Greg Davies

Gregory Daniel Davies (born 14 May 1968) is a British stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his roles as Greg in We Are Klang, Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners, Ken Thompson in Cuckoo, the Taskmaster in Taskmaster, and Dan Davies in Man Down, as well as for guest appearances on Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You?, and Fast and Loose. He has also performed on the Live at the Apollo series.

For those of a similar name, see Greg Davis (disambiguation).

Greg Davies
Davies in May 2011
Birth nameGregory Daniel Davies
Born (1968-05-14) 14 May 1968
St Asaph, Flintshire, Wales
MediumStand-up, television, film
NationalityBritish
Years active2002–present
Notable works and roles
Websitegregdavies.co.uk

For his performance in Cuckoo, Davies was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2013.

Early life

Davies was born on 14 May 1968 in St Asaph, Flintshire. His Welsh parents lived in England at the time, but his father drove his mother across the border to make sure he was born in Wales so that he would be eligible to play rugby for the Welsh national team.[1] He grew up in Wem, Shropshire, which he regards as his home.[2][3][4] His father's origins lie in Porthmadog. Both Davies' paternal grandmother, Edith, and her sister, Rebecca, were illegitimate;[5] his great-grandfather, William Owen, had a second family in Stanleytown. Like many people in North Wales, Davies also claims descent from Owain Gwynedd.[5][6]

Davies was educated at Thomas Adams School in Wem,[3] and Brunel University in Uxbridge, London, where he studied English and Drama.[7] Prior to embarking on a career in comedy, he taught secondary school Drama and English for 13 years at Langleywood School in Slough; Orleans Park School in Twickenham; and Sandhurst School in Sandhurst.[8]

Career

In 2005, Davies played a caricature of cricketer W. G. Grace in a series of adverts for Channel 4's television coverage of The Ashes.[9]

In 2007, Davies was nominated three times in the 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).[10]

In 2010, Davies' first solo stand-up show Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog was nominated for the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards at the Edinburgh Festival.[11] The show was subsequently taken on his first ever tour the following autumn.[12] He was also nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe's Malcolm Hardee "Act Most Likely to Make a Million Quid" Award.[13]

Man Down

From October 2013, Davies starred in Channel 4's sitcom Man Down,[14] as Dan, a man who hates his job as a teacher,[15] with Rik Mayall as his father. Channel 4 commissioned an additional 25-minute Christmas special before the first series aired,[16] and a second series was announced during Davies's live tour "The Back of My Mum's Head", although this was before Rik Mayall's death in June 2014. Following Mayall's death, Davies met with Channel 4 to discuss the future of the show. Mayall had been intended to have a more a prominent role in the second series.[17] Channel 4 later announced that Man Down would return for a second series in 2015.[18] The classroom used in the show is the same classroom in which Davies taught at Sandhurst School.[19]

Since July 2015, Davies has been the host of the panel game show Taskmaster. In December 2015, he starred in BBC Two's comedy drama A Gert Lush Christmas where he played Tony, the uncle of Russell and Kerry Howard's characters. On Christmas Day he played King Hydroflax in the 2015 Doctor Who Special "The Husbands of River Song".[20]

In November 2017, Davies recorded a Netflix special at Hammersmith Apollo during his Magnificent Beast UK tour.[21]

Taskmaster

In July 2020, Davies won a BAFTA for the ninth series of Taskmaster.[22]

Personal life

Davies is noted for his height, standing 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall.[23] He has a sister.[24] Davies was in a relationship with Labour Party MP Liz Kendall for eight years, but the relationship ended in 2015.[4][25]

Filmography
Year Title Role
2006 Girls? Eugh! Uncredited
2007 The Musical Storytellers Ginger & Black Mr Hopkirk
2007 Saxondale Dunc
2008 The Wall Various characters
2008–10 The Inbetweeners Mr Gilbert
2009 We Are Klang Greg
2010–11 Ask Rhod Gilbert Himself
2011 Fast and Loose Himself
2011 The Inbetweeners Movie Mr. Gilbert
2011 Greg Davies Live – Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog Himself
2012–present Cuckoo Ken Thompson
2013 Greg Davies Live – The Back of My Mum's Head Himself
2013–2017 Man Down Dan
2014 This is Jinsy Jennitta Bishard
2014 The Inbetweeners 2 Mr. Gilbert
2015–present Taskmaster Himself
2015 A Gert Lush Christmas Uncle Tony
2015 Doctor Who King Hydroflax
2016 Travel Man Himself
2016 Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods [26] The Centurion (English dub)
2017 Who Do You Think You Are? Subject
2017 Comic Relief 2017 Himself
2018 You Magnificent Beast Himself
2018 Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Balloon Man (voice)
2019 The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited Himself

References
  1. "Greg still top of the class". South Wales Evening Post. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. Holt, Laura (9 April 2011). "My life in travel: Greg Davies, actor and comedian". The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  3. "Wem's Greg Davies makes it big". Great British Life. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. Saner, Emine (8 April 2011). "Rik Mayall was still a force of nature. His ambition was huge". The Guardian.
  5. "Greg Davies – Who Do You Think You Are?". TheGenealogist.com. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  6. "Greg Davies, Series 13, Who Do You Think You Are? – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. Greg Davies Radio Times interview. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. Laws, Roz (8 April 2011). "Tall tales with king of comedy Greg Davies". Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  9. "Breaking Ads – Channel 4 – Ashes coverage". Newspaper Marketing Agency. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  10. "And the Chortle nominees are.. : News 2007 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  11. "Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 nominations". Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  12. "Greg Davies sends fans home laughing". Daily Record. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  13. "British Comedy Guide, August 2009". Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  14. "Man Down". British Comedy Guide. 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  15. Jeffery, Morgan (2 November 2012). "'Inbetweeners' actor Greg Davies to star in Channel 4's 'Man Down'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  16. "Channel 4 orders Christmas special of Man Down". British Comedy Guide. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  17. "Man Down to go on without Mayall". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  18. "Man Down". comedy.co.uk.
  19. "Man Down – Interviews with Greg Davies & Rik Mayall – Channel 4 – Info – Press". Channel 4. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  20. "Doctor Who: Matt Lucas and Greg Davies join Christmas special". BBC News.
  21. Richardson, Jay (28 November 2017). "Greg Davies tapes Netflix special". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  22. Morris, Lauren (31 July 2020). "Taskmaster stars Greg Davies and Alex Horne say BAFTA TV Award 2020 win is 'perfect way to start a new era' on Channel 4". Radio Times.
  23. Wilson, Chris (15 June 2013). "Heights of success". The Stage. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  24. "Greg Davies's favourite childhood activities". Time Out. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  25. Beattie, Jason (16 May 2015). "North Wales's Greg Davies and Liz Kendall call it a day". Daily Post (North Wales). Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  26. @AsterixMovieUK (21 July 2016). "Very excited to announce that The Centurion is voiced by @gdavies this summer! Trailer coming soon!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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