Jason Donovan speaks ahead of Telford and Shrewsbury shows

He needs to access a business suite at a swanky hotel on the edge of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

So Jason Donovan wanders across to the concierge to seek assistance. He's dressed down; a black puffa jacket to protect him from the wind, a comfortable pair of black joggers and the newest, coolest pair of trainers this side of Usain Bolt.

As he approaches the desk, three women flutter. One makes a beeline, telling the singer and actor how big a part he's played in her life. She's effusive and sweet; warm and engaged. He smiles and listens to her story, offering a charming riposte. Though he's heard it hundreds of thousands of times before, he's respectful towards his fans and doesn't take for granted their affection. He talks with her for a minute or two then disappears into the lift.

Two hours later, I find myself at the same concierge. My car park ticket didn't work and I'll need to pay £7 to exit a subterranean car lot. The women at the concierge are the same three who spoke to Jason an hour or so earlier. And while this time there's no fluttering, they recognise me instantly as the guy who was standing next to Jason earlier that morning. And so, by extension, their treatment of me goes up a level or 10. His power has rubbed off, so I qualify for VIP treatment too. Rather than ask for the £7 fee or make life difficult, the concierge blushes a little and hands me a free pass.

Take this, pet," she says. "That'll sort you out." And I drive out of the car lot without paying a penny.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world of Jason Donovan; a world of ever-lasting fandom and warmth, a world of exclusivity and the surreal.

Jason is on the road in Million Dollar Quartet, a blockbusting show that tells the of a night in which Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins kicked off an impromptu jam session at Sun Studios, under the watchful air of Sam Phillips.

It's a breathless and intoxicating production that's been playing to full houses across the UK, including the 1,294-seat Theatre Royal, at Newcastle, where we meet. It'll feature at Shrewsbury's 650-seat Theatre Severn from May 30 to June 3. It's a production where the air crackles with star power and expect every seat to be sold. Lucky Shrewsbury.

"It's a good, solid show and I've got a good rhythm with it," says Jason. "I've got a good rapport with the guys. We're getting standing ovations every night. There's a lot of artistic licence to it but it works well."

Jason is the star who sells the show, of course. And he puts in a bravura performance. Like his stunning portrayal of speech therapist Lionel Logue in Roxana Silbert's 2015 production of The King's Speech, alongside Raymond Coulthard, as George VI, he's one of Britain's most under-rated actors. In The King's Speech, he was the show's beating heart. Authentic and brashly familiar, he stole the show from a fine ensemble. And in Million Dollar Quartet, his performance is similarly accomplished. Those who only remember Jason as Scott Robinson, from Neighbours, as the bloke who dated Kylie or as the fella who enjoyed the biggest selling album of 1989 with Ten Good Reasons are missing a trick.

For Jason is reinvented and renewed. His stage craft has experienced quantum improvement. For sure, he's the 'name' that puts bums on seats. But, more interestingly, he's also the lead man whose creative talents carry a show.

"Well thanks for saying that," he says. "You know, it's important to me. I think The King's Speech changed people's perceptions of me a little. It's good to be getting more recognition as an actor these days. I don't really audition for parts like this. The phone goes and people say they want me to play a role."

His celebrity status comes for free. And while people naturally associate him with the fame he experienced during the 1980s and 90s – as well as the dark, drug-fuelled era that followed – there's more to him than just that. Those who imagine Jason V 1.0 will be hamming it up are quite wrong. Jason V 2.0 is an actor who brings sophisticated nuances and intelligent subtleties to the stage.

"I always say this: First the good news, I am Jason Donovan. Now the bad news, I am Jason Donovan. But I don't have to worry about proving anything to anyone with my acting.

"I do get producers who want me because I sell tickets. So there is a bit of an artistic struggle sometimes. I guess it's a sort of Johnny Depp scenario, but in a theatre sense. I know I sell tickets. The King's Speech came to me. I didn't have to audition. I read that, loved it. This came to me through a casting agent. I've had that acting ability since I was a kid and I guess what overshadowed all of that was the fact that I was blonde haired and blue eyed and probably not unattractive. I came from Neighbours. I think there's almost a prejudice in being that."

Because you were a pin-up?

He laughs. "There should be an anti pin-up movement. I think as a male it takes longer to grow into that credible phase. I think it takes a longer time to grow out of that boyhood type of fame."

Jason's story is one of the most remarkable since the 1980s. The Australian actor and singer became famous through Neighbours. As Scott Robinson, he married Charlene Mitchell, played by Kylie, for an audience of millions. Their onscreen romance was mirrored by an off-screen romance, though that was a lifetime ago. And these days, Jason just wonders why people still ask him about an ex-girlfriend from his youth.

He's polite when the question comes and explains that he and Kylie don't really mix in the same circles these days. But there's a sense of there being another answer, a sort of: 'Dude, don't we all have ex-girlfriends. Why would I ask you about somebody you saw 30 years ago? Life's moved on. It's just not relevant any more'.

His erstwhile drug habit is also yesterday's news. He's told the world before that he binged on cocaine during Kate Moss's 21st birthday party at the Viper Room in LA to such an extent that he ended up with a coke seizure. And there were numerous other occasions when savvy PRs put troubled times down to 'exhaustion'.

He remains open and honest about those days – and why wouldn't he? He's nothing to hide. He told those tales in his brutally honest autobiography, Between The Lines.

"It was my darker period. I just didn't really care and I was just having a good time. That was a kickback to the hard work I put in during the 1980s and early 1990s. People ask me why I took drugs and my answer is simple: I enjoyed them.

"But there has been a frustration with trying to get producers to employ me as an actor, as opposed to for the baggage I had. That's been a difficult thing, but it's changing."

"The phone doesn't stop. It just rings. I almost need to be cast in a show that's bigger than me. You know, if I was going into Broadchurch, with David Tenant, or a Downton then people would say 'Oh, Jason Donovan's in it'. It's not that I'm big, but the publicity becomes bigger than the contribution that I make to the show. Then it just becomes a PR exercise, rather than an exercise in your craft. That's fine if I'm doing a reality show. Or, if you're doing something like Strictly, which might be a good move. But there are times when you want to do more than PR. And thankfully, my catalogue of work now speaks for itself. I go into a rehearsal room and people give me respect."

And yet despite that baggage – or maybe because of it – Jason's a national treasure. And he'll talk about his remarkable life in a new show this autumn – Jason Donovan's Amazing Midlife Crisis – which will feature at Birmingham Town Hall on October 8 and at Telford's Oakengates Theatre (The Place) on October 30. Fans can look forward to acoustic hits, chat and mischief.

Jason's rehabilitation and return to the mainstream began when he featured on I'm A Celebrity and was confirmed when he finished third on Strictly. Since then, he's barely had a moment to stop. His life is quite simple: manage an abundance of work then spend time with his wife, Angela, whom he married in Bali in 2008, and three kids.

"At the time of Strictly I had an offer for that, which I'd turned down in previous years, and for Big Brother. And I just looked at them both. One show tries to wake up an inner devil and the other lets you hang out in Australia, which is my back yard. One it's nice and hot and the other it's freezing cold. There was no choice. It was a paid-for holiday. I'm A Celebrity was easy, it was great."

Strictly was another kettle of paso dobles.

"My kids thought I'd be an embarrassment and my wife was worried I'd look silly. But I thought there was the chance to do well. I thought I'd give it a go. That show is 12-13 million people. It's extraordinary. There's been rooms like The Palladium, with Joseph, that have been extraordinary. Also, with Priscilla Queen of the Desert, on a few Saturday nights, that also felt electric. But when you go into the BBC on that Saturday night for Strictly – wow – that's a room, that's a real room. I don't think there's anywhere in the country that is as exciting as that.

"On Strictly, they want you to do well and in the first week I stormed it. The kids were nervous before I went in in case I was an embarrassing dad. But as soon as I got those incredible scores, they were texting saying I was cool. I think my wife was even surprised at how well it all came off."

And when the final curtain came down, Jason did the simplest thing. After making it through to the final and also taking the Glitterball Trophy, he made his excuses and left. While the rest of the crew and cast were hanging out, slapping backs and indulging in a feast of self-congratulation, he was heading home to be with his wife and kids. Work's fine, after all, but home is where the heart is.

"There was a car running. I'd given all I could. It was time to go home."

Jason's life is remarkable. The power that comes with Saturday night prime time TV shows, with sell-out concert tours, among fans who still idolise their childhood hero remains remarkable. And yet he's been dealing with that for a lifetime. He knows fame can be a dangerous beast and he handles it with care.

"I'm more in control of that than I've ever been. I'm confident in myself. I know how to deal with it."

And yet he is ever on-duty. The rise of mobile phones means everyone wants a selfie. And when they have a selfie, they want another. And then they want a video. Yet the rise of social media has evened out the playing field.

"The rise of social media has given us back the control. Journalists, with respect, now only have second hand information. We can control it. I use it when I want to use it. I'm not a slave to it. But when I did Strictly, I had 5,000 Twitter followers when I started, so, you know, not a lot, by the end it was 170,000. I know that's not a lot. But it means I can communicate directly." He can.

We talk for an hour or more, about his home, about holidays, about how much he loves being a parent – and, self-evidently, how damn good he is at that – before it's time to go. He's doing eight shows a week and there's a matinee today.

Though fans may recall him as the good looking Aussie who lit up Neighbours, as the singer who soundtracked one of the most important parts of their life with Too Many Broken Hearts or as the guy who created a West End sensation with Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Joseph, there's much, much more to Jason. A quality actor who can steal a show – as well as sell it; a charming pragmatist who understands his position in the showbusiness firmament and is simply trying to get by; a family man whose number one priority is his wife and kids – Jason confounds and exceeds expectation.

Million Dollar Quartet is on at The Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury from May 30 to June 3. Tickets cost from www.theatresevern.co.uk or call 01743 281281.

Jason Donovan's Amazing Midlife Crisis is at Telford's Oakengates Theatre on October 30. Tickets, priced £25, are available from www.theplacetelford.com or by calling 01952 382382

By Andy Richardson