Greg Davies

Early life

Gregory Daniel Davies was born in St Asaph on 14 May 1968, the son of Pauline and Bob Davies (1936—2014). His Welsh parents lived in England at the time but Bob, a native of Porthmadog, drove Pauline across the border when she went into labour to make sure he was born in Wales. He grew up in the English town of Wem, which he regards as his home. Davies' father, Bob, died in 2014; the Man Down Christmas special is dedicated to both Bob and Rik Mayall, who played Davies' on-screen father, who also died in 2014. He discovered in 2017 that he is a descendant of 12th-century Welsh king Owain the Great.

Davies was educated at Thomas Adams School in Wem, He graduated in 1990. He was a high school drama teacher for 13 years before his comedy career, working at Langley Academy, Orleans Park School, and Sandhurst School; large portions of his stand-up comedy routines are often dedicated to discussing his experiences during this time.

Career

Film and television

In 2003, Davies made an appearance on the children's TV show Dick & Dom in da Bungalow, playing a caricatured version of himself named Massive Greg. In 2005, Davies played a caricature of cricketer W. G. Grace in a series of adverts for Channel 4's coverage of The Ashes.

Davies had his breakthrough role as acerbic college head Mr. Gilbert in the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners (2008–2014). He reprised his role in the follow-up films The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) and The Inbetweeners 2 (2014), and the television special The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited (2019). He then starred in the BBC Three sitcom Cuckoo (2012–2019), earning a nomination for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2013. He created and starred in Channel 4's sitcom Man Down (2013–2017), which sometimes filmed in the same classroom he previously used as a drama teacher at Sandhurst School.

Davies is the host of the comedy panel game show Taskmaster (2015–present). He starred in BBC Two's comedy drama A Gert Lush Christmas (2015) and played King Hydroflax in the Doctor Who Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song" (2015). He created and stars in the BBC One crime comedy series The Cleaner (2021–present), as well as taking over as the host of the music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2021.

Stand-up comedy

Davies began his stand-up comedy career on the independent club circuit in 2005. In 2007, Davies was nominated for three Chortle Awards in the categories "Breakthrough Act" (for his solo stand-up act), "Best Sketch, Variety or Character Act", and "Best Full-Length Show" (both as part of sketch team We Are Klang).

Davies' first solo stand-up show, Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog, was nominated for the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. The show was subsequently taken on his first tour. He was also nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe's Malcolm Hardee "Act Most Likely to Make a Million Quid" Award.

Davies toured the UK with his second stand-up show, The Back of My Mum's Head, in 2013. Davies toured with his third stand-up show, You Magnificent Beast, in 2017; a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo was filmed and released as his debut Netflix comedy special You Magnificent Beast in 2018. Davies filmed his second Netflix comedy special, Full Fat Legend, at the Royal Albert Hall for release in 2025.

Personal life

Davies has been noted for his height of 6 ft, which often plays a role in his comedic performances. He lives in the Kennington area of London, and was in a relationship with Labour Party politician Liz Kendall from 2007 to 2015.

In December 2022, Davies was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from his alma mater Brunel University. In May 2024, Davies was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where his musical choices included "Baggy Trousers" by Madness and "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell.

