The internet star talks bad behaviour, battered burgers & big brother
Gill Sherry
Mention the name Darren Dowling to a group of people and they’ll probably all know him for something different. Some may know him as the local lad who appeared on TV’s Come Dine With Me. Others will have seen his Get Battered or Does It Fry? series on social media. And some may remember him as the nut job from their primary school.
I’m not being disrespectful by referring to him as a nut job, it’s actually the term he uses to describe his younger self. Darren Dowling, otherwise known as Dazza, is nothing if not honest.
“I went through seven different primary schools, one of them being a behavioural school. I was just a wee annoying dafty when I was younger.”
I’m curious to know what led him to behave so badly. Was he rebelling against the system? Attention seeking?
“Do you know what,” he says, “I’ll keep that until I’m actually famous then I’ll do a big BBC documentary. If the documentary comes out, I’ll give you an exclusive.”
We both laugh at his response but something tells me he’s serious. Darren may have had a chequered past, but he’s very clear about his future. To appreciate the new Darren, however, it’s important to first understand the old one.
“At the behavioural school, I was tame compared to the other students. I kicked off once in that school because I didn’t want to do the sports day. The head teacher was terrifying, she was like an army sergeant… I was brought to the floor and restrained. From that point on, it never happened again.”
Darren eventually settled down at St Matthew’s Academy in Saltcoats, a period he describes as “relatively pain free” and although he doesn’t actually use the word “regret”, he does admit that his earlier behaviour did set him back from an academic point of view.
“I was always in the lower classes… because I was never in class in primary school. Even today, there are big confusing words that I type into Google just to make sure I’m spelling them right.”
Like most young adults, Darren had no idea what he wanted to do when he left school.
“There was a careers day,” he recalls, “and the answers that I gave said I should be a chef, which is hilarious! But because of that, I did work experience at a fish restaurant. I hated it! One of the days I was there, I was just cutting and peeling garlic the entire day. I phoned in sick for the last two days because I just didn’t want to go back.”
He liked the idea of computer forensics but that didn’t work out because (again, to use his own words) he was “a bit thick”. Ideally, he needed to find something that didn’t require any entry qualifications. He found a course in media, even describing the tutor – a radio DJ named John Collins – as “amazing” but quickly realised there was little money to be made and very few opportunities. Next, he enrolled on a TV & Radio course at University of West of Scotland (UWS) but ended up dropping out after four months.
“I hated it. There was a class one day where we were taught how TV was made in the 60s and 70s. I was like, how is this relevant?”
So how did he go from Darren Dowling the university drop-out, to Dazza the celebrity?
“I’ve always made daft videos… so I eventually managed to convince somebody to let me do it properly. So I started doing videos on BBC’s The Social. I started off with rant videos – just me moaning about stuff – but then the thing that actually started it all off was a series called Get Battered…filmed in different chippies in Scotland.”
This was followed by a series on his own social media channels called Does It Fry?
“We did 100 episodes of that. That grew my page to decent levels of following. That entire show is deep frying stuff every week. We put a Big Mac in a deep fat fryer to see if it would fry.”
In case you’re wondering, the answer is “aye”.
Which leads nicely to his appearance on Come Dine With Me. If you’re unfamiliar with this particular reality TV show, it involves five amateur chefs each hosting a three-course dinner party for the other contestants. Needless to say, Darren’s entire menu was deep-fried.
“I genuinely wanted to see how far I could push it. I came up with the menu on the spot, it wasn’t planned. I just tried to think of the healthiest and weirdest thing… deep-fried lettuce, deep-fried lasagne, because I thought it would be quite easy, and then deep-fried Mars bar.”
He talks about the experience with real enthusiasm (presumably because there was no garlic chopping involved) so I ask if he would do anything like that again.
“Oh aye. I hope eventually to be on the Come Dine With Me celebrity version.”
He’s not in the slightest bit coy. He’s just candid about this ambitions.
“My ideal show… I don’t know if I’d need to become a bigger name or a smaller name to do I’m a Celeb these days, but I’d love to do that. It would be so funny because I’d either eat anything and eat it really easily, or I’d be sick everywhere. And the other show I’d love to do is Big Brother, just for free gas and electricity for a month, you cannae grumble at that!”
In the meantime, Darren has his own shows to look forward to at St Luke’s in Glasgow on 11th and 12th September. What can the audience expect at ‘Dazza’s Unfunny Night of Laughs’?
“It’s not a stand-up show. It’s not me telling jokes. A lot of it will be games interaction that the audience can get involved with. But also, if you want to just sit in your seat and drink your pint, you can still enjoy the fun and games. Hopefully, there’ll be a couple of special guests as well.”
Darren says he’s not fazed by the idea of standing on stage in front of 200 people. He’s previously done shows with comedian, Gary Meikle, and admits he’s better at off the cuff performances than he is with scripts.
“I’ve got a five-year plan,” he tells me. “Basically, this year I’m doing two nights at St Luke’s so that’s 400 people. Next year, I’m already speaking to the SEC to do a show in the Lomond room which is 619 people. Then the year after that, I want to do the Theatre Royal in Glasgow which is 1500. Then the year after that, the Armadillo in Glasgow which is 3000. And then naturally, you would think the year after that should be the Hydro. It would be daft not to.”
I nod in agreement, already thinking about the promised exclusive. Darren may not have known what he wanted to do when he left school, but he is absolutely clear about his future now. He has no qualms about his desire to be famous. In fact, he is already described by the British Comedy Guide as a comedian, online creator and actor. He laughs when I mention this.
“I’m definitely not an actor. That might be linked to the Queen of the New Year show. It was a Hogmanay show that the BBC made. It was the weirdest week of my life! The producer had seen my videos on The Social and was like ‘do you want to come and do this?’ My first response was, mate, I’m not an actor! Greg Hemphill and Robert Florence wrote it… after watching Still Game my entire life, to be getting directed by somebody who was in Still Game… it was a weird week!”
One thing’s for sure, Darren Dowling is certainly getting noticed. He has recently reached 100,000 followers on TikTok, with his Facebook and YouTube channels also clocking up substantial views.
“Truthfully, I’m only going to be posting on platforms where I can monetize the content. TikTok and YouTube is where you can make money back on your videos.”
For someone who once considered himself “a bit thick” he’s actually pretty astute. Which is why he still has a full-time job working for STV as a video editor in the social media team. The other “stuff” as he calls it, is just a side hustle. But that doesn’t mean he’s not taking it seriously, particularly his upcoming shows at St Luke’s.
“I’m looking forward to seeing real people. You can put up a video and it can get a million views, but there’s no way to physically see that in real life. You can see comments and shares… but to have 200 pairs of eyes staring at you for an hour and a half, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most. When you make a video, you’re making it for a length of time, then it’s edited and uploaded and comments start coming in. On the night, it’s about being able to say something and see if it’s funny straight away. And if it’s not, I’m pretty sure the people of Glasgow will tell me!”
I’m sure they will. But I’m also sure Darren has nothing to worry about on that score. I hadn’t realised, but I’ve actually been laughing throughout most of our conversation. Darren is a naturally funny guy. In addition, he’s honest and unashamed which also makes him likeable. So when he tells me he’s bringing out a new series of Does It Fry? I make a note to watch it. I’m already wondering what on earth he’s going to fry next!
