Alan Davies
Encyclopedia
Alan Davies is an English
comedian
, writer
and actor
best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek
and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show
QI
.
, Essex
. His childhood years were spent in Chingford
. Alan's mother died when he was six; he was subsequently raised along with an older brother and younger sister by his father, an accountant.
Davies attended Staples Road School in Loughton before Bancroft's School
in Woodford Green
, where he gained eight O-Levels. He then moved on to Loughton College of Further Education where he gained four more O-Levels and two A-Levels
(Communications & Theatre Studies). He graduated in Drama from the University of Kent
in 1988 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the university in 2003.
in 1988 at the Whitstable
Labour
Club. In 1991, he was named Time Out' s Best Young Comic. He continued touring and performing in the UK and Australia, winning the Edinburgh Festival
Critics Award for Comedy in 1994. That show was released on video and audio cassette in 1995 as Alan Davies Live at the Lyric recorded at the Lyric Theatre
as part of the Perrier Pick of the Fringe season in October 1994.
A DVD of Davies's stand up has been released entitled Urban Trauma. A version of that show, which ran in the West End at the Duchess Theatre
and toured the UK and United States, was shown on BBC1 in 1998.
for three series on Radio 1 before appearing in Channel 4's spoof travel show One for the Road (made by Channel X in 1994/5). He later played the title role in Jonathan Creek
, as a trick-deviser for a stage magician with a side interest in solving crimes, between 1997 and 2004. Jonathan Creek won a BAFTA for Best Drama and was the show which brought Davies to mainstream attention. On New Year's Day, 2009, a special episode of Jonathan Creek, "The Grinning Man", was broadcast on the BBC. Davies returned Creek at Easter 2010 for a one-off episode, "The Judas Tree". Davies co-wrote and starred in his own radio sitcom, The Alan Davies Show, in 1998. Cassettes of the show were produced and released by the BBC, with episodes broadcast on the digital radio
station BBC7. He played Russell Boyd in the BBC comedy A Many Splintered Thing, also in 1998 and 2000. In 2001 Davies played Robert Gossage in Bob and Rose
, a comedy drama about a gay
man falling for a woman. He won the Best Actor award at the Monte Carlo TV Festival for his performance. He also played Jack the dog in the radio sitcom About a Dog
. In 2003, Alan was a Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on Top Gear
. He posted a time of 1:54 in wet conditions. He returned in Series 8 and did a 1:50.3 in dry conditions.
Davies took on a less comedic role in 2004, starring as Henry Farmer, a maverick barrister, in the ITV Sunday night drama The Brief, but quit after two series. Subsequent drama roles include Superintendent Mallard in Marple
(ITV, 2008), as well as appearances in The Good Housekeeping Guide (BBC One, 2006), Roman Road
(ITV 2004) and Hotel Babylon
(BBC One, 2008).
He was invited to champion the case for John Lennon
to be the greatest Briton of all time on the BBC's Great Britons series in 2002. In 2007, Davies starred in the second episode of ITV1's You Don't Know You're Born
. He also recently became a semi-regular on The Unbelievable Truth
.
He has appeared in an episode of the BBC science programme Horizon in which Professor Marcus du Sautoy
attempts to introduce him to elements of mathematical thought. The episode was broadcast on BBC Two
on 31 March 2009. He went on to appear in Horizon for a second time in November 2009, this time leading the episode — Professor Marcus du Sautoy also returns as a guest speaker.
On 16 May 2010 Davies appeared in the ITV detective series Lewis, as Marcus Richard, the quizmaster at a competition held in an Oxford college, at which some of the contestants are murdered. In September 2010 he began a three part documentary series Alan Davies' Teenage Revolution (Channel 4
), partly based on his autobiographical book My Favourite People and Me, 1978-88.
In September 2010 a BBC TV comedy series entitled Whites
starring Davies as a chef started its run. It was however cancelled after this first series, it is believed to have been a victim of the cuts at the BBC subsequent to the reduced licence fee settlement.
