Jason Donovan reveals his 10 commandments

“If you don’t care about anything, it’s not really a full life”

Face your fears

I think it’s good to do that. For example, Strictly wasn’t a comfort zone, but it made me feel alive and, at the end of the day, what’s the worst that can happen?

No one is going to die, but if you do, then at least you’ll be commended for trying! It was so hard, doing the cha-cha-cha in front of 11 million people.

I don’t go on stage every night at ease, there’s fear, but the rewards are great. Every job and professional experience to a degree is about facing fears.

I also worry about my kids every day, for their safety and health, about going to school on the bus, but that’s life and you have to face it. You just hope they’ll be okay.

Don’t be a slave to social media

I do get it and I think it’s wonderful, but I don’t want to be doing it all the time. My wife says I should be more pro-active with it.

If I want to tweet about something I will, but the tweets could be 10 days apart. When I do tweet, it’ll mean something. I know people who’ll delete followers because all they do is keep retweeting things other people have posted.

Work hard

I’ve never been naturally talented, so I’ve always had to work hard at things. Some people make things look really easy.

I’ve seen contemporaries who can just sing, dance and act so easily, while I’ve had to face the anxiety and work hard at it.

But I think the hard workers are the real winners, because sometimes the naturally talented ones just breeze through things.

What you put in, you get out. There’s nothing to be ashamed about in wanting to be successful, as long as you are polite with it.

Always wear gloves at the petrol station pump

I try to avoid anything unhygienic because as I get older I’m more conscious of catching illnesses. When I go to the pump, I can’t imagine how many hands have touched it!

That might be considered Obsessive Compulsive, but when I have to go out in front of 1,000 people every day and be on top of my game, I don’t want to be sick. I need to be healthy.

Sleep on a decent mattress (or don’t spend so much time away from home)

We spend half of our lives sleeping and I know this is a first world problem when there are lots of people who don’t have beds to sleep in, but having a decent mattress is really important.

Maybe it’s because I spend so much time on tour and have to deal with different beds on the road. Sometimes, I feel like a stranger in my own home, I’m away so often, so it’s nice to crawl into my own bed when I get back.

Be passionate about life and love

If you don’t care about anything, it’s not really a full life, which is what I want to live.

If you’re passionate about loving and living whether it’s your career, driving well, anything really then you’ll live a fuller life.

I’ve always had the ability to want to make the most out of something, and I think that passion is either in you or it’s not. I don’t believe in luck, you create your own. I always tell my kids that.

Sometimes you don’t get what you want, in my case acting roles, but if you continue to try hard for something, you’ll eventually get there.

Let in the sun

Being from Australia, I love the beach and the outdoor lifestyle. I don’t get home as much as I would like these days, although I try to go whenever I can to see family.

So it took some getting used to over here. We’re coming through a really dark patch just now! Sun is such an important part of our lives and I love to get out in it.

Be true to yourself

I really believe you should go with what’s in your heart.

It’s a clich, but clichs are there because they’ve been built up by us over the years through living life.

Just be honest with who and what you are. If you have a good moral compass and if you believe something is right or wrong, there’s ways of expressing those true feelings without being nasty.

Try to have a juice each day

I know it’s a big market now as people start to wake up to this idea, but I’ve been juicing for years. It’s about going back to what I said earlier about trying to be healthy.

I love to get good greens into me. I’ll put broccoli, cucumber, limes, apples and whatever else I can find and blend them up really good.

I admit it doesn’t always taste great, but sometimes that’s the case with the good things in life.

Whether it’s going to put an extra year or so onto my life, I don’t know, but I think it’s worth doing.

Love and be loved = family

My parents split up when I was very young. I had quite a fractured family upbringing, but I always had love.

Family is important to me and I always try to make sure that support is there for my family. The most important thing is to love and be loved.

Jason Donovan is currently touring with The King’s Speech as Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. The show comes to the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, from Monday, March 16 until Saturday 21 and to the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, May 18-23.