Peter Davison and A Very Peculiar Practice creator reflect on one of British TV’s most surreal hidden gems

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This article was originally published in 2011.

As a huge fan of adaptations, I always get excited when I see Andrew Davies’ name attached to a project. He really knows how to bring a classic to life! Remember his Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth back in ’95? Everyone was talking about it! And Bleak House in 2005? I was totally hooked, rushing to watch every episode – it felt like a really good soap opera with those cliffhangers.

Davies first achieved widespread success in 1986 with the comedy-drama A Very Peculiar Practice. The show starred Peter Davison as a young, inexperienced doctor working at a university medical center. Both the creator and star look back on the quirky and satirical series with fondness, and it’s being released on DVD this Monday.

Davies, 75, shared with TopMob that this project is his greatest achievement. He explained it felt more personal and representative of his life than any of his other work.

At 60, Christopher Davison is best remembered for his roles in All Creatures Great and Small and Doctor Who. He also fondly recalls playing the innocent Dr. Stephen Daker.

I absolutely loved it! For me, a great script is everything, and this one was so brilliantly written that you just wanted to deliver every single line exactly as it was intended. It was truly exceptional.

The screenplays sharply criticized the government’s policies at the time, which led to funding cuts for universities and increased reliance on private investment. The show quickly gained a dedicated fanbase and received positive reviews, even earning a Bafta nomination. However, the series might never have been made if Davies hadn’t been facing financial difficulties himself.

I was working on a different project about three older female students, but it didn’t pan out. After about three installments, I lost steam, but the BBC informed me I was contractually obligated to deliver the entire series and owed them £17,000 – a significant amount of money at the time. They gave me a choice: repay the debt or write additional material to cover the cost. That financial pressure actually sparked my creativity and led me to find a solution.

Facing unexpected downtime, Davies used his experience teaching at the Warwick Institute of Education to develop memorable characters like Jock McCannon, a hard-drinking doctor leading the medical staff at the made-up Lowlands University (played by Graham Crowden), and the cutthroat businessman Bob Buzzard (David Troughton).

The University of East Anglia, with its stark concrete buildings, was initially considered as a filming location to represent the Lowlands setting, but the university refused permission. According to Davison, this was because of a previous production, an adaptation of Malcolm Bradbury’s ‘The History Man’ – a story about a teacher known for his affairs – which had caused some issues five years earlier. Davies adds that the university also didn’t want to be portrayed as a messy or littered environment.

Keele and Birmingham turned out to be challenging environments for Daker, filled with eccentric and difficult people. Davison jokingly says he actually enjoyed being around them, explaining, “I felt like the audience saw themselves in me – the normal person amongst all the craziness.”

It’s been 25 years since Stephen Daker worked at Lowlands, and with budgets getting tighter again, some wonder if the project could be revisited. However, given how busy Davies is adapting other stories for the screen, a revival seems unlikely.

Davison notes it’s a shame Andrew hasn’t pursued more truly original work. However, Andrew excels at reimagining classic stories for a modern audience, often improving upon the originals with his unique spin.

Davies also shared his thoughts on his work later in his career. He explained that while he’s always been strong at building realistic settings, characters, and conversations, he’s consistently struggled with creating the storyline itself. He finds adapting a book easier because the plot is already established.

I used to write a lot about my own life, and it was easy because I had a job and a wide circle of friends, giving me plenty to write about. But being a writer now means I don’t meet as many people, so I have less firsthand experience to inspire my work.

Even though Peter Davies has gone on to direct some really great things for TV and film – like South Riding and The Three Musketeers – I still find A Very Peculiar Practice sticks with me, and I know a lot of people who first watched it when it aired feel the same way. It just hasn’t lost its impact.

Davison explains that the project quickly became very popular, which still surprises him. People often bring it up when they talk to him – it’s usually one of the first things they mention. He considers it one of his best, if not his very best, work.

A Doctor Who icon recently discussed their role in a beloved BBC series, celebrating its 40th anniversary. They described themselves as the ‘straight man’ amidst a cast of eccentric characters.

Tune in to BBC Four and iPlayer on Wednesday, May 20th at 10pm to watch Andrew Davies present ‘A Very Peculiar Practice’.

Authors

David BrownDeputy Previews Editor, TopMob

David Brown is a Deputy Previews Editor at TopMob, focusing on crime and fantasy TV shows. He’s been featured as a commentator on BBC News, Sky News, and Radio 4’s Front Row, and his writing has appeared in publications like the Guardian, the Sunday Times, and the i newspaper. Beyond writing, he’s also contributed as a writer and editor to the National Television Awards and has worked on documentaries about prominent figures such as Lenny Henry, Billy Connolly, and Take That.

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2026-05-20 10:38