earlier years. Rayne was billed as a "party girl" and "a social media sensation." Of her casting, Donovan stated "I am thrilled to be joining the cast of ''Hollyoaks''! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be able to bring something unique and fun to a new role and I can't wait to be a part of the ''Hollyoaks'' family." Donovan made her first appearance on 17 January 2023. On 13 September 2023, it was announced that the character would be murdered as part of a
whodunit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
storyline with her final scenes airing on 26 September 2023. In 2025, Donovan has been singing backing vocals for
Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
's
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
's The Songbook Tour across the UK.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Jemma Living people 2000 births Actresses from London 21st-century English actresses Jemma British child actresses English television actresses Australian soap opera actresses British television actresses British soap opera actresses British people of Australian descent British people of Irish descent