Greg Davies has been a familiar face on TV for many years now but before his successful comedy career the Taskmaster host had a job that made him 'miserable' and 'depressed'
Greg Davies is returning to screens tonight as the latest series of Taskmaster gets underway.
The 14th series of the hit Channel 4 panel game show returns tonight, and Greg is back to host the programme alongside fellow comedian Alex Horne.
Greg has been hosting Taskmaster since the series first began in 2015, but first became a familiar face on British TV back in 2008 for his iconic role as Mr Gilbert on The Inbetweeners.
Now, he seems to be everywhere in the world of comedy and is difficult to miss, not just because of his success but also his huge height.
But before his life as a comedian, Greg had another long-running career that made him miserable.
As Taskmaster returns, here's what Greg did before his comedy career and how his huge height has impacted him.
How tall is Greg Davies?
While appearing on the Graham Norton show back in 2016, Greg revealed that he'd been told he's classed as "officially disabled" because of his height.
Recounting the story about how Greg was informed of his disability status, Graham Norton revealed that it had all started when he and Greg met a "lovely lady" at a BBC party together.
Graham said that after approaching them, the lady told them: "I do disability at the BBC."
The host went on to ask Greg to tell the audience what she then told him.
"Well she said that I qualified," he responded.
The comedian, who is 6ft 8, revealed that "it was a height thing".
He went on to add that it wasn't the only time that he's been told he's disabled because of his height as he added: "Do you know what, Graham, since we had that meeting when the lady told me that I was technically, as far as the BBC is concerned, disabled, I have had a member of a council, I won't name where, tell me that I could get a parking badge."
Hearing this, fellow guest Ryan Gosling high-fived Greg and he joked: "I won't forget the day that Ryan Gosling high-fived me because I'm officially disabled."
Davies has previously described being tall as "tedious", revealing on Mock the Week that he is often subject to "prepared jokes", saying: “Let me give you an example: I’m often asked ‘how’s the weather up there?'”
He also revealed that he was once “offered a job changing light bulbs” by an elderly lady.
Was Greg Davies a real teacher?
Greg Davies shot to fame during his role as the headmaster in the hit comedy The Inbetweeners, but before entering the world of comedy Greg was actually a real teacher for 13 years.
Despite becoming obsessed with comedy from a young age, when Greg graduated from Brunel University he had no idea what to do next and decided to go into teaching.
He taught Drama and English at a number of secondary schools for over a decade, but has since admitted he's angry that he stuck with it for so long.
In an interview with i last year, he said: “I didn’t hate it, I hated myself for staying with it. I was forever angry with myself, because all I ever wanted to do was comedy.
"If through sheer cowardice, you’re not doing the thing that you would most want to spend your life doing, then no job is going to be a happy place to be.”
But it went beyond just being angry at himself, as the comedian added that before entering the world of comedy he suffered with depression for many years.
He explained: “I was miserable. Looking back on it, depressed, frankly. I think if I’d spoken to somebody even remotely qualified, I would have said I’d had many years of depression. I was just aware I was only happy on Saturdays and Sundays.”
At the age of 33, Greg decided to finally take a chance on a career in comedy, and it's safe to say it paid off.
After completing Logan Murray's 11-week stand-up comedy workshop in London, Greg took to it immediately and went on to win the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year award on only his third gig back in 2002.
*Taskmaster airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4
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