Jason Donovan burst into tears when his daughter Jemma Donovan landed a role on ‘Neighbours’.
The 18-year-old actress says her famous father – who played Scott Robinson in the Australian soap from 1986 to 1989 – cried when she got the green light for the part of Harlow Robinson, and she is delighted to have him by her side supporting her.
Jemma said: "He started crying when he found out. He was so happy for me.
"He’s a great supporter and I love having him by my side, which is great."
Jemma believes she was always destined to follow in her dad’s footsteps by trying her hand at acting, but admits she was unsure about whether to pursue a career in show business at one point.
Asked whether she was always going to go into acting or entertaining, she said: "I think so. I always loved it when I was younger. I kind of stopped a little bit to do my school work.
"And I didn’t know whether I wanted to pursue it, but then I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ "
Jemma hadn’t stepped foot onto the on the Channel 5 soap’s set until she landed her role, and while she was "terrified" at first, she was pleased everyone was "so lovely and welcoming".
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’, she added: "I’d never been there before, but I’d seen it a lot. It was kind of surreal going in.
"The first time I went in I was surrounded by all of the cast in the read through. It was the most terrifying thing ever, but it was great.
"Everyone is so lovely and welcoming."
Jemma previously admitted she was "honoured" to have joined the soap.
She said: "I was so happy and very honoured to be a part of a series which has been enjoyed by generations.
"The timing was also perfect because since my previous role on ‘Spotless’ in 2015, I stopped going to auditions and acting because I wanted to finish my schooling, get my A levels and see what I wanted to do after that so it’s great how everything has fallen into place."
Jason Donovan’s Neighbours tears
