Why Jason Donovan soaks in sea salt - and his other health secrets

with Elvis still keeping a rather low profile in China (see previous posts), the closest thing we have to a King of sorts is probably Jason Donovan. here is a quite class interview with The Man Who Would Be King, as it were


Actor and singer Jason Donovan, 39, lives in London with his partner Angela and their two children.


How well do you sleep?
Soundly. I usually get six to eight hours a night, although it's sometimes interrupted by our kids, Jemma, who's seven, or six-year-old Zac.
But if I'm about to open a show, or filming a big scene the next day with lots of lines to remember, I'll get anxious and spend the night tossing and turning. Exercising a lot beforehand helps - as does a couple of glasses of red wine.

Worst pain/illness you have ever experienced?
Chicken pox, about four years ago, which I got from the children. It was horrible. I had spots everywhere, like an all-over cold sore.
It can be very dangerous when you're older and affect your virility, although it hasn't done mine any harm. It takes a lot to keep me bedridden, but this did; it went on for a month.

Do you use alternative treatments?
I'm an agnostic when it comes to alternative remedies - I really don't know what to think.
Although having said that, I did try acupuncture for cluster headaches, which are really painful and come from stress.
I was appearing in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and had 12 sessions of treatment. I was desperate and it worked. But I'm more likely to resort to aspirin than a herbal remedy.

Have you ever called an ambulance?
No, but I was taken to hospital in one in 1995, at the height of my cocaine addiction. [Donovan was addicted to cocaine for six years in the 1990s.]
I was queuing in a restaurant in Bondi Beach when I started to convulse and collapsed. It was a humiliating experience. I had a check-up at the hospital and was discharged within hours.

NHS or private?
The family are all covered with private medical insurance - really so that we could get faster treatment.
But I have no worries about the public health system; it's just that I can afford to go private.

When were you healthiest?
I'm probably the healthiest I've ever been. I started smoking at 15 and only gave up seven years ago. Having kids did it for me - I didn't want them to smell my smoker's breath.
I tried a patch for a week but really it was the discipline and the desire to change that got me through. It can take six or seven years to really clear the tar out of your system, so I reckon my lungs are clean now.

Are supplements a waste of money?
Occasionally I go through stages where I'll take multivitamins to keep up my immune system.
I've also used things like Manuka honey, vitamin C, cod liver oils, even B12 injections (for energy, although I haven't had one for years). But despite this, I still get colds.

Have you ever felt depressed?
I don't think I've ever been properly "depressed" because there's too much to do.
My dreams came true at 22 - my first album was the biggest-selling album in 1989 - and through the career ups and downs I was lucky enough to have investments that supported me financially.
If I ever feel a little flat, I go for a swim or a run. There's never been a point where I've woken up and said I can't face the day; physical fitness is the way to combat it.

When did you last see a doctor?
About a year ago for a flu jab, but other than that it would have been a long time - I can't even remember what it was for.
I have always suffered from slight psoriasis, though the older I get the less of a problem it has become. I find soaking in Dead Sea salt and a good dose of skiing helps.

Ever been on a crash diet?
No. The only diet I've ever gone on was forced on me - I was taking part in the TV show I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! and the food was rationed.
The combination of rice and vegetables without butter and oil helped me lose about a stone.
Though when I look at photos of me coming out, I don't look well - I think everyone needs a bit of fat. I'm around 11 stone (and 5ft 11in tall) which is about right.

How do you relax?
I am not great at it - I like to keep busy - but red wine helps. I particularly like a good Australian or New Zealand pinot noir, and a Bordeaux.
Being out of town at my house in Oxfordshire is relaxing - I enjoy domestic things and potter around doing a bit of gardening, fixing door knobs, etc.

Lentils or beef burger?
I'd go with the beefburger any day - lentils are so boring. But I've always had a pretty healthy diet, and these days I am even more conscious about what I eat.
When I was younger I used to love milkshakes, but now I'm really aware of watching my weight. Things convert into fat far more easily. I don't eat so many carbs, such as bread and potato, now.
I start the day with fruit, yoghurt, muesli and a triple-shot cafe latte and exercise. But I'm not above the occasional binge at McDonalds or Burger King.

Is exercise worth it?
Even when I was going through the dark days of my drug abuse, I still managed to have time for exercise - and I really do think that's what got me through that bad period.
I run about three or four times a week and do 100 sit-ups every day. You can become obsessive about exercise. Actually, I went for a run at 10pm last night. Do you think I've got a problem?

How often do you have check-ups?
Not as much as I probably should but I can't spend my life worrying about whether I'll get cancer when I'm 55. My eyes, hearing and breathing are fine, so I'm not too worried.
I've never had a health scare as such but I think once you hit 40 you should have regular check-ups every three or four years. For me, it'll be sometime after June 1, 2008.
Though don't hold me to it; I'm thinking about it.

Best health advice your mother ever gave you?
My parents split up when I was five and I didn't spend a lot of time with my mother. My father (the actor Terence Donovan) brought me up.
It wasn't advice per se that he gave me, it was watching his example. He's very fit, and runs and swims.
He loves his wine but he has a balanced diet.

Do you carry a donor card?
No. I haven't thought too much about death yet, I'm too busy living. But you're making me think maybe that's a good thing.
I'm not sure anyone would want my liver, though. Hopefully, I'll live for years until my organs are well and truly past their sell-by date.

Dr Kildare or Dr Who?
I'm noy a big fan of medical dramas - or sci-fi. I prefer factual TV and current affairs, and I listen to Radio 4 in the morning.

What do you take for a hangover?
More alcohol.

I just can't get by without ...
Nitty Gritty - it's a "natural" headlice treatment which Angela and I use on the kids. Nits are a big problem these days.


it is of course a little disappointing that Jason does not show off too many King-esque tendencies in this interview, but i suspect he was being polite. i mean, he does not say as much, but you can presume that Mr Donovan would also fly a bunch of coppers to the middle of nowhere to have a loaf of bread stuffed with bacon and butter. if he was of a mind to do so.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!