British Comedy Guide
Taskmaster. Greg Davies. Copyright: Avalon Television
Greg Davies

Greg Davies (I)

  • 56 years old
  • English
  • Actor, writer and stand-up comedian

Press clippings Page 28

Man Down catches up with sad sack teacher Dan (Greg Davies) as he finally comes to the realisation that maybe he's chosen the wrong profession. By the end of the first episode, which saw Dan try to break into the school to destroy his personal file, he'd handed in his resignation which suggested to me that the sitcom may be covering new ground. This can only be a good thing as I'd found Man Down had been stuck in a rut for a while now so seeing Dan trying to pursue alternate career opportunities will at least give Davies and co-writer Mike Wozniak something new to work with. Tony Robinson as Dan's mum's new beau Daddy, short for Deadalus, who has already made it known that he isn't a fan of the protagonist's attitude towards the older ladies in his life.

Matt, The Custard TV, 24th July 2016

Greg Davies on foot fetishists

Despite popular belief, he doesn't have size 17 feet...

Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 20th July 2016

In the last in the series of Taskmaster, Greg Davies's taskees have all to play for, with an overall series winner set to be crowned out of contestants Doc Brown, Jon Richardson, Katherine Ryan, Joe Wilkinson and Richard Osman. Among this week's tasks are transporting a range of groceries over a small river and into a shopping trolley, and making a stop-motion film starring a potato. To the victor, the spoils, which includes a golden bust of Davies's head.

Ben Arnold, The Guardian, 19th July 2016

Taskmaster: series two, episode 5 review

The final episode in this series witnesses the Taskmaster trophy finally presented, and a horror film starring, yes, a potato.

Ian Wolf, On The Box, 19th July 2016

Channel 4 sitcom Man Down remains glorious. Sometimes it can be a touch too slapstick. Think George Formby walking into an open manhole with a cheese-eating grin. Carrying a large cheese. But Greg Davies somehow manages to inhabit the soul of pratfall without making it too... cheesy. He's a big man, unafraid to be big or to let us smell his socks. Most of the lines I cannot print, even in the Observer. It is winningly, tragically, funny.

Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 17th July 2016

Making the leap from the safety of sketch comedy

Katy Brand and Kieran Hodgson were intimidated at first by the idea of going it alone on stage. But plenty of comedians journey between sketch troupes and solo performance - taking refuge in one and soul-searching in the other

Brian Logan, The Guardian, 14th July 2016

Third series of misadventures for Greg Davies's shambolic teacher. A disciplinary carpeting from the authorities is on the cards due to a simple misjudgment over a wine box and Dan's drama class. The route to avoid being ostracised by Ofsted lies with the school's tempestuously eccentric caretaker (played, in keeping with the show's knack for grabbing big names, by Steven Berkoff). What could possibly go wrong? Regular viewers of Man Down might well guess.

Mark Gibbings-Jones, The Guardian, 13th July 2016

Greg Davies on Man Down Series 3

This series, Davies says Dan will be "forced into more decisions".

Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 13th July 2016

That dreadful series of Top Gear was good for one thing at least: it featured the gigantic Greg Davies one week as the Star In A Reasonably Priced And Frankly Humiliating Cheap Copy Of Clarkson's Ideas. I jumped for joy at Davies's appearance as this surely meant his brilliant sitcom, Man Down, was coming back. I love the show. Even my dog loves it.

Davies plays Dan, a pathetic, lovelorn, middle-aged man who hates his job and lives with his mum, "Old Woman" who, this week, brings a new boyfriend home - a brash Yorkshireman played by Tony Robinson who takes a furious dislike to Dan. Things are tough at school when Dan is summoned to a disciplinary hearing. He must try and destroy his HR file but a new janitor, a mentally unstable Serbian played by Steven Berkoff, stands in the way.

Julie McDowall, The National (Scotland), 13th July 2016

Man Down Series 3 review

For the classroom scenes provide so many of the best lines in the sharp script, often from the kids in Dan's drama class.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 13th July 2016

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