Who is Jason Done? Meet the Waterloo Road star joining Emmerdale as Steve
Jason Done has joined Emmerdale as newcomer Steve. We look back at his roles in Waterloo Road, Where the Heart Is, Coronation Street and other television dramas.
Emmerdale is welcoming another familiar face to the village, with Jason Done joining the ITV soap as mysterious newcomer Steve. His character arrives with a connection to Kev and soon threatens the fresh start Kev has been attempting to build with his son Lewis.
Jason will already be instantly recognisable to many viewers after playing teacher Tom Clarkson in Waterloo Road. However, that is only one part of a television career stretching back more than four decades and including an earlier appearance in another major ITV soap.
Jason Done’s early acting career
Jason was born on 5 April 1973 in Walkden, which is now part of the City of Salford. He began acting as a child and secured a number of television roles before becoming widely known to British audiences.
One of his early roles came in the 1998 television miniseries Merlin, where he played Mordred alongside Sam Neill. By then, Jason had already built up several screen credits and was establishing himself as a familiar face on television.
Soap viewers may also recognise him from Coronation Street, where he appeared as police officer between 1995 and 1996.
Where the Heart Is gave Jason his first major regular role
Before becoming a household name in Waterloo Road, Jason landed a regular role in ITV drama Where the Heart Is.
He played Stephen Snow between 1999 and 2001, taking over the role from William Ash. Stephen was the son of Peggy and Vic Snow, played by Pam Ferris and Tony Haygarth, and Jason appeared in 34 episodes across three series.
The family drama was one of ITV’s biggest Sunday night programmes at the time and gave Jason one of his first substantial continuing roles on television.
Waterloo Road made him a household name
Jason’s biggest breakthrough arrived in 2006 when he joined the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as English teacher Tom Clarkson.
He remained with the programme for eight series and appeared in 158 episodes before leaving in 2013, making Tom one of the show’s longest-serving characters.
Throughout his time at Waterloo Road, Tom became involved in many of the programme’s biggest storylines. His relationships with fellow teachers Lorna Dickey and Izzie Redpath featured heavily during the early years, while he later became a father figure to Izzie’s daughters, Chlo and Mika.
Tom’s story came to an emotional end after he died while trying to rescue troubled pupil Kyle Stack from the school roof, bringing one of Waterloo Road’s best-known characters to a dramatic conclusion.
Even today, Tom Clarkson remains the role most viewers immediately associate with Jason.
A familiar face across British television
Alongside his long-running roles, Jason has appeared in a wide variety of British television dramas.
His credits include Heartbeat, Peak Practice, Casualty, The Bill, Doctors, Dalziel and Pascoe, Murder City, Shameless, Our Zoo and Death in Paradise.
He also appeared in the acclaimed wartime drama Band of Brothers and played Sol Draper in the crime drama Conviction.
Away from acting on screen, Jason has also worked extensively as a narrator, lending his voice to documentary and factual television programmes including Monsters Inside Me and Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away?
In 2025, he portrayed author J.R.R. Tolkien in the comedy film Fackham Hall, adding another distinctive role to his lengthy career.
Who does Jason Done play in Emmerdale?
Jason joins Emmerdale as Steve, a newcomer with a surprising connection to Kev.
Kev has been working hard to rebuild his relationship with Lewis after discovering he is his son, while also trying to prove he has left his criminal past behind. Steve’s arrival threatens to undo that progress when he ignores Kev’s warnings and targets Home Farm.
Although ITV has kept much of Steve’s backstory under wraps, it is already clear that his arrival will create fresh problems for Kev as he attempts to move forward with his life.
For viewers who have followed Jason’s career over the years, Emmerdale marks another significant chapter. After more than four decades on British television, he is returning to the world of ITV soaps with a character who looks set to make an immediate impact.
For all the latest Emmerdale news, features and updates, visit the Emmerdale Hub on SoapLandTV.
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available to stream and catch up on through ITVX.