In April 2011, Davies appeared as the guest on the return of the ABC TV
conversation program A Quiet Word With ....
quiz game QI
, which is hosted by Stephen Fry
. He also contributed "four words" to the QI book The Book of General Ignorance (which appear after Stephen Fry's foreword), "Will this do, Stephen?". Davies has appeared on every regular episode of the show, though in one episode (Episode 10 of Series D) he appeared in only the first few minutes, in a pre-recorded scene, as he was in Paris attending the Champions League
Final
during the actual recording. His chair was empty for the rest of the episode although his voice was heard during "General Ignorance". He also did not appear in the 2010 Comic Relief episode.
) in late 2009. Of the memoir, Davies said he wished to "attempt to remember what I liked as a boy/youth/idiot and to work out why". The titular favourite people include Anton Chekhov
, John Belushi
, Barry Sheene
, Margaret Thatcher
("only for a few days" the author allows), John McEnroe
and Starsky and Hutch
. The book also mentions Arsenal F.C.
, the football team supported by Davies; he recalls his mother sewing their club badge and captain's number on to his shirt, as a child, only a year or so before she died. The paperback was published under the title Rebel Without A Clue: How the 80s Made Me.
was Davies' best man and delivered a speech at the ceremony. Their first child, Susie, was born on 9 December 2009. Their second child, a boy, was born on 18 June 2011.
Davies is a pescetarian
. He has narrated an anti-vivisection
video called Wasted Lives. He is an atheist.
In late 2007 he made UK national news when The Times and Daily Telegraph reported that Davies was involved in an altercation during which he bit the ear of a homeless man. Davies had just left a wake at the nearby Groucho Club
. He told The Times in 2009, "He wasn't a tramp. He was a raging, horrendous a***hole. He called me a c*** several times. Or if it wasn't him, it was his mate. And, yes, I went for him and, yes, I did it in what turned out to be an amusing way." Following the incident, Davies was banned from the Groucho Club.
Davies has recently become, like his QI co-star Stephen Fry
, an avid user of Twitter
, updating his progress writing a new book and discussing events like sitting a few seats away from Michael Jackson
at the theatre.
Davies is a fan of Arsenal F.C.
and a season ticket holder. He says he became a fan because his "brother was a Spurs fan and he didn't want to be the same". Davies also used to host "It's Up For Grabs Now" a podcast, which took a light-hearted look at goings on at the club. On 18 January 2011, Alan began hosting the new Arsenal Podcast "The Tuesday Club" with stand-up comedian Ian Stone
, friend Keith Dover, DJ Tayo Popoola
and Skint Records
founder Damian Harris
who sit with him at Arsenal home games.
In 2011 Davies was one of the judges in the ITV1 programme Show Me The Funny
, a talent contest for new and aspiring stand-up comedy performers.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
.
Early life
Davies was born in LoughtonLoughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. His childhood years were spent in Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
. Alan's mother died when he was six; he was subsequently raised along with an older brother and younger sister by his father, an accountant.
Davies attended Staples Road School in Loughton before Bancroft's School
Bancroft's School
Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school in Woodford Green, London. The school has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18...
in Woodford Green
Woodford Green
Woodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green...
, where he gained eight O-Levels. He then moved on to Loughton College of Further Education where he gained four more O-Levels and two A-Levels
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
(Communications & Theatre Studies). He graduated in Drama from the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
in 1988 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the university in 2003.
Stand-up
Davies began performing stand-up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
in 1988 at the Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Club. In 1991, he was named Time Out
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
Critics Award for Comedy in 1994. That show was released on video and audio cassette in 1995 as Alan Davies Live at the Lyric recorded at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
as part of the Perrier Pick of the Fringe season in October 1994.
A DVD of Davies's stand up has been released entitled Urban Trauma. A version of that show, which ran in the West End at the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
and toured the UK and United States, was shown on BBC1 in 1998.
