Larger than life at 6ft 7 inches, it’s hard to believe that anything would stop Tom Davis in his tracks.
Best known for playing Detective Inspector Sleet in Murder in Successville and the head of a working class family in sitcom King Gary, Tom has now revealed he was forced to give up performing for years because anxiety got the better of him.
“I stopped doing stand-up for about five or six years, questioning whether I was good enough, which wasn’t just an hour or so before the show, it would take over the whole day,” says the 44 year-old.
“From the moment I woke up I’d be really anxious. Over the years I’d dip my toe in but I found the anxiety so crippling I’d end up making an excuse to pull out.”
More than eight million people in the UK experience an anxiety disorder at any one time, yet less than 50% of people with generalised anxiety disorder access treatment - a statistic that Tom is keen to help change.
Anxiety, he says, can be crippling, much worse than stage fright.
“There’s a reason for stage fright, you might be about to step out in front of 5,000 people,” he explains.
“My anxiety at times is a little bit more illogical and looking back I realise I’ve had it since before I was a stand-up comedian.”
Tom is collaborating with NHS campaign Every Mind Matters to encourage people to make the first move for their mental health.
He features in a new short film alongside TV GP and Strictly Come Dancing star, Dr Ranj Singh, where the pair discuss anxiety and the negative impact it can have on lives if not kept in check.
“Dr Raj Sing was incredible to talk to, we had some really frank conversations about anxiety and he gave me some really sound advice about different ways to deal with it,” the actor says. “Once I understood what anxiety was, I realised that actually I’ve suffered with it my whole life.
“It’s held me back from going for jobs and following my dreams and ambitions - it’s had a knock-on effect on everything I do.”
He’s found that while it’s normal to feel anxious from time to time, it’s knowing how to overcome anxiety and not letting it stop you from doing the things you love, that’s key.
In the past Tom has made excuses not to go to social occasions like birthdays and weddings or down the pub to see his mates, purely because of his social anxiety.
“Once it gets to a level where it actually stops you doing things, then you have to start thinking about solutions,” he says. “I still suffer from anxiety now - I think most people suffer with an air of anxiety if they’re honest.
“A trigger for me is I like to know what I’m doing - if things start changing or moving then I find that can spiral me a little bit.”
In the short film Dr Ranj Singh says feeling anxious is a normal part of everyday life and can actually be a really important tool to help people focus, or a warning they need to take extra care of themselves.
Typically these feelings will pass, but it’s important to seek help if it starts to get out of control.
“One of the simplest things to help alleviate those feelings is physical activity,” Doctor Ranj says. “You don’t need to do a full body workout to reap those mental health benefits.”
Ever the comedian, Tom jokes: “So you don’t have to go full Mo Farah then,” to which Ranj laughs and replies “absolutely not”.
“The key is finding something that you enjoy,” he advises. “If you can do it outdoors - that’s an added bonus.”
Taking part in more outdoor activity is something Tom started doing himself during Covid, after reading up on anxiety and speaking to his GP.
And as an added bonus he lost nearly three stone.
“Every morning I try to do something physical, maybe go for a walk,” he says. “Either on my own or with my wife Kathryn and our young daughter - it burns away the anxiety.
“I also started doing body weight exercises and before I go on stage I do a bit of shadow boxing. I didn’t set out to lose weight but I lost two and a half to three stone.”
After overcoming his own battles with anxiety, the comedian is sharing his story in a bid to get people to open up more about mental health.
“Me and Romesh Ranganathan do a podcast called Wolf and Owl where we’ve mentioned anxiety on air and lots of listeners wrote in to say they experience it too,” Tom says. “So talking about it openly certainly helps it become less taboo.”
Growing up on the outskirts of London, the son of a nurse and a mechanic, comedy wasn’t a typical career for a working class lad like Tom.
Although he always loved a laugh and a joke, he admits he often used comedy to mask his real feelings and says he didn’t think he’d ever make a living out of it.
“At quite a young age humour became my defence mechanism,” he admits. “If I’m honest comedy felt a million miles away from anything someone like myself could ever get even close to - I guess I had a dream but it never felt like a realistic career path until my thirties.”
Leaving school at 14, Tom spent 10 years working as a scaffolder before his childhood friend got a job on Bo’ Selecta.
After the pair impressed Keith Lemon with their comedy sketches, it gave him the confidence to finally swap the building sites for a career in broadcasting.
He then appeared in ITV2’s Plebs and Bad Education, a British television sitcom set in a dysfunctional secondary school before starring in Murder in Successville and BBC One’s King Gary, which he also helped write.
BBC Three’s Murder in Successville is a murder mystery series which won a BAFTA for its groundbreaking blend of reality show and crime spoof and is part-improvised and part scripted.
Each episode sees a different celebrity join Detective Inspector Sleet (played by Tom) in solving the latest crimes in a village full of celebrities.
For example in episode 1 of Season 2, Sleet becomes a murder suspect when presenter Nick Knowles’ body is discovered in the detective’s car.
Meanwhile, rookie cop Vicky Pattison must break him out of prison and try to find the real culprit.
The cast of every episode includes impersonations of various celebrities who live in the fictional village of Successville often doing something they wouldn’t typically do in real life - Lorraine Kelly offering drugs to cop Vicki Pattison is comedy gold.
When I ask him who the funniest person he has worked with is, his answer is Romesh, without hesitation.
“I fall about laughing every time I’m with him,” Tom says. “He’s also one of the most amazing friends and has been there for me through thick and thin.”
On a serious note he’s decided to share his own personal struggles because it’s “such an important message to get across,” he says.
“The more we can talk about mental health and come together as a collective, the more we can help anyone who is struggling.”
And he’s glad that people are starting to open up about mental health more, particularly men.
“Men talking about things and opening up about their feelings and not just football, can only be a good thing,” he adds.
When I ask him what his proudest moment is career wise, he tells me he’s really chuffed to have won a BAFTA but adds that he still can’t believe people pay to see him perform.
“As anxious and nervous I feel before getting on stage, one of the most amazing things is realising that people have paid to come and see me,” he says. “That in itself is something I’m really proud of - it never gets boring.”
* Tom is about to tour the UK with his brand new show, Underdog, more information can be found at Bigtomdavis.com
