Alan Roger Davies (; ; born 6 March 1966) is an English actor, presenter, stand-up comedian and writer. He is known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series Jonathan Creek (1997–2016) and as the only permanent panellist on the BBC panel show QI since its premiere in 2003, outlasting its original host Stephen Fry.
Davies attended Staples Road School in Loughton and was privately educated at 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 & Theatre Studies from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1988, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2003.
In 2016, he pursued a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, which he completed in September 2018.
A version of his show Urban Trauma, which ran in the West End at the Duchess Theatre and toured the UK and Australia, was shown on BBC One in 1998.
In 2012, Davies planned a new tour called Life is Pain. The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, 27 January 2012. The title for this show came from a story he heard about a six-year-old girl being told off by her mother and responding "Life is pain". Davies said "This really made me laugh". The tour was broadcast on Dave.
From 1997 to 2016, he played the title role in Jonathan Creek, a trick-deviser for a stage magician, with a side interest in solving crimes. Jonathan Creek won a BAFTA for Best Drama and brought Davies to mainstream attention. The series ran semi-regularly between 1997 and 2004; the series continued on New Year's Day 2009 with a special episode titled "The Grinning Man", which was broadcast on the BBC. Further specials were aired in 2010 ("The Judas Tree") and 2013 ("The Clue of the Savant's Thumb").
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, Davies appeared as a Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on Top Gear with a time of 1:54 in wet conditions. He returned in Series 8 with 1:50.3 in dry conditions. During a period from the mid-1990s to 2002, Davies advertised for Abbey National.
Davies took on a less comedic role in 2004, starring as Henry Farmer, a maverick barrister, in ITV Sunday night drama The Brief, for two series. Subsequent drama roles include Superintendent Mallard in Agatha Christie's 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 argued the case for John Lennon as the greatest Briton of all time on the BBC's Great Britons series in 2002. In 2007, Davies starred in the second episode of ITV's You Don't Know You're Born and on The Unbelievable Truth.
He has appeared in an episode of the BBC science programme Horizon in which Professor Marcus du Sautoy attempted to introduce him to elements of mathematical thought which 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 — du Sautoy also returned as a guest speaker.
On 16 May 2010, Davies appeared in "Your Sudden Death Question", an episode of the ITV detective series Lewis, as Marcus Richard, a scamming 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 comedy series entitled Whites starring Davies as a chef premiered. It was cancelled after the 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 .... In 2011, Davies was also one of the judges on the ITV programme Show Me The Funny, a talent contest for new and aspiring stand-up comedy performers.
In September 2012, Davies made his first appearance on Channel 4's Big Fat Quiz series, winning The Big Fat Quiz of the '90s alongside Phill Jupitus.
In February 2014, Davies presented a chat show Alan Davies Après-Ski on BBC Two, which looked at some of the highlights of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. He also co-hosted the Brazilian Banter podcast for ITV with Tom & Dom from Bantams Banter. The show was a satirical look at the 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil.
Since 2014, he has hosted The Dog Rescuers for Channel 5 and the chat show for Dave.
In 2021, Davis took part in the twelfth series of Taskmaster, finishing in joint third with Desiree Burch. He would be a studio fill-in for Jonnie Peacock for the "New Year's Treat" special in 2022, due to Peacock being unwell.
His second memoir and autobiography, Just Ignore Him, was published in September 2020. The book details the sexual abuse that he suffered as a boy from his father between the ages of 8 and 13. In adulthood both the police and the CPS accepted Davies' abuse accusations but declined to prosecute his father Roy Davies, due to his Alzheimer's disease and his by then advancing years. Davies promoted the book during a BBC Radio 5 Live interview, first broadcast on 9 December 2020.
Davies's third book, White Male Stand-Up, was published in September 2025, and details the early years of his career, and how he was affected during them by the events of his childhood. Davies described it as a "reappraisal my stand-up comedy career, and my career in acting ... knowing the hidden burden I was carrying".
