Everybody needs good neighbours and they do not come much better than Jason Donovan, who leapt into action to help when a house near his London home was on fire.

Firefighters attending a blaze in Notting Hill just after 4am on Sunday were surprised to find the former star of the Australian soap Neighbours already on the scene.

The Kensington watch manager Thomas Wolfe said: “The fire was located in the side passage next to a house and when we arrived a gentleman was tackling the fire using a fire extinguisher. We took over from him and quickly dealt with the blaze.

“It soon transpired that it was Jason Donovan who noticed the fire from his property over the road.”

Jason Donovan in the foreground of the picture in his underwear. Photograph: @JDonOfficial

Donovan, who made his name playing Scott Robinson opposite Kylie Minogue in Neighbours, suggested that he wished he had had his pyjamas on and – on a more serious note – extolled the benefits of having a fire extinguisher at home.

Asked whether Donovan would get a commendation for being a good neighbour, Wolfe quipped: “He looks good for his age.”

Thank you to the @LondonFire for getting to the situation so quickly, glad no one was hurt. This is a good reason to always wear PJ s to bed ( in case of emergencies ) but much more importantly to have fire extinguishes at hand in the home. https://t.co/SlawIuRxwt pic.twitter.com/4rqGpSFZjh — Jason Donovan (@JDonOfficial) October 1, 2019

Wolfe said the fire, believed to have been caused by a fault in electrical cabling, was under control just before 4.30am.

Donovan has recently been playing Pharaoh in a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End, 28 years after he played the lead role in the musical.

Neighbours has been on British screens for 33 years, although its viewing figures have plummeted since its heyday when the wedding of Scott and Charlene (played by Minogue) attracted a UK audience of 19.1 million people.

Nevertheless, its popularity in Britain has kept it going, with Channel 5 signing a four-year deal for more episodes and a series of specials in 2017, when its future in Australia was under threat.

As well as Donovan and Minogue, it has made stars out of the likes of Guy Pearce, Delta Goodrem, Jesse Spencer, Natalie Imbruglia, Margot Robbie and Liam Hemsworth.