Mosiah Bikila Gilligan (born 19 February 1988) is a British stand-up comedian. He is known for his observational comedy. After several years of uploading comedy clips to social media, he found global success in 2017. He hosted ''

The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan ''The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan'' is a British late-night chat show presented by comedian Mo Gilligan, that first aired on Channel 4 on 19 July 2019. Similar to other late night chat shows, the programme includes a house band, live audience a ...

'' (2019) on

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 ...

. He currently co-hosts ''

The Big Narstie Show ''The Big Narstie Show'' is a British chat show, presented by rapper Big Narstie and comedian Mo Gilligan, that debuted on Channel 4 on 29 June 2018. Big Narstie is a rapper from the grime scene and has been cited as one of the original purveyor ...

'' on Channel 4, and is a judge on ''The Masked Singer UK'' since the second series in 2020, and a judge on '' The Masked Dancer UK'' since 2021. In 2022 Gilligan took a break from ''The Masked Dancer UK'' due to work issues, and was replaced by

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...

Early life

Mosiah Bikila Gilligan was born on 19 February 1988 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to British parents of Jamaican and St. Lucian descent. His mother was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

while his father is from

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

. His parents separated when he was 5, and he was raised by both parents while living in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, London. He began his interest in comedy whilst attending a performing arts school in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

. Gilligan is an avid supporter of

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

Career

Gilligan was working in retail, when he began uploading comedy videos on his social media accounts. His videos were popular and customers eventually began recognising him. His breakout moment came in 2017, when he was spotted by Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, who quoted some of Gilligan's comedy on his own Instagram account. His influences include

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

and

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

; he did his first lengthy show after watching a Chris Rock stand-up film. Gilligan currently co-hosts ''

'', which debuted 29 June 2018 on

, with rapper