Davies is a Pescetarianism. He narrated an Vivisection video for Animal Aid called Wasted Lives in 2006.
In late 2007, The Times and The Daily Telegraph both reported that Davies 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 arsehole. He called me a cunt 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 is a lifelong fan and season ticket holder of Arsenal F.C. Davies also used to host the podcast "It's Up For Grabs Now", which took a light-hearted look at goings on at the club. On 18 January 2011, he began hosting the new Arsenal Podcast "The Tuesday Club" with Ian Stone, Keith Dover, Tayo Popoola and Midfield General. Releases of the podcast ceased in August 2018, but returned in April 2020 on a (mostly) weekly basis. His support of Arsenal has been used as a recurring source of humour on QI in various ways, such as by assigning him a buzzer sound of a chant by fans of rival club Manchester United.
Davis is a supporter of the Labour Party. In 2013, he told Saga plc: "Social justice is important to me. Life isn't about every man for himself. Life should be about co-operation and collaboration." Despite initially voting for Jeremy Corbyn to be party leader, when being interviewed by Radio Times alongside fellow comedian Jo Brand regarding the broadcast of his Channel 4 sitcom Damned (which coincided with the 2016 Labour leadership election), Davies supported Owen Smith's leadership bid, saying Corbyn was an ineffective Leader of the Opposition.
1995 | One for the Road | Simon Treat | Channel 4 | 1 series |
1997–2016 | Jonathan Creek | Jonathan Creek | BBC One | 5 series |
1998–2000 | A Many Splintered Thing | Russel Boyd | BBC One | 1 seriesThis series started off as one off television film in 1998, which later resulted in a series two years later. |
2001 | Bob & Rose | Robert Gossage | ITV | |
2003– | QI | Permanent panellist | BBC Two | 20 series |
2004–2005 | The Brief | Henry Farmer | ITV | 2 series |
2006 | The Good Housekeeping Guide | Raymond Fox | BBC One | TV film |
2007 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Mallard | ITV | Episode: "Towards Zero" |
2008 | Hotel Babylon | Otto Clark | BBC One | 2 episodes |
2009 | Host | BBC Two | TV shortOriginal Broadcast Date:17 November 2009 Episode:"How Long Is a Piece of String?" | |
2010 | Whites | Roland White | BBC Two | 1 series |
Lewis | Marcus Richards | ITV | Episode: "Your Sudden Death Questioned" | |
2011 | Little Crackers | Comedian / Alan | Sky1 | 2 episodes |
Show Me the Funny | Himself, Judge | ITV | 1 series | |
2014 | Alan Davies Après-Ski | Presenter | BBC Two | 1 series |
Playhouse Presents | Al | Sky Arts 1 | Episode: Damned | |
2014– | Presenter | Dave | 7 series | |
The Dog Rescuers | Presenter | Channel 5 | 6 series | |
2016 | All Over the Workplace | Himself | CBBC | 1 episode |
2016–2018 | Damned | Al | Channel 4 | 2 series |
2018 | Frankie Drake Mysteries | Jonny Cork | CBC Television | 1 episode |
2019 | Flack | Dan Proctor | W | 1 episode |
2021 | Taskmaster | Himself | Channel 4 | Series 12; New Year Treat II |
2022 | McDonald & Dodds | George Gillian | ITV | Episode: "Belvedere"Original Broadcast Date:19 June 2022 Episode:"Belvedere" |
2023 | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Himself | Network 10 | 2 episodes |
2024 | Perfect Pub Walks with Bill Bailey | More4 | Episode: "Highs & Lows" | |
Travel Man | Channel 4 | Episode: "Trieste" |
2001 | Dog Eat Dog | Phil | |
2004 | Roman Road | Vince | Television film |
2008 | Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging | Bob Nicolson | Georgia's dad |
2018 | The Bromley Boys | Donald Roberts |
|
|