Greg Davies 'smashed up' flat writing comedy scenes

Greg Davies has "smashed up" his flat a number of times when trying to write comedy scenes.

The 'Inbetweeners' star - who has written sitcoms such as 'Man Down' and 'The Cleaner' - finds it tough to put his thoughts down on the page at times, admitting he finds it particularly hard to structure a script.

He said: "I've smashed up my flat on numerous occasions – smashed things I care about.

"It's important for young writers to hear that because when you feel like you're losing your mind – that's normal. It's a madness, writing. I've yet to meet someone who likes writing.

"There has to be some order to a script. You have to be incredibly disciplined and my mind ping-pongs all over the place."

Greg - who previously worked as a teacher - now pens shows with writer and actor Stephen Morrison, and admits it is great to have someone he can "offload to".

He said: "I now know that I can't be on my own ... it's dangerous. I always have to have someone I know I can offload to.

"He's brilliant, too, but having him in the room calms me down and stops me breaking stuff."

The star still gets surprised when "proper actors", such as Helena Bonham Carter - who starred in 'The Cleaner' - appear in his shows and act out his writing.

And despite admitting he whinges about being in comedy at times, he "loves it all" and is annoyed that he didn't try to take the plunge earlier in his career.

Speaking at the BBC Comedy Festival in Newcastle, he added: "I was a teacher and miserable as sin until I was 33. Now I love it all.

"I'm a whinging p*** about it sometimes, but deep down I can't believe I get to do it and the only reason I get to do it was because I started doing it.

"Stop p****** about and do it. I'm angry with myself for not having the courage to do it or having the nerve to ask how to do it earlier."