Alan Davies

Alan Davies attacks BBC all-male panel ban

Alan Davies has hit out at the BBC's decision to announce the fact that the corporation had banned all-male talent shows.

The professional social services depicted in Playhouse Presents: Damned, the latest in Sky Arts 1's series of one-off comedy-dramas didn't seem to care.

Written by Morwenna Banks and Jo Brand (who also starred), this was Brand's mordant hospital sitcom Getting On transferred to the offices of a council's children's services.

The tropes of this type of comedy were all in place, including restless camera work and naturalistic acting. Brand and Alan Davies played social workers who have been round long enough to instantly recognise a prank call when someone phones in to say they've found a baby in the meat section of Tesco.

Also involved were Rebekah Staton and Kevin Eldon, the latter as Martin, who used to work in the office before suffering "mental health issues" but who's now invited himself back and making himself so useful that no one cares.

Yes, it's formulaic in its way - but when the constituent parts are The Thick Of It, Twenty Twelve and Getting On then it's my kind of formula. Damned is so primed to be made into a full series that it might detonate of its own accord - I hope Sky (or someone else) is there to record the explosion.

Alan Davies: I don't enjoy playing Jonathan Creek now

'It's the filming schedules, I don't like, the 12-hour days, six days a week, which are not very family friendly,' says Alan Davies, 48, who has a daughter Susie, four, and a son, Robert, two, by his writer wife, Katie Maskell.

Radio Times review

Jo Brand applies her mordant wit to the fraught world of child protection as she typecasts herself as "the fat, bad-tempered one", Rose, in an office of social workers. She and her fellow socials, Al (Alan Davies) and Nitin (Romesh Ranganathan), are a fairly disarrayed bunch, as likely to be arguing over who should answer the phones as taking kids into care - Rose herself is a harassed single mum, trying desperately to arrange childcare before she leaves for work in the morning.

It all plays disturbingly naturally, with excellent support from Kevin Eldon, Pulling's Rebekah Staton and Brand's Getting On co-star Ricky Grover. The dark humour fizzes along - with a delicious kick at the end.

Podcast review: No Such Thing As A Fish

All it lacks is the likes of Alan Davies and co chipping in with their comedic quips, but there are still plenty of laughs to be had.

Comedy review: Alan Davies, Glasgow

Picking up on the hurt and self-analysis that defined his 2012 return to stand-up, Life is Pain, this compelling series of recriminations from Alan Davies, against his failing body, his young children but most strikingly, his cold, angry father, betrays his recourse to therapy and builds to a densely funny, middle-aged howl of anguish that nevertheless amounts to understanding.

Review: Alan Davies, Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow

His on-stage persona is markedly different from his on-screen comedy foil on QI and the introspective Jonathan Creek.

Alan Davies likes to be up close and personal

"I do like to talk about myself, obviously."

Alan Davies review - the QI man plays it safe

Cleaving far too much to conventional 90s laddish stand-up, Alan Davies is best when he goes further back in time.

Review: 'Dunderhead' dad Alan Davies delivers

Alan Davies, QI's "much loved dunderhead" and star of detective series Jonathan Creek, was made more than welcome by the Aberdeen crowd on his return to the city.