Radio and television
In 1994 and 1995, Davies hosted Alan's Big OneAlan's Big One
Alan's Big One was a short radio series that ran from 1994-1995. There were 13 hour-long episodes and it was broadcast on BBC Radio 1. The host was Alan Davies....
for three series on Radio 1 before appearing in Channel 4's spoof travel show One for the Road (made by Channel X in 1994/5). He later played the title role in Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, as a trick-deviser for a stage magician with a side interest in solving crimes, between 1997 and 2004. Jonathan Creek won a BAFTA for Best Drama and was the show which brought Davies to mainstream attention. On New Year's Day, 2009, a special episode of Jonathan Creek, "The Grinning Man", was broadcast on the BBC. Davies returned Creek at Easter 2010 for a one-off episode, "The Judas Tree". Davies co-wrote and starred in his own radio sitcom, The Alan Davies Show, in 1998. Cassettes of the show were produced and released by the BBC, with episodes broadcast on the digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
station BBC7. He played Russell Boyd in the BBC comedy A Many Splintered Thing, also in 1998 and 2000. In 2001 Davies played Robert Gossage in Bob and Rose
Bob and Rose
Bob & Rose is a British television drama, originally screened in six one-hour episodes on the ITV network in the UK in the autumn of 2001. It was produced for the network by the independent Red Production Company, and was that company's first prime-time drama for the ITV network.Bob & Rose was the...
, a comedy drama about a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man falling for a woman. He won the Best Actor award at the Monte Carlo TV Festival for his performance. He also played Jack the dog in the radio sitcom About a Dog
About a Dog
About a Dog was Debbie Barham's last comedy proposal before she died in 2003. The programme stars Alan Davies, playing a dog, Jack, with his owner, Sarah, played by Kate Ashfield in the first series and Claire Goose in the second, in a sitcom told through the eyes of a canine.Developed by Above...
. In 2003, Alan was a Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
. He posted a time of 1:54 in wet conditions. He returned in Series 8 and did a 1:50.3 in dry conditions.
Davies took on a less comedic role in 2004, starring as Henry Farmer, a maverick barrister, in the ITV Sunday night drama The Brief, but quit after two series. Subsequent drama roles include Superintendent Mallard in Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
(ITV, 2008), as well as appearances in The Good Housekeeping Guide (BBC One, 2006), Roman Road
Roman Road (TV Drama)
-Plot summary:Vince is a burglar who finds himself in a difficult spot after a job and talks his old college friend Matt to join him on an expedition. They both set off to walk the Roman road from Chichester to London, but it doesn't take long for it to become apparent that they're being chased by...
(ITV 2004) and Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
(BBC One, 2008).
He was invited to champion the case for John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
to be the greatest Briton of all time on the BBC's Great Britons series in 2002. In 2007, Davies starred in the second episode of ITV1's You Don't Know You're Born
You Don't Know You're Born
You Don't Know You're Born is a British television documentary series that aired on ITV in 2007. It features celebrities looking into their family tree.-Background:...
. He also recently became a semi-regular on The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth is a BBC radio comedy panel game made by Random Entertainment, devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith. It is very similar to the occasional I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue game "Lies, All Lies", which was first played in 1985...
.
He has appeared in an episode of the BBC science programme Horizon in which Professor Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...
attempts to introduce him to elements of mathematical thought. The episode was broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 31 March 2009. He went on to appear in Horizon for a second time in November 2009, this time leading the episode — Professor Marcus du Sautoy also returns as a guest speaker.
On 16 May 2010 Davies appeared in the ITV detective series Lewis, as Marcus Richard, the quizmaster at a competition held in an Oxford college, at which some of the contestants are murdered. In September 2010 he began a three part documentary series Alan Davies' Teenage Revolution (Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
), partly based on his autobiographical book My Favourite People and Me, 1978-88.
In September 2010 a BBC TV comedy series entitled Whites
Whites (TV series)
Whites is a BBC sitcom, written by Oliver Lansley and Matt King, and starring Alan Davies as the executive chef at a country house hotel. BBC Two gave the go ahead for the show to go into production in August 2009 with the first episode airing in September 2010. Whites aired for six episodes in...
starring Davies as a chef started its run. It was however cancelled after this first series, it is believed to have been a victim of the cuts at the BBC subsequent to the reduced licence fee settlement.
In April 2011, Davies appeared as the guest on the return of the ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
conversation program A Quiet Word With ....
