Greg Davies (I)

Greg Davies on the best comedy clubs

The comedian shares his favourite places to catch some comedy.

Cuckoo extends his sphere of spiritual influence to Ken's father-in-law, after he deduces that a visiting cat is in fact the reincarnation of Ken's dead wife, Debra. Again, everyone bar Ken and Dylan is taken in by Cuckoo's bullshit, perhaps giving the first glimmer that there might not be much else to this likable new sitcom. Cuckoo (Andy Samberg) and Ken (Greg Davies) hog most of the best lines as usual, but the setups humiliating Ken and venerating Cuckoo appear to be treading much the same ground as previous weeks.

Greg Davies: The Back of My Mum's Head

Greg Davies was a drama teacher for 13 years before starting out in comedy. Some of his former pupils from Sandhurst School are in the audience tonight, and it is easy to see how a man with such a good grasp of play and of the childish mind would have been popular tutor.

Three episodes into the series, and Cuckoo is settling down nicely. The premise is exploited to the full, the scripts are consistently amusing, and the performances of Greg Davies, as the bumptious, blustering dad, and Andy Samberg, as the pseudo-spiritualist slacker son-in-law, complement each other perfectly. Plus, any show featuring Helen Baxendale is a good thing by definition.

BBC Three's Cuckoo was my pick of the week not long ago, but I never got around to reviewing it. The premise has middle class couple Ken (Greg Davies) and Lorna (Helen Baxendale)-from the Midlands, just to further stress how intermediate they are - discovering their beautiful daughter has married an American hippie calling himself "Cuckoo" (Andy Samberg) while on vacation. From there it runs through the expected culture clash comedy check list: dad hates that his baby girl's married a New Age loser; mum's initially concerned but grows to like her daughter's exotic other half; and Cuckoo is oblivious to the division he's causing in this close-knit suburban family.

The premise doesn't feel like it will last long before exhausting itself, and the first few episodes weren't particularly funny, but there are things Cuckoo has that rescues it from the doldrums: like a fantastic cast and oodles of charm. Samberg (a major star in the US, best known for appearing on Saturday Night Live) lights up the screen whenever he's around, and overcomes the fact Cuckoo's a rather thin caricature of modern-day hippies; while Davies is doing a superb job as the exasperated father desperate to get rid of his son-in-law without breaking his daughter's heart in the process. Davies had a memorable role in The Inbetweeners as the sociopathic teacher Mr Gilbert, but Cuckoo feels like it's truly announcing him to the world of sitcom. He's really good and has a fantastic dynamic with Samberg, which was largely responsible for the brilliant third episode where Ken and Cuckoo finally managed to bond thanks to recreational drugs.

I just wish Cuckoo was a touch funnier without relying so heavily on the performances of Samberg and Davies to raise smiles and pull it through, but I'll keep watching because it's well-made and has undeniable heart.

Greg Davies, The Dome, Brighton

Super-sized comic proves thoroughly capable of dragging a crowd into his world.

Greg Davies interview

"I used my only drug trip to help play wasted dad."

This week, Ken's political dreams are dashed when his son beats up the son of a local Liberal Democrat. To add to his woes, his well-meaning wife has suggested a boys' night in with his hippy son-in-law, who wants to explore Ken's mind calendar. The evening progresses terribly, naturally, until Ken accidentally pops a couple of dodgy painkillers, declares his undying love and is soon boogying the night away dressed like one of Dexys Midnight Runners.

Comedian Greg Davies, who plays Ken, rarely underplays a gag, but tonight his demented capers put one in mind of a male Miranda (albeit
a rather manic Miranda). Far and away the funniest episode so far.

Greg Davies on gigs in Glasgow

It's the stuff of showbusiness legend now that a Glasgow audience can be the toughest crowd in the country.

I've tried to like Cuckoo (BBC3), I really have. I like the premise - girl goes gap-year travelling, comes back with floppy-upper-lipped American new-age husband. He's not quite what girl's family had in mind for her.

People I know and whose judgment I trust (did trust) have told me they think it's funny. But the girl (Tamla Kari) is so dippy that it's hard to feel anything for her except annoyance. The comedy is mainly based around the generational/ideological gap and tension between husband (Andy Samberg) and dad (Greg Davies); but it's overdone, forced, not recognisable or real. Nor is it surreal, or bold. It's just a little bit silly really.