Filmography

Film and television

Stand-up specials

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Thorne, Nick. (31 January 2017). "Greg Davies – Who Do You Think You Are – The actor and comedian discovers his Welsh roots run deep".
2. (11 October 2012). "Greg still top of the class". South Wales Evening Post.
3. Holt, Laura. (9 April 2011). "My life in travel: Greg Davies, actor and comedian". [[The Independent]].
4. (13 April 2011). "Wem's Greg Davies makes it big". Great British Life.
5. Saner, Emine. (8 April 2011). "Rik Mayall was still a force of nature. His ambition was huge". [[The Guardian]].
6. Administrator, walesonline. (26 May 2015). "Inbetweeners star Greg Davies on the pain of losing his father".
7. Hattenstone, Simon. "Man Down Series 2: Greg Davies interview on Rik Mayall {{!}} Radio Times".
8. "Greg Davies, Series 13, Who Do You Think You Are? – BBC One". BBC.
9. (14 May 2024). "Greg Davies on Who Do You Think You Are?: Everything you need to know".
10. Rampton, James. (18 October 2013). "Greg Davies on why he couldn't go back to teaching". [[Radio Times]].
11. "Meet our alumni".
12. Laws, Roz. (8 April 2011). "Tall tales with king of comedy Greg Davies". Business Live.
13. "Breaking Ads – Channel 4 – Ashes coverage". Newspaper Marketing Agency.
14. (2 August 2017). "Could 'The Inbetweeners' return for new episodes?".
15. (9 July 2011). "Watch new trailer for 'The Inbetweeners Movie' on NME.COM".
16. (6 August 2014). "'The Inbetweeners 2' Premiere: No Three-quel? 'For Us, It's the End of the Story'".
17. (January 2019). "The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited is full of nostalgia, and poo jokes – review".
18. (28 December 2024). "Netflix viewers have just days to binge 'severely underrated' British comedy".
19. (2013). "Man Down". [[British Comedy Guide]].
20. Jeffery, Morgan. (2 November 2012). "'Inbetweeners' actor Greg Davies to star in Channel 4's 'Man Down'". [[Digital Spy]].
21. (23 August 2013). "Channel 4 orders Christmas special of Man Down". [[British Comedy Guide]].
22. "Man Down to go on without Mayall". Yahoo! News.
23. "Man Down". comedy.co.uk.
24. (25 October 2013). "Man Down – Interviews with Greg Davies & Rik Mayall – Channel 4 – Info – Press". Channel 4.
25. (21 September 2021). "Taskmaster: famous faces complete nonsense tasks and are judged for them – what's not to love?".
26. (24 November 2015). "Doctor Who: Matt Lucas and Greg Davies join Christmas special".
27. (24 November 2015). "Doctor Who: Matt Lucas and Greg Davies join Christmas special". BBC News.
28. "The Cleaner – Series 1: 1. The Widow".
29. Nicholson, Rebecca. (10 September 2021). "The Cleaner review – Greg Davies leads a dark and curious comedy".
30. Cremona, Patrick. "The Cleaner review: Greg Davies' crime scene comedy is a mixed bag".
31. Wilson, Benji. (10 September 2021). "The Cleaner, review: Greg Davies's crime-scene sitcom is gruesomely enjoyable".
32. "Never Mind the Buzzcocks is back and coming exclusively to Sky and NOW with Greg Davies as host".
33. "And the Chortle nominees are.. : News 2007 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide".
34. "We Are Klang: Amazing Lives".
35. "Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 nominations".
36. (27 May 2011). "Greg Davies sends fans home laughing". Daily Record.
37. "British Comedy Guide, August 2009".
38. Richardson, Jay. (28 November 2017). "Greg Davies tapes Netflix special".
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40. Wilson, Chris. (15 June 2013). "Heights of success". [[The Stage]].
41. https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/867417/greg-davies-home-life-away-from-taskmaster/
42. Duerden, Nick. (2 December 2020). "Comedian Greg Davies on his career switch from teaching". [[The Times]].
43. Beattie, Jason. (16 May 2015). "North Wales's Greg Davies and Liz Kendall call it a day". Daily Post (North Wales).
44. (4 October 2024). "Inside Greg Davies' love life including politician ex - all we know".
45. "Greg Davies awarded honorary doctorate by Brunel University London".
46. "BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Greg Davies, comedian".
47. (3 July 2016). "Top Gear: Can Patrick Dempsey beat Greg Davies in the series finale?".
48. (26 August 2016). "Cuckoo's Greg Davies on elasticated underpants, Chewbacca, and the new Asterix".
49. (19 November 2019). "Greg Davies: Looking for Kes is an uplifting documentary".
50. (3 November 2022). "The Horne Section TV Show review – this riotously fun sitcom is an utter delight".
51. (21 December 2023). "A Very Brassic Christmas review – Imelda Staunton's guest appearance is just terrific".