The campaign sparked a nationwide debate about patriotism, immigration and what it means to be British. Appearing on Newsnight after a Chinese takeaway in York had “Go Home” graffitied on it, Big John had the answers nobody else did: “I love my country, I’m a proud Englishman,” he said, but “people who are working here shouldn’t be targeted like that, no one should be targeted like that.”
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It was a moment. Big John encapsulated a very modern Britishness which allowed for both tolerance and patriotism. It struck a chord.
The clip was viewed 12 million times on X and liked nearly half a million times on TikTok. To many, he became a spiritual leader overnight.
But that was never Fisher’s intention. As always, he was just sharing his honest opinion, and instead of getting into politics, he’s been getting into bingo.
Not just any bingo. Bosh Bingo is a big, raucous show currently touring the UK. What makes Fisher different from other influencers is that instead of using his platform to make hot takes or ragebait, he wants to bring people together.
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“I pride myself that I can have a photo with Glasgow Rangers supporters on one arm and Celtic supporters on the other arm. Hopefully I can be a bridge for certain people – I love being that, because it’s our people that make us such a great country, and we can never, ever forget that.”
Fisher’s rise to fame was a bolt from the blue. He was running a cheese wholesaling business when his son started filming him eating a takeaway and posting the videos on TikTok. The Boshfather never knew he was being filmed until people started asking him for selfies. Fisher seems unfazed by his flash of fame.
“I hate the word fame, I hate the word influencer, I hate anything like that. I’m just a normal family man who’s got a few followers on social media.
“We’re a normal family who like a Chinese on a Friday or Saturday night after you’ve worked hard all week. I don’t think there’s anything special about us, we’re just relatable.”
Throughout our conversation, Fisher talks about how proud he is of the diversity of his followers. He loves that his new career enables him to meet people of all nationalities and from all walks of life. One crazy encounter came recently in Rome.
“My wife was videoing me eating something and these young men walked past going ‘Oh wow, oh my god.’ There was about 15 of them, they were Panamanian Bosh Soldiers that followed the journey on TikTok. We’re in Rome and all shouting Bosh!”
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Fisher and his son have a new project with a major streamer. Characteristically, John is taking the potentially life-changing moment in his stride. “I’ve been through life. I’ve seen the ups, I’ve seen the downs. You never get too excited when things are going well, you never get too low when they’re not going well. I’ve got my family and that’s all that matters.”
But more people are looking to him. Does he feel a sense of leadership or responsibility when speaking about the state of the nation now?
“I’m not worried about being this or that, it doesn’t bother me at all as long as I stay true to who I am… I don’t think I’m leading anything.
“When you do things like Newsnight, it’s good and it’s also bad, because I received a lot of hate, a lot of ‘you’re a traitor’ just because you’re standing up for a Chinese shop owner who’s been here 20 years. But I’ll always stand up and say what I think is right.”
He then launches into a spellbinding sermon about Britain. He bounces between his love of his country, the flag – “if you want to put a flag up, put a flag up, but things have got to be done in the right way” – and the sort of nation we should be trying to build: welcoming, positive, patriotic, ambitious.
“We’ve got to expect the workers in this country, whether they’re black, white, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, to get up and work hard for a living. They’re the sort of people I want to mix with and deal with, no matter where they’re from. Rather than destroy people, we’ve got to bring people up.”
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Bosh to that.
Bosh Bingo is touring the UK
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