At 60, Davies is less of a hell-raiser than he once was \u2013 but a great deal happier. He talks about the excesses of the 90s, the sexual abuse that made him such an \u2018angry boy\u2019, his recent bladder cancer, and fatherhood<\/p>\n
It looks as if Alan Davies is in the wrong place. Not as in the wrong venue: he\u2019s here at the Pleasance theatre in Islington, a north London fringe theatre and comedy venue, where we arranged to meet. But he\u2019s in the wrong part of it. Although there\u2019s a stage with a single microphone at standup height, Davies \u2013 who has performed here many times \u2013 joins me in the auditorium, sitting down at a table. Someone in the shadows is testing the lighting, and suddenly there\u2019s a spotlight on the stage where the mic is. Is it tempting to jump up there and do his thing, even to an audience of one? \u201cIt is a bit, yeah,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n
When I started the interview, I\u2019d found that the notebook I\u2019d brought with me contained some diary entries from my 14-year-old son. \u201cHave you got the wrong notebook, or has he been writing in your notebook?\u201d Davies asks. I think B. \u201cSounds like he wants it to be found.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/b0655a03d6303ced53e760263121e6f2fa0408c2\/955_0_6160_4928\/master\/6160.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=12639a59aa3e10e558f18c4e1a4d0c51\" "\\"\u2018There")
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