Greg Davies’ favourite book is 1937 classic ‘everyone should read once’

Comedian and actor Greg Davies is best known as the host of the hilarious BAFTA-winning game show Taskmaster, along with his trusty sidekick and assistant, Alex Horne. After spending 13 years as an English and drama teacher, the 57-year-old made the leap into stand-up comedy and hasn't looked back.

The Welsh actor first shot to fame when he took on the role of the head of Sixth Form, Mr Gilbert, in The Inbetweeners back in 2008. Since then, his career has gone from strength to strength, starring in sitcoms such as Cuckoo, The Cleaner and Man Down, which he wrote himself.

To reflect on his successful career, Greg appeared on BBC's Desert Island Discs, hosted by Lauren Laverne, to share the tracks he couldn't live without, his one luxury item and the book that he could read again and again.

After sharing his varied taste in music, with tracks ranging from Madness' Baggy Trousers to The Next Episode by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, he also revealed that he would take John Steinbeck's beloved novel, Of Mice and Men. Discussing the subject, Lauren said: "I'm giving you the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare, and you can take one other book what are you going to choose?"

Without pausing, Greg stated it would be the secondary school classic. He said: "It's a sad little book but it's also often funny and it's so heartwarming at times and it's a real pretty powerful story about friendship."

He continued: "Now, spoiler alert maybe it doesn't end that well but there's something in that. My dad always used to say to me, when I was feeling sorry for myself, 'it's fine to feel sorry for yourself but look around there's always someone worse off than you'. And it's true and you sometimes just need to pull yourself together and I think that the story of George and Lennie reminds me of that.

"You know, sitting on my desert island, things are pretty cushy."

Written in 1937 by John Steinbeck, and is set during the Great Depression in America. It follows a man called George and his childlike, kind-hearted friend Lennie. The men have to find work at a ranch after being on the run from their old job after Lennie got them into trouble. It explores themes of racism, sexism, friendship and betrayal. It's as sad as it is touching and funny.

Reviews of the book vary, with many people noting how they couldn't enjoy the book when they read it, as they had been forced to because it was on the school curriculum. One user wrote in a review: "The story, writing, and characters were amazing. John Steinbeck made a very enjoyable story with such a seemingly simple concept. A truly beautifully written masterpiece that makes you appreciate every word."

Another reader added: "This should be on everyone's reading list. Everyone should read it once. The ending will take your breath away and be all you can think about for weeks."