Jason Donovan announces death of dad and Neighbours co-star Terence aged 90 | Soaps

Jason Donovan has announced that his dad, Terence, who starred alongside him in Neighbours, has died.

The Australian soap icon, 58, shared today that his father, 90, died ‘peacefully’ in Melbourne on Saturday.

‘It is with great sadness but also a sense of celebration of a long, full life that myself and my brother Paul announce our father Terence died peacefully last night here in Melbourne,’ his statement began.

‘Obviously this is an extremely emotional time and we ask you to respect our privacy.

‘We want to pay tribute to all the wonderful staff at Cabrini Hospital, Melbourne who looked after him in his final days.’

Jason described his dad as a ‘huge character’ and his ‘best friend’.

‘We will desperately miss him but we take comfort knowing we were all here by his side in his final days.

‘Knowing that he lived life to the max. Knowing that in life it’s either a daring adventure… or nothing at all!’

‘How lucky are we to have a dad like you,’ he concluded.

Born in London, Terence moved to Australia with his parents when he was 14, which is where he pursued acting after first working as a truck driver and a house painter.

In 1965, he married TV presenter Sue McIntosh, and they welcomed son Jason three years later before divorcing after seven years.

The veteran actor had numerous high-profile roles in Aussie police dramas Division 4 and Cop Shop in the 70s and 80s.

In 1990, he had a six-week guest role in Home and Away as the second actor to play Al Simpson, succeeding George Leppard.

That same year, he would join Neighbours as Doug Willis, with his on-screen family written out in 1994. Terence reprised the role in 2016, culminating in his character’s death, which he later said was not the way he wanted Doug to leave.

Finally, in 2022, Terence made another cameo alongside Jason in the then-finale of Neighbours, also appearing with granddaughter Jemma Donovan, who played Harlow Robinson between 2019 and 2022.

Jason, of course, famously played Scott Robinson in the soap opera before his music career took off. He appeared from 1986 to 1989.

As for the remainder of Terence’s career, he also had roles on Prisoner, Sons and Daughters, A Country Practice, and The Flying Doctors.

Film-wise, he appeared in Breaker Morant and The Man from Snowy River.

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