QI
Davies currently appears as the permanent panellist on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
quiz game QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
, which is hosted by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
. He also contributed "four words" to the QI book The Book of General Ignorance (which appear after Stephen Fry's foreword), "Will this do, Stephen?". Davies has appeared on every regular episode of the show, though in one episode (Episode 10 of Series D) he appeared in only the first few minutes, in a pre-recorded scene, as he was in Paris attending the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Final
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...
during the actual recording. His chair was empty for the rest of the episode although his voice was heard during "General Ignorance". He also did not appear in the 2010 Comic Relief episode.
Books
Davies' first book, the autobiographical My Favourite People and Me, 1978-88 was published by Michael Joseph (Penguin BooksPenguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
) in late 2009. Of the memoir, Davies said he wished to "attempt to remember what I liked as a boy/youth/idiot and to work out why". The titular favourite people include Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
, Barry Sheene
Barry Sheene
Barry Stephen Frank Sheene MBE was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.-Early life:...
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
("only for a few days" the author allows), John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
and Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
. The book also mentions Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, the football team supported by Davies; he recalls his mother sewing their club badge and captain's number on to his shirt, as a child, only a year or so before she died. The paperback was published under the title Rebel Without A Clue: How the 80s Made Me.
Personal life
Davies married writer Katie Maskell on 13 January 2007 after a 6-month engagement. The couple had met backstage at QI in 2005. Friend and comedy partner Bill BaileyBill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
was Davies' best man and delivered a speech at the ceremony. Their first child, Susie, was born on 9 December 2009. Their second child, a boy, was born on 18 June 2011.
Davies is a pescetarian
Pescetarianism
Pescetarianism is the practice of a diet that includes seafood but not the flesh of other animals.In addition to fish and/or shellfish, a pescetarian diet typically includes all of vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs and dairy...
. He has narrated an anti-vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
video called Wasted Lives. He is an atheist.
In late 2007 he made UK national news when The Times and Daily Telegraph reported that Davies was involved in an altercation during which he bit the ear of a homeless man. Davies had just left a wake at the nearby Groucho Club
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a well-known private social club located at Dean Street in Soho, London. Its members are mostly drawn from the media, entertainment, arts and fashion industries....
. He told The Times in 2009, "He wasn't a tramp. He was a raging, horrendous a***hole. He called me a c*** several times. Or if it wasn't him, it was his mate. And, yes, I went for him and, yes, I did it in what turned out to be an amusing way." Following the incident, Davies was banned from the Groucho Club.
Davies has recently become, like his QI co-star Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, an avid user of Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, updating his progress writing a new book and discussing events like sitting a few seats away from Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
at the theatre.
Davies is a fan of Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and a season ticket holder. He says he became a fan because his "brother was a Spurs fan and he didn't want to be the same". Davies also used to host "It's Up For Grabs Now" a podcast, which took a light-hearted look at goings on at the club. On 18 January 2011, Alan began hosting the new Arsenal Podcast "The Tuesday Club" with stand-up comedian Ian Stone
Ian Stone
Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...
, friend Keith Dover, DJ Tayo Popoola
Tayo Popoola
Tayo, born Tayo Popoola on Aug 21, 1975, is an English musician, and DJ.-History:Tayo was a pupil at Christ's Hospital School in Horsham and later attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he studied English and Drama...
and Skint Records
Skint Records
Skint Records is a Brighton based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery...
founder Damian Harris
Midfield General
Midfield General, real name Damian Harris, is the original founder of the Skint Records label, which became the forerunner of the big success of Norman Cook's Fatboy Slim....
who sit with him at Arsenal home games.
In 2011 Davies was one of the judges in the ITV1 programme Show Me The Funny
Show Me The Funny
Show Me The Funny was a British reality show in which a group of ten comedians of varying experience visit ten different cities around the UK, performing tasks that are somehow meant to equip them with local knowledge to work into five-minute-long new live routines, which they then showcase in...
, a talent contest for new and aspiring stand-up comedy performers.
External links
- fansofalandavies.co.uk – Fan site