Born and still living in Harrow, he attended
The Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art.
His professional credits include Berry Gordy in "The Motown Story" at The Albany Empire and The Bloomsbury. A season in rep. at The Worcester Swan Theatre. The title role in "The Heretic" at London's Dukes Head Theatre. He has performed as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" in The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival and he has been Trinculo...twice! In "The Tempest" and "The Strangest of Islands" (a musical based on The Tempest). He performed with Julie Goodyear in national tour "La Cage aux Folles”. He has also been in “Move” and “Stonewall” in the West End, both written and directed by Metrosexuality’s Rikki Beadle-Blair. This year he has reprised his role in "La Cage aux Folles” at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre and appeared in a number of new plays for Team Angelica
Television experience includes, "Big Kids" for the B.B.C. and a sitcom called "Behind Flaherty". As well as voice characterisation, for B.B.C. and independent animations, he has also recorded various radio plays including “Judge Dredd” and “The Great White Hope” for the B.B.C. World Service and most recently he did various readings for the first and second series of Radio Four’s “Empires of Liberty”. He presented "Keep Fit stay Fat and be Happy" (KFFH), and played the Reverend J.W. Wannapacket in "The Reverend" both for the cable channel The Weekend Entertainment Network. His film credits include "Thief in the Blood", written by the Coen Brothers, “Souljah” which premiered in Leicester Square with “Battle for Haditha” by Nick Broomfield and “Road to Damascus” with Nick Moran. Donovan has been promoting the film he made called “Fit”, which was written and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair and stars his brother ex-eastender Gary Beadle, a copy of which was sent to every school in the UK. It has now had its UK and US cinema premier and won awards in LA, San Francisco, Barcelona and Prague, the film is available to buy from Amazon. This year Donovan travelled to Israel on a promotional tour as face and voice of Diners Platinum, Black and Red, where in a poll he won most trusted financial adviser! Donovan can be seen occasionally presenting on Captive TV.
