Greg McHugh (born 5 January 1980) is a Scottish actor. He is the creator, writer and star of the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

comedy series '' Gary: Tank Commander''. He also played Howard in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

comedy '' Fresh Meat''.

Early life and education

Greg McHugh was born in Morningside,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, on 5 January 1980. His father was a civil servant, and his mother a teacher. McHugh has two elder brothers. McHugh attended St Peter's RC primary school and then

St Thomas of Aquin's High School St Thomas of Aquin's High School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh. History St Thomas of Aquin’s College for the training of Catholic teachers was formally established in 1865 by the Sisters of Merc ...

. He studied business at the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

and trained at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

in Glasgow. Initially, McHugh had intended to study sports science but found it too difficult. McHugh's native accent is a softer variation of the Edinburgh accent.

Career

McHugh can be seen briefly on screen in the ''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scottish sitcom, produced by The Comedy Unit with BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis, Esq and Victor McDade, two Glaswegian pensioners. The characte ...

'' episode "Faimly" as a friend or relative visiting the patient in the bed beside

Winston Ingram ''Still Game'' is a Scottish sitcom series, following the lives of a group of pensioners who live in Craiglang, a fictional area of Glasgow.

. McHugh played Josh Elvey in the TV movie ''Not Safe for Work''. In 2010, McHugh appeared in the episode "Don the Musical" of the English sitcom ''

How Not to Live Your Life ''How Not to Live Your Life'' (styled in the opening credits as "how NOT to live your life") is a British sitcom, written by and starring Dan Clark that aired between 27 September 2007 and 22 December 2011 on BBC Three, about a pessimistic twenty ...

''. He played Randy, a local actor of amateur dramatics who played the

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

character, Charlie Babbitt, in a musical version of ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dealer C ...

''. He was in two 2010 episodes of ''

Rab C. Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character ...

'' as Liam O'Hagan. The episodes were "Muse" and "Candy." McHugh appeared on

Red Nose Day Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

2011 reporting the fund-raising going on throughout Scotland for Comic Relief. McHugh was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA as writer of '' Gary: Tank Commander''. Between 2011 & 2016, McHugh starred as Howard in the

comedy '' Fresh Meat''. In 2013, McHugh appeared in the Channel 4 serial ''Dates''. McHugh appeared in the 2013 '' Bad Education'' Christmas special as Bonehead, a homeless man. In 2014, McHugh appeared in the BBC film ''

Marvellous ''Marvellous'' is a 90-minute British drama television film first broadcast on BBC Two on 25 September 2014. Directed by Julian Farino and written by Peter Bowker, it is about the life of Neil Baldwin from Westlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, St ...

'' playing the part of Malcolm, the long-time friend of Neil Baldwin. From 6 December 2014 to 11 January 2015, McHugh starred as the character of Smee in the pantomime production of Peter Pan at the King's Theatre, Glasgow. In 2016, 2017 & 2020, he appeared as Eddie Scott in the Cumbria-based

drama ''

The A Word ''The A Word'' is a BBC television drama series, based on the Israeli series ''Yellow Peppers''. The series follows a young boy and how his family cope with the revelation that he has autism spectrum disorder. Following filming in the Lake Dist ...

''. On 21 September 2016, McHugh made a secret guest appearance at the first "Andy Murray Live" event, a charity tennis exhibition event raising funds for UNICEF and the Glasgow-based charity, Young People’s Futures. From 20–22 October 2016, he reprised his role as Gary: Tank Commander in a stage version of the sitcom at

The Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland. The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro El ...

in Glasgow. In 2022, Mchugh appeared with an interview appearance on the critically acclaimed ‘Chatabix’ podcast.

Personal life

McHugh lives in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, with his wife Katie. The couple have two children.

Filmography

Theatre

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Greg Living people People educated at St Thomas of Aquin's High School Alumni of the University of Stirling Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish comedy writers Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors 1980 births British male comedy actors 21st-century Scottish male actors