Terence Donovan, a veteran British-Australian actor best known for his role as Doug Willis on the soap opera Neighbours, died on Saturday in Melbourne. He was 90.
Donovan's final acting appearance was a reprisal of his iconic character in the Neighbours finale in 2022. Doug Willis appeared in an "alternative reality" sequence alongside other deceased fan favorites. This marked a return to the soap opera where Donovan first appeared in 1990.
He was a series regular on Neighbours from 1990 to 1994 and returned for a guest appearance in 2005. His character's storyline concluded in 2016 with his death in the Lassiters hotel explosion.
In the 2022 finale, Doug Willis appeared alongside other resurrected characters. The episode also featured a cameo from Donovan's son, Jason Donovan, who reprised his role as Scott Robinson, alongside Kylie Minogue as Charlene Robinson. The finale was broadcast in 2022 when the show was initially cancelled, though it was later revived only to be axed again in 2025.
Jason Donovan announced his father's death on Instagram, stating, "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." He described his father as "larger than life" and "our best friend."
Donovan's career spanned nearly seven decades, beginning in the early 1960s. His notable roles included appearances in the films Breaker Morant and The Man from Snowy River, and the television series Homicide, Sons and Daughters, Home and Away, and Blue Heelers.
Born in London in October 1935, Donovan moved to Australia in the late 1950s. He was married to Australian TV presenter Sue McIntosh from 1965 to 1972, and they had a son, Jason, in 1968. Jason and Terence Donovan acted together multiple times, including on Neighbours and the 2003 film Horseplay.
