The family had emigrated from South Africa to Malvern in January 1962 (Hazel was then pregnant with Davis) in reaction to apartheid.

Davis also wrote a blog for the BBC website entitled Evanomics in which he "attempts to understand the real world, using the tool kit of economics".

Subjects he discussed included road pricing, care for the elderly, Gordon Brown's budget and how to choose wine.

In 2008, Davis was ranked first in the Independent on Sunday's "pink list" of the hundred most influential gay and lesbian figures in British society.

[12] On 23 May 2005, Davis crossed picket lines during a day of industrial action by BBC staff over announced job cuts.

Other notable broadcasters who turned up for work during the strike included Terry Wogan, Shelagh Fogarty and Declan Curry.

In April 2008, he stood down as BBC Economics Editor to join the Today programme as a full-time presenter, replacing Carolyn Quinn.

[6] In 2012, Davis presented Built in Britain, which looked at the role of major infrastructure projects in the UK, including examining the impact of the M25 on the town of Ashtead in Surrey where he grew up.

In 2014, Davis presented a BBC Two series Mind the Gap: London vs the Rest in which he explored the economic forces in Britain and why the capital city is so dominant.

[27] In 2017 Davis was found to have breached BBC rules on due impartiality in coverage of the 2017 French presidential election on Newsnight, giving the impression that he favoured Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen.

The BBC Executive Complaints Unit ruled that Davis' approaches in back-to-back interviews with representatives of the Macron and le Pen campaigns was so marked as to constitute bias.