I wasn't sure what to expect as I sat in the lobby of the five-star Langham Hotel in London, waiting for former teen heartthrob Donny Osmond to arrive.
We were meeting to chat about his upcoming tour of the UK and I was interested to find out more about the man whose face one graced millions of bedroom walls around the world.
I remember The Osmonds from my childhood, although I am not quite old enough to count myself among the teenage fans from their 1970s heyday. But I certainly remember how much Donny, one of the group’s lead singers as well as a solo artist, was adored by girls and young women around the world.
© GC ImagesYou might expect that kind of adulation to breed arrogance and entitlement, as is often the case for so many other rock and pop stars. But I was pleased to discover that Donny is as delightful in person as his clean-cut stage persona would suggest.
I recognised him immediately as he walked into the hotel with his manager and publicist, having walked across the road from Broadcasting House, where he had been a guest on Sara Cox’s BBC Radio 2 show.
At 68, Donny really hasn’t changed much. Yes, he's older of course, and is now a grandfather 16 times over, yet he’s trim, youthful and has a full head of hair.
When we were introduced, he greeted me like an old friend, shaking my hand then putting an arm around my shoulder and chatting as we made our way into the hotel’s light and airy Palm Court restaurant, where we sat down at a table and ordered pots of tea.
“I love HELLO!” he says. “I used to work with you guys a lot.”
A devout Christian, Donny doesn’t drink, has never smoked or taken drugs and has been married for 48 years to Debbie, the girl he fell in love with when he was just 16.
But if you think this might make him a little serious, or dull, you’d be wrong. Donny was great fun – and funny – and was happy to talk about anything and everything during our 45-minute chat.
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyLove at first sight
This included how he’d met Debbie at an Elton John concert, where she was on a date with his older brother Jay, and told himself: “I’m going to marry that girl someday.”
When I asked how Jay had reacted to his younger brother stealing his girlfriend, he replied, quick as a flash: “We haven’t spoken since!”
Then he laughed and assured me that he and Jay are still as close as ever, as is the whole Osmond clan.
Donny was warm, friendly and open, revealing a cheeky sense of humour as he regaled me with stories from more than 50 years in showbusiness.
He told me how he has never fallen for the temptations of fame – despite people trying to corrupt him. He recalled the time he came off stage and was handed what he thought was a cup of water, but which turned out to be vodka.
“I think I was around 16 at the time – I wanted to die!” he said.
© Getty ImagesNo to drugs
And he told me about the former agent who tried to persuade him to bring a suitcase full of drugs through customs, reasoning that his arrest and would help banish his teenybopper image.
“I would serve some time in jail and have so much street cred. But that’s where my faith came in... and I went in there the next day and said, ‘You’re fired.’”
He explained why he ignored his father’s warning that getting married at 20 would ruin his career, and credits Debbie, who he said is “the sweetest person on the planet”, with bringing stability to his life.
“The teen-idol image was going to dissolve anyway, and when you are going through such adulation, and it disappears, that's tough. But when you have your personal life together, you have that foundation, and Debbie provided that for me,” he reasoned.
© Tracy SchaverienSince then, his head has never been turned by other women, even though he was surely not short of offers.
“I agree with Paul Newman – why have a burger when you have steak at home?” he told me, referring to the actor’s famous quote about his own long and faithful marriage to Joanne Woodward.
As we chatted and drank our tea, he asked me about my life too – where I was from, how old my children are. He also wanted to know who the worst celebrity was I had ever interviewed. While that was a difficult question to answer, I can say that Donny Osmond is now among my favourites.
