Greg Davies (I)

The basic conceit of one-off comedy drama A Gert Lush Christmas was Meet the Parents as Howard's Dan introduced his girlfriend Lisa (Hannah Britland) to his oddball Bristolian family. They included his inappropriate mother Sue (Sophie Thompson), his foul-mouthed father Dave (Neil Morrissey), his drug-taking Uncle Tony (Greg Davies) and his excitable sister Julie (played by Russell's real life sister Kerry). The first twenty or so minutes of A Gert Lush Christmas pulled out almost every awkward family cliché including the womenfolk talking about marriage way too fast and later Dan and Lisa listening to his parents have sex. However, primarily due to the quality of the cast, these scenes were quite well presented and I found myself laughing several times. Where the piece fell down for me was the inevitable moment when Dan's family briefly caused he and Lisa's separation when Uncle Tony spiked his nephew's drink which somehow made him kiss one of his ex-girlfriends. The scenes in which Dan tried to win Lisa back were very weak indeed as was their eventual reconciliation which was framed around a child's magic trick. I do feel a lot of the blame for what went wrong aboutA Gert Lush Christmas can be attributed to Russell Howard's one-note performance as well as he and Williams' poorly paced script. It's quite evident that Howard can't act to save his life and throughout the hour I just felt I was watching the host of Good News visiting his eccentric family. Howard never once made Dan sympathetic and as a result I found myself feeling sorry for his rather sweet-natured if off-beat family. Although there were plus points, namely the turns given by Sophie Thompson and Kerry Howard, ultimately A Gert Lush Christmas fell flat for me which was a shame as it was one of this year's festive highlights that I was looking forward to the most.

Once upon a time in the West Country... in this festive one-off, gangly stand-up Russell Howard attempts to cut the acting mustard as put-upon everyguy Dan Colman, escorting his new girlfriend back home for Christmas to meet his wacky Bristolian family. With a stacked supporting cast - including Neil Morrissey as his fitness freak dad and Greg Davies as a party-hearty uncle - it's a carefully calibrated extension of the successful Howard brand, and even features his real-life sibling Kerry as Dan's glam younger sis, Julie.

Now every bit as much of a festive tradition as hangovers, DFS adverts and running out of milk the second all the shops close, Channel 4's holiday stalwart returns. In a year that saw such events as people arguing over The Dress, Taylor Swift biting chunks out of Apple or bewigged omnifarce Donald Trump being consistently terrible, there's certainly plenty to cover, so it's lucky that Rob Brydon, David Mitchell, Greg Davies and Jo Brand are on standby to cock their respective snooks at 2015's most mockable stories.

Radio Times review

If you don't know what the title means, "gert lush" is the highest form of praise a Bristolian can bestow on anything. So clearly expectations are high for Russell Howard's debut comedy drama (co-written with Steve Williams) that also features Neil Morrissey (dressed like "a pervert elf" as his fitness-obsessed dad), Greg Davies (as his party loving uncle), Steve Williams, Sophie Thomson (his inappropriately enthusiastic mum) and Howard's sister Kerry of Him and Her fame.

The premise is simple: Dan (Howard) introduces his girlfriend to his crazy West Country family over Christmas. Kerry has said the script is "just a massive love letter to our mum and dad". Which is a bit worrying.

Greg Davies on playing a Dr Who villain

Every Christmas needs a Grinch and this year, in the Doctor Who Christmas special, that job goes to Man Down and Inbetweeners star Greg Davies, who plays the "deluded, nine foot cyborg" King Hydroflax.

Matt Lucas and Greg Davies are in Dr Who Xmas special

Doctor Who fans will rolling in the halls laughing this Christmas, as two famous comedians join the show's festive episode. Greg Davies and Matt Lucas will join Peter Capaldi's Doctor, as he 'hides' from "Christmas Carols and Comedy Antlers".

Greg Davies takes a trip down memory lane

He only got into comedy at the age of 33, and TV star and stand-up comedian Greg Davies has an appetite to make up for lost time.

Taskmaster, series one review

Greg Davies is fantastic; he's harsh, loud and ridiculous, completely giddy with power, and the relationship between Davies and Horne is clearly a long-lived one.

Radio Times review

No sooner has she left The One Show sofa, the ubiquitous Alex Jones is back, this time on the panel show in which participants attempt to hoodwink their opponents with absurd facts and plausible lies about themselves. It's all in good fun, and host Rob Brydon and team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack know how to squeeze the maximum amount of laughter from each absurd suggestion. Comedy actor Greg Davies, performance poet John Cooper Clarke and TV presenter Rick Edwards are also along for the ride in this edition.