‘I fell in love with a girl and David Bowie on the same day’: Life according to… Jack Docherty

As he heads to the Edinburgh Fringe, Scot Squad star Jack Docherty talks about Bowie, police chiefs and never retiring.

What keeps you coming back to the Fringe?

I think there were probably 25 years between my Fringes, because I stopped performing entirely and then found my way back into it. My first was in 1980. It felt familiar when I went back. The experience of the stresses, the worries, the highs and lows, and meeting a million people. I felt the scale of it was different when I returned, and the shows were fighting more for an audience, but I still love the joy of being there with fellow performers and having fun.

In the last two years you performed a play you wrote, called Nothing But. How did that go?

I like trying out new stuff. It’s the first time I’ve looked for silence from the audience. It’s also the first time I’ve had audiences crying – well, when they were meant to be crying!

What’s your new show, David Bowie And Me: Parallel Lives, about?

It’s an out and out comedy. There’s a thread of Bowie running through it and he’s a jumping off point to talk about stories and comedy from throughout my life. He’s one of my musical heroes. I fell in love with a girl and Bowie on the same day – she was a Bowie fan and that’s how I thought I would get to her. I talk about being obsessed by him as a teen, and how his music came in and out of my life, and then meeting him on my chat show.

How did you get Bowie to appear on the chat show?

He was in town and he was a big supporter of different and new things. I think he was supposed to do another show, maybe Wogan or whatever was on at the time, but they were messing him around, so we said we’d give him the full show and he could perform a couple of songs, and I think he felt it would be fun.

So before we go all x-y let me invite you to my Edinburgh show. Love to see you there. Spread the word.https://t.co/7nz3HONttd pic.twitter.com/nJng6Ov93o

— Jack Docherty (@mrjackdocherty) July 24, 2023

How was he?

I opened the door and he was standing in the corridor, so I went over and introduced myself. He said, ‘I know you Jack, I’m a big fan’, which of course he wasn’t, but how nice of him to say so and put me at ease. I’ve rarely been disappointed when meeting my heroes – Bowie, the Pythons, Ringo Starr, George Harrison; all really nice guys.

Scot Squad recently came to an end after eight series. What did that show and your character, Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson, mean to you?

I don’t usually do things for as long as that but it was so much fun, especially with it being semi-improvised. With the character, I felt I was channelling my dad. Also, my grandfather, who died when I was one, was a policeman and I look very like him, so it was fun to dive into that.

I had been known for Absolutely and the chat show, so it’s always good to get something else to be known for. It was great that it connected with the audience. You never know what will work but everyone has had a mad boss at some point in their lives.

Have we seen the last of the character?

Watch this space regarding the chief; we might be cooking something up for him. I’m sure you haven’t seen the last of him. Any of the characters could exist outwith the show, but we could also see them all reunited at some point for a special episode.

What’s next for you after Edinburgh?

I have a couple of things in development and I’m adapting Nothing But with a TV company in London.

I’m also writing things for the chief and I’m always looking for a new writing project. I still think of myself mainly as a writer. I would love to write a novel but I wonder if I’ve left it too late.

I’m at the age where a bunch of my mates are retiring, but when you are doing something you love like I am, then you keep doing it. I will be retired – someone will say, ‘we’re not using him anymore’, but until then I’ll keep going.

The idea of retirement terrifies me. I would do this as a hobby even if I wasn’t being paid. It’s funny, I still have that feeling inside that I haven’t even started yet.

Jack Docherty – David Bowie And Me: Parallel Lives, Gilded Balloon, Teviot – Dining Room, Edinburgh, Aug 2-27