Comedian and Taskmaster presenter Greg Davies has never married and tends to keep his love life out of the spotlight. The 58-year-old began his career as a teacher before moving into stand-up comedy and later landed his big break in Channel 4 sitcom The Inbetweeners.
Despite one high-profile romance, he has been shy about sharing details of his personal life, but some facts are known about the star behind the scenes. From jokingly embracing fanfiction written about him and Taskmaster co-host Alex Horne to dating a Labour MP, here is what is known.
Labour MP romance
Between 2007 and 2015, Greg was in a relationship with Labour MP Liz Kendall, with the pair moving into a flat together in South London. Kendall served as science, innovation and technology secretary under Keir Starmer, and before that as work and pensions secretary.
When their relationship came to an end, she told The Mirror: “I am not going to be the sort of politician who does all that stuff about their private life because it’s very precious to me and really important to me that I have that space that’s personal and just to me.
“We are not together anymore, but we remain really good friends.”
Greg admitted that he accidentally called Liz several years after their split by dropping his phone down his pants. He told The Times: “And it was such an awkward conversation, because we hadn’t spoken for so long, and it just made me laugh as a story. She thought it was hilarious.
“We’ve moved on now. She is no longer part of my life and vice versa.”
Encouraging ex and fanfiction hysteria
When asked why he first got into comedy, Greg revealed it was one of his ex-girlfriends who inspired him. He admitted in 2020: “I’ve been doing comedy for about 15 years now. I always wanted to do it, but I just never had thick enough skin.
“A girlfriend I had while teaching was a pragmatist and always told me that if you want to do something, then go for it. So eventually I made the switch.”
Taskmaster stars Greg and Alex have jokingly leaned into the erotic fanfiction that some viewers write about them together, and even read one aloud on US talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers. While Alex admitted he was “not comfortable talking about it on American TV”, Greg giggled: “It’s some of the hottest things I’ve ever been involved in.”
Host Seth quipped: “When you watch Taskmaster, there’s no chemistry. You’re so mean to Alex.” And Greg couldn’t help but joke: “Yeah, but some people like that,” jokingly pointing at Alex.
“I read [the fanfiction] all the time. The thing I love about it is that he’s so uncomfortable with any kind of physical contact,” Greg said, putting his hand on Alex’s knee – before going on to read a segment aloud.
Marriage woes and huge crush
Greg has never married but said he is “open” to finding a wife. Speaking at the TV BAFTAs, his co-star Alex thanked his wife, Rachel, for her help getting to be nominated at the ceremony. He then suggested Greg might bump into his future spouse at the BAFTAs, with Greg admitting: “Maybe I will. I’m open to it. It would be so lovely; it’s been too long, and I’m ready now.”
But Greg previously joked romance is “not for him”, after his grandfather walked in on him and an ex-girlfriend during an intimate moment. He said: “That was the day I gave up on romance.”
Greg did once name his celebrity crush – Janet Ellis. He told OK! Magazine: “I met Janet Ellis once in a fish and chip shop. I used to have a terrible crush on her, all throughout my childhood. Then I finally met her and said something humiliating, I think chips-based, that guaranteed I would never end up in the relationship I craved.
“I met her daughter Sophie [Ellis Bextor] on a show once and told her I fancied her mum and she rolled her eyes and said 'everyone does'.”
