Gregory Daniel Davies was born on 14 May 1968 in St Asaph, Wales, to Welsh parents Bob and Pauline Davies; his father drove his pregnant mother across the border from England specifically so he would be born in Wales. He grew up in Wem, Shropshire, with one sister, and regards Shropshire as his true home.

Before comedy, Davies spent 13 years as a secondary school English and drama teacher at schools in Slough, Twickenham and Sandhurst. He began performing with sketch trio We Are Klang in the mid-2000s, later moving into solo stand-up, acting, and writing, creating and starring in Channel 4’s Man Down and BBC One‘s The Cleaner.

He is best known as the host of Channel 4’s Taskmaster since 2015 and of Sky One‘s Never Mind the Buzzcocks revival since 2021. In 2022, Brunel University London — his alma mater — awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humanities for his contribution to the arts.

Davies keeps his personal life very private. He was in a long-term relationship with Labour politician Liz Kendall from 2007 to 2015; he has not publicly confirmed a relationship since and is understood to be single, with no children.