Steve Davis - in Other Media

In Other Media

Davis has become known for his coolness and impeccable conduct in high-pressure situations, earning himself the nicknames "Ginger Magician" and "Nugget". His initial lack of emotional expression and somewhat monotonous interviewing style earned him a reputation as boring. As a result, the satirical television series Spitting Image gave him the ironic nickname "Interesting". Davis himself now plays upon this image and says it helped him gain acceptance from the public. It led to him co-authoring the comedic book, How to Be Really Interesting (1988), with Geoff Atkinson, the front cover of which shows Davis mocking his perceived dullness, dressed in boxing regalia holding a cue. Davis appeared as a commentator for the BBC's snooker coverage and as a guest on television quizzes such as They Think It's All Over and A Question of Sport. He appeared in a baked beans advertisement in the 1980s (featuring snooker commentator Ted Lowe with the pay-off line "really interesting" and Davis 'assessing' his beans on toast as if it were a snooker situation, and chalking his cutlery). In 2007, his image was used as the epitome of "reliability" in a series of advertisements for Irish Life. He featured in a spoof online viral promoting the Nintendo DS game World Snooker Championship Season 2007–08, in which he parodied a Nicole Kidman Brain Training advert. In 2010 Davis made a cameo appearance in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret as himself.

He has published numerous other books, five relating to snooker: Successful Snooker (1982), Frame and Fortune (1982), Steve Davis: Snooker Champion (1983), Matchroom Snooker (1988) and The Official Matchroom 1990; two relating to chess in 1995 with David Norwood: Steve Davis Plays Chess and Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur. He also authored three cookbooks in 1994: Simply Fix – the Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 1 – Interesting Things to Do With Meat, Simply Fix – The Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 2 – Interesting Things to Make with Poultry, and Simply Fix – the Steve Davis Interesting Cookbook No 3 – Interesting Things to Make Using Vegetables.

In 1986 he joined musical duo Chas & Dave and several other snooker stars of the time (under the name "The Matchroom Mob") on the novelty record "Snooker Loopy", which was a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. A year the later they released a follow-up single, the "Romford Rap", though this only reached #91 in the UK charts. Since 1996 he has presented a show dedicated to progressive rock and the Canterbury scene on his local radio station, Phoenix FM.