“ I was extremely impressed by the athleticism of the pole dancers .”
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ALAN DAVIES
Gwen Smith challenges Alan Davies on his sex symbol status and recent return to the stand-up circuit . pic : TONY BRIGGS
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lan Davies rings me ahead of schedule on a sunny afternoon because he wants to take his kids to the park . The mention of children brings to mind the actor-cumcomedian playing the untrendy but loveable dad in Angus , Thongs And Perfect Snogging . Sounds at the other end of the phone initially corroborate this image , but Davies – distracted by what sounds like a demanding toddler on his knee : “ sorry , one of them is crying ” – manages to plough on with discussing his return to stand-up and his dealings as one of the most recognisable faces on TV . As part of his new stand-up tour , Alan headlines Cardiff Comedy Festival ’ s closing gala celebrations at the Wales Millennium Centre on Sun 28 July . “ it ’ s material that I ’ ve been on the road with , and it ’ s all well run in ,” explains Alan , who started out in standup comedy as far back as the 1980s before TV acting began to take over . “ There ’ ll be some new bits too that I ’ m working on for next year ’ s show ,” adds Alan who is clearly enthused by his return to the stand-up circuit . Having filmed Whites ( the country hotel-based sitcom in which he starred ) in Cardiff three years ago , Davies is no stranger to the area , and some slight miscommunication leads to Davies apparently believing that I am hankering after a stream of Welsh tourist board worthy quotes . He racks his brain for responses to my city-selling agenda . It ’ s pretty endearing . “ Well , we were there for six weeks , we went out quite a lot – mainly to Jamie ’ s Italian .” He tails off , but then adds with a laugh , “ to our great shame , we spent one night in For Your Eyes Only – the entire cast , male and female . I was extremely impressed by the athleticism of the pole dancers .” Davies ’ tone turns a little wry when we talk about the fate of Whites , which was axed after only one series . “ People tweet me every day , every day about Whites . It was a tragedy for all of us when it got cancelled .” The BBC gave no explanation for the cut : “ you get an email
BUZZ 14 which is full of the most peculiar BBC media speak ; it ’ s like something out of George Orwell .” We turn to lighter topics and Davies becomes more
“ I was extremely impressed by the athleticism of the pole dancers .”
of the genial chatterbox nights of dozing in front of QI would lead you to expect . From talking about Jonathan Creek ’ s duffel coat , the conversation follows a natural segue into the actor ’ s feelings about being a sex symbol . Davies laughs a little awkwardly when I suggest that he must be on people ’ s lists of inappropriate crushes , only realising when it ’ s too late that this might cause mild offence . “ I don ’ t think I ’ m a sex symbol , no . If anyone says anything like , ‘ Jonathan Creek : I fancy him ’, they always put it in a way that is like , ‘ I must be mad ’, or ‘ don ’ t laugh but …’” From one eccentric TV presence to another I suggest ( barely joking ) that Davies could fill Matt Smith ’ s
shoes as the next Doctor Who . This idea is clearly not a new one , but the comedian doesn ’ t seem too hopeful . “ They usually pick somebody not known to a television audience so much . If it was me people will just go ‘ Ooh ! It ’ s Jonathan Creek going in the Tardis .” Incidentally , Davies bumped into Matt Smith in the Cardiff Bay Tesco whilst his wife was visiting . “ People kept pointing and saying : ‘ Oh look ! It ’ s the bloke off QI ! A minute later [ my wife ] came round the corner and said : ‘ Doctor Who is here ! Doctor Who is in the next aisle !’ So we turned around and did exactly the same as the other people ,” chuckles Alan . I ask what he thought he might have been doing if it wasn ’ t for stand-up and acting . He jokes about past football reporting ambitions , before becoming suddenly earnest when he states , “ I always wanted to do comedy and I did drama at uni – that ’ s all I wanted to do from being a teenager . Now I ’ m back doing it again . My last show got canned so I thought I ’ d get back to what I ’ m best at ,” and it ’ s certainly lucky for us that he has .
Alan Davies , Cardiff Comedy Festival Gala , Sun 28 July , Wales Millennium Centre , Cardiff Bay . Tickets : £ 25 . Info : 029 2063 6464 / www . wmc . org . uk