TV comedian Greg Davies has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Brunel University London. The funnyman is known for his roles in The Inbetweeners, Cuckoo and for the gameshow, Taskmaster. We look into the award further and if Greg Davies is going on tour soon.
Comedian Greg Davies was given an honorary Doctorate from Brunel University yesterday after taking his original degree with the university. The TV star had studied English and Drama and went on to teach the latter for a decade before making his name as a comedian.
Greg Davies Receives His Doctorate From Brunel University
Brunel University awarded him with an honorary doctorate in Humanities “in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the field of media, entertainment and the arts.”
Davies has been nominated for multiple BAFTAs across his 20-year-long career. The game show he hosts with Alex Horne, Taskmaster, won the BAFTA for Best Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme back in 2020. It had been nominated twice before.
When accepting the award, Davies spoke of the honour he felt receiving it. He also managed to fit in a joke about his commitment to his degrees.
“I would like to sincerely thank Brunel University London for this honour. It’s wonderful for me to get a second degree that, frankly, involved about as much work as I put into my first degree – no work whatsoever. I sense that’s not the case for you people.”
Some Advice for The Brunel University Students
As usual, when honoured guests accept their award, Davies was asked to give some advice for the graduates in attendance.
“The one thing that has stuck with me is that if you have an inkling, deep down, of where you want to put those energies of yours, if you sense somewhere within you that you know you might be able to do this. Don’t presume there’s someone better than you to do it, because that’s what I did. I presumed that there would be someone frankly with better hair than me to do comedy, or that was more confident than me. And so I didn’t do it. I put my energies elsewhere.
“So, for what it’s worth, my advice to you is, deep down, you’ll know where all those wonderful brains you’ve got should be applied. And you shouldn’t shy away from that. You should stay focused.
“It’s been a real honour for me to get this. It’s been so wonderful seeing you all come up and get your honours to reflect all your wonderful, hard work. And I really, sincerely wish you all the best with your exciting lives, you lucky devils.”
His advice goes back to his ambition to be a comedian since university, which he put aside due to confidence. Deciding to go into teaching instead, Davies returned to comedy when he was 33. He signed up for a comedy workshop and the rest is history. Although teaching delayed his arrival onto the comedy scene, it has given him some great material for Davies’ tours.
Is Greg Davies Going On Tour?
Unfortunately, the comedian does not have any tour dates lined up for the immediate future.
His last tour was You Magnificent Beast back in 2017 which sold out and received much critical acclaim. A one-off special of the show was recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo and released on Netflix in 2018. So, if you missed out or can’t wait to see Davies on tour again, then hopefully that should tide you over.
With filming Taskmaster throughout the year and the success of his self-written show The Cleaner, it’s uncertain when the comedian will go back on tour. Hopefully, it won’t be long, particularly if he has some newfound confidence from receiving his doctorate from Brunel University.
