For a young Mo Gilligan, motivation was a pair of Nike Air Max 95 trainers. Not necessarily the footwear itself but what they represented.
“Seeing those shiny things, it felt like if you had that you’ve made it,” he says. “It was always a goal to be able to buy a pair that I desired so much as a kid. Now I have a lot of those trainers. But that was the catalyst, not the drive.”
Gilligan, aged 36, is one of the most driven comedians and TV personalities in the UK today and certainly one of the busiest. He’s just released a new podcast and is in the midst of a world tour.
“With any success story, there’s always the story before the success and that sometimes is the real success story,” he tells Big Issue.
For Gilligan, who grew up in South London, that was working in retail, posting funny clips spearing British stereotypes on social media as Mo the Comedian while grinding it out in comedy clubs in his spare time, performing for little or no reward.
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His storytelling style brought a fresh perspective to British comedy, drawing upon his Caribbean heritage and the multicultural London where he grew up. He won a loyal following and in 2018 became co-host of The Big Narstie Show before helming The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan in 2019, which won him a BAFTA in 2020 – the same year he became a panellist on primetime phenomenon The Masked Singer. A crowning achievement was hosting the BRIT Awards in 2022, then he was asked to do it again in 2023.
Long before being established, he remembers the moment where he felt like he’d made it. It was a date in Birmingham on his first major UK tour. Ahead of time, he was unsure whether he’d sell out the 1,000-capacity venue.
“I’ll be completely honest, I was really nervous but the moment I walked onstage and heard the roar from the crowd – then got my first laugh – I was like, ‘Oh this is going to last a lot longer than I imagined it would’.”
It’s these moments that Gilligan tries to take time and reflect upon, because a moment that affirms your self-belief and boosts your trajectory could just have easily gone another way.
The pandemic forced Gilligan to slow down and take stock.
“Everything was happening so fast. I try my best to live in the moment but when things are happening very quickly for you, it’s hard. So I try to enjoy the moment, as opposed to thinking it’s the norm. Because it’s not normal. You’re like, cool. I’m going to go on radio, I’m going to see myself on a billboard. That is my job, in a sense. But it’s also not normal. So sit within it, enjoy it, relish it as long as it may be.”
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The importance of doing this sparked the idea for his new podcast. In Mo Gilligan: Beginning, Middle, & End, he talks to some famous friends about the moments that made them, including Masked Singer colleagues Jonathan Ross and Joel Dommett as well as the likes of George the Poet and Aisling Bea.
The podcast contains lessons we can all learn from. Although guests come from their own individual circumstances, there are commonalities.
Vital, Gilligan says, is “never giving up” because “your goal could be right around the corner” and not being afraid to challenge yourself.
“It sounds a bit cliche and a bit fairy tale-ish but in my own career, I’ve had times where I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ I started to relish being in these vulnerable situations, because it gives you that drive. It feels like starting all over again.”
Gilligan is at the stage where he could sit comfortably on comedy panels and tour the UK when he fancied. But instead, he was set on stand-up world domination with dates from New Zealand to Dubai, across Scandinavia and the US.
“I could be very, very comfortable in this situation when things are going the best they’ve ever been for me,” he says. “But it would always bug me if I never did stand-up in other places. Putting myself in vulnerable situations is key for my own development.”
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His goals have shifted. He still likes Air Max 95s but has other priorities too.
“Where am I now in life? The things I used to like have changed somewhat. I used to love playing video games in my early teens and now I like buying solar-powered lighting for my garden.
“Last year, I thought, ‘I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do when I’m 50 or 60’. For example, look at pensions. I want to set myself up for the future. I’ve got a lot of friends who’ve all become dads now, setting up trust funds for when their kid gets older. I’m surrounded by that thinking. What is it I want to leave behind? What do I want to be remembered for? Or will I get to a point where I’m like, ‘I just want to retire and play golf’?
“I can tell you all about my first show, where I was and how it went. So I always look forward and wonder what my last ever gig will be like. When will be the time I want to do something different?”
The moment for another dramatic change may come in a lucky KFC car park where Gilligan happened to be when he learned about two of his biggest breaks.
Alongside fellow The Masked Singer hosts (l-r): Gilligan, Davina McCall, Joel Dommett, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross. Image: ITV/Vincent Dolman/Shutterstock
“First time was they called me up, ‘We’d love you to be part of The Masked Singer.’ That’s crazy, I’m gonna be on primetime TV! The second time I was in that car park was, ‘We want you to host the BRITs.’ So it is a lucky carpark.
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“I went back to that car park recently to grab some food and I got a missed call from my manager. I was like, ‘Let me call her back right now, it might be something!’
“I remember winning my first BAFTA. I didn’t know what to do so I just got in the car and bought myself some ice cream in that drive-through car park. It holds quite a dear place in my heart.”
Mo Gilligan: Beginning, Middle & End is available to listen to now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.
