Inbetweeners' Greg aspired to be sadistic teacher

Inbetweeners' Greg aspired to be sadistic teacher
Inbetweeners' Greg aspired to be sadistic teacher (Image credit: PA Archive/Press Association Ima)

The Inbetweeners' Greg Davies has revealed he fantasised about being as sadistic as his character Mr Gilbert when he worked as a teacher. The 40-year-old actor - who is touring the country with his stand-up show, Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog - is best known for playing the terrifying head of sixth form in the hit E4 show, but admits when he worked as a drama teacher for 10 years he hated it. Greg said: "He's kind of the teacher I always fantasised about being because children are absolutely petrified of him. But as my ex-pupils regularly confirm, I wasn't remotely fearful. "When Gilbert walks into a room everyone s***s themselves. I'm not convinced I had that effect. I think they just thought, 'Here comes that depressed bloke again'." The comedian admits he always wanted to perform, so he lived out his dream of being a stand-up comic on his pupils. He said: "If you're doing a job and you secretly want to do a different job, you start to blame the job. I was blaming the teaching for that fact I wasn't performing. I really felt I needed to follow a comedy career. "I was a drama teacher so I had the opportunity to show off in front of a captive audience. I essentially did 13 years of stand-up. Whether my pupils would agree that I was remotely interesting or not is another question." In other Inbetweeners news, the four main characters Simon Bird, Blake Harrison, James Buckley and Joe Thomas have completed a rude road trip in aid of this year's Comic Relief. The stars of the show aimed to visit 50 rude places in 50 hours to raise money for charity. Fans can see how they did via their online Facebook page as well as pledge support by making donations at www.comicrelief.com/inbetweeners.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.