It’s the moment millennials have been waiting for 18 years; comedian Chris Lilley has confirmed that fan favourite character Mr G is back!
After three days of teasing, Lilley finally shared a video of the iconic drama teacher dancing in the way that only Hellen “Greg” Gregson can, followed by the words we’ve all been waiting to hear: “Mr G is back”.
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Mr G first appeared on our screens back in the sketch comedy series Big Bite, written by Lilley, back in 2003. The program ran on Channel 7 for just 13 episodes before ending in 2004. Mr G, however, became such a fan favourite that he was resurrected in a starring role for Lilley’s 2007 sitcom, Summer Heights High. Much to the dismay of his league of die-hard fans, Mr G has not made an appearance in any of Lilley’s four subsequent shows, including the two Summer Heights High spin-offs, Jonah From Tonga and Ja’mie: Private School Girl.
Where have you been, b***h?
With the announcement, Lilley’s 994,000 Instagram followers have thrown nothing but support behind the comedian.
“Can’t wait…Best show ever,” one fan reacted.
“How many more bloody sleeps??!!!!!” another asked excitedly.
Some even reverted to some of the old classic lines that made the drama teacher a fan favourite over his short-lived run on Aussie TV screens.
“Where have ya been, b*tch,” one fan quipped, a reference to Mr G’s famous Thank God You’re Here style drama warm-up.
“YES! YES! 🫸BLOODY🫷HELL YES!!” another celebrated in peak Mr G fashion.
Lilley’s fall from grace
He may be loved and celebrated by fans but Lilley has faced his fair share of criticism over the years for his portrayal of characters of different races, including African-American rapper S. Mouse and Tongan student Jonah Takalua.
Lilley’s direct ignorance of the politically correct movement has put him in the firing line more times than he can count, and while Mr G might be one of his most loved characters, he is also considered one of the more controversial. Gregson might be the fictional personification of that diva drama teacher that most of us had growing up, but he is also the teacher who used the overdosing death of a student as inspiration for his school musical (after using the Boxing Day Tsunami the year prior).
“She’s a naughty girl with a bad habit, bad habit for drugs,” one of his most well known songs jokes – good luck getting that one out of your head.
Lilley’s Summer Height’s High, Jonah From Tonga, Angry Boys and Ja’Mie Private School Girl all aired on the ABC but none of them are still available via iView. B&T contacted the ABC to see if it would be involved in any further Lilley productions but did not receive a response prior to publication.
For his 2019 series Lunatics, Lilley partnered instead with Netflix. However, a year later, following backlash around characters from his past productions, Lilley’s four other programs were pulled from the platform. Lunatics is still available on Netflix.
At the time, Lilley said he created the characters because he thought “it was a challenging, new, interesting idea, and mostly I just thought it was a really funny character”.
“The funny thing is, I played a Chinese student in We Can Be Heroes, I played a Tongan boy in Summer Heights High, and I play a Japanese woman also in Angry Boys, but the only one that people talk about is S.Mouse.
“It’s kind of funny that there’s only certain races that it’s an issue – yes, it’s that history with blackface – but, I don’t know.
“There’s no comparison. I think it’s a bit stupid that you would shut yourself off to being able to do that.”
Around the same time, UK sketch comedy programs Come Fly With Me and Little Britain were also removed from streaming services across the globe after controversy over the use of blackface characters.
Does Mr G still have a place on Aussie screens in 2025?
With so much controversy swirling, the potential return begs the question, which platform would be willing to back a character that has been encased in so much controversy? Netflix seems like a likely option. Despite removing Lilley’s other productions, Lunatics still remains on the platform, suggesting at least some support of the comedian – and the possibility that the removal of other programs was simply in response to the controversy rather than an actual belief they needed to be removed.
At least for now, free-to-air seems incredibly unlikely; with cultural revamps underway at both Nine and Seven, it is unlikely either would back a program that has faced so much controversy – which also rules out Stan. On the other hand, ABC is far removed from ABC of 2007, and with all of Lilley’s programs no longer available on its iView streaming platform, it seems unlikely it will throw its support behind a return from Mr G.
Lilley also moved into the podcasting space during the height of COVID, launching audio shows as the Lunatic’s character Jana Melhoopen-Jonks in 2020 and Summer Height’s High’s Ja’mie King in 2021, making it possible that a Mr G podcast could soon be gracing our airwaves.
While most of this remains speculation, one thing is clear, Greg Gregson is back and the world couldn’t be more ready to go back to Mr G’s Room!
