Born in Surrey in 1970, Dorian McDonald attended Sackville School in East Grinstead whilst taking lessons in movement and dance at the nearby Roshe School of Dancing. In 1983 he made his West End debut as a schoolboy in the play 'Another Country' and in 1986 played the time-traveling boy in an episode of the supernatural television series for children 'Dramarama'. In 1988 he went on to study drama at Chichester College of Drama and Art and has since appeared in several television series.