Like father, like daughter

Sally Morgan talks to actor Peter Davison and his daughter Georgia Moffett

Above: Daddy's girl: Georgia with Peter

Shy and retiring are the last words one might use to describe Peter Davison. Yet the eternally youthful-looking 55-year-old actor admits that he often wanders incognito around his home territory in East Twickenham, and over the bridge to Richmond, with his face obscured by a navy-blue baseball cap.

“I have five of these caps for this purpose,” he grins. “They make me feel as if I’m anonymous. It’s not that I mind it when people come up to say hello, it’s just the nudging, whispering and staring that make me feel self-conscious. Sometimes I haven’t washed my hair, either, so the cap comes in handy.”

Peter, who shot to fame as a dashing junior vet in the period series, All Creatures Great and Small, and went on to become the youngest actor to play Doctor Who, is back on our screens in a new BBC sitcom Fear, Stress and Anger, which was filmed on his doorstep at Twickenham studios.

“We caused chaos the day we were filming in Twickenham high street,” he recalls “Everything came to a standstill.”

In the six-part series, Peter plays Martin Chadwick, a ‘baby boomer’ from the generation who once ruled the world, but he now feels past his sell-by date. With ancient parents that need looking after, two grown-up daughters who won’t leave home, a lot less money and a flagging libido, he’s at his wits’ end.

“I can identify with him,” reveals Peter. “At the moment, I’m doing fine as an actor, but you never know what’s around the corner. Your joints start to creak a bit and you have the usual fears about getting old.”

Keeping him forever young, however, are his two little boys, Louis, seven, and five-year-old Joel, by his wife, Elizabeth Morton, 42, who’s a writer and an actress, and his four-year-old grandson, Ty, by his daughter Georgia Moffett.

In fact Georgia, who also lives in Twickenham and uses her father’s real surname, joined him on the set of Fear, Stress and Anger, to play his daughter, Chloe.

“Dad and I would meet up in the morning and walk to work together,” says 22-year-old Georgia, whose mother is Peter’s first wife, the actress Sandra Dickinson.

“It was summer when we were filming, so it was lovely to stroll along the river, playing his daughter felt natural and he was great to work with,” she adds.

But it was an entirely different story when Peter and Georgia were filming their next series together, The Last Detective, which airs later this year.

“I play a scantily-clad gangster’s girl,” says Georgia. “Not surprisingly, Dad didn’t feel at all comfortable seeing me in short skirts and high heels. The worst moment for us came when the director wanted us to flirt and gaze into each other’s eyes. He’s my dad, for goodness sake, and there are limits, even for actors!

“Likewise, I wanted to cringe when he performed a few love scenes with Pippa Haywood, who plays his wife in Fear, Stress and Anger. Sex is always a touchy subject between parents and their kids.“But Dad’s given me loads of advice and support in my career along the way,” continues Georgia, who’s currently starring in the raunchy ITV1 comedy series, Bonkers. “I’d love to work with him again.”

Peter is evidently proud of his daughter’s flourishing career, “It won’t be long before she’s the main star of a show and I’m cast alongside her in a minor role,” he says.

Georgia has been a Twickenham resident for just over a year, choosing to buy a modern house there after being unable to afford mounting property prices where she was renting in Chiswick.

“I wanted to feel as if I was still in London, but also surrounded by greenery and close to the river,” she says. “Because Dad lives here too, Twickenham seemed like the ideal place.”

“It’s a beautiful area, but what I like best about it are the people. They’re very cool and laid-back – apart from the harassed mothers on the school run, of which I am one.”

Despite being a busy single mum, Georgia finds time to enjoy the lively restaurant and café life on offer here.

“I discovered my favourite café while we were filming Fear, Stress and Anger,” she says. “At least three times a day, every day, Daisy Aitkens – who plays my sister in the series – and I, would frequent this gorgeous little place called Sunshine and Ravioli, just across the road from Twickenham studios. We’d eat lunch there, and order coffee in between scenes.”

“I love Richmond too,” she says. “For tapas, I go to Bar Estilo. I also like browsing through the books in Waterstones and sauntering down Richmond Hill. I’m a fiend for antique shops.”

Her father Peter’s relationship with the area dates back even further. He first moved to Twickenham back in the 70s, and as an out-of-work actor, got a part-time job as a filing clerk at the tax office.“I worked there for 18 months,” he recalls. “As a matter of fact I was so good at the job that my boss wanted me to work there full-time. The only problem was, I needed five O-levels, but I only had three.”

Fortunately for him, Peter was auditioned for a major part in the TV series, Love for Lydia.

“Amazingly, I found a first edition of the H E Bates novel in a second-hand bookshop, just around the corner from the tax office,” he says. “It must have been a good omen because I got the part.”

Although Peter moved to north London, he felt the irresistible pull of Twickenham after he and his second wife Elizabeth were house-hunting five years ago.

“At first, Elizabeth thought that Richmond and Twickenham were in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “I had to persuade her to move here. But when she saw it, she loved the place, too. When we eventually found where we wanted to live, I felt as if I was coming home.

“In 2003, we got married at Orleans House and held our wedding reception at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park.”

Elizabeth is now a big fan of the area, too, and while Peter is praising the delights of Twickenham. She lists her favourite local restaurants for romantic dinners – A Cena, Osteria Pulcinella, and The Brasserie.

“I’m a boring Pizza Express man, myself,” says Peter wryly. “You can’t beat a hot pepperoni pizza.”

Peter and Georgia star in Fear, Stress and Anger on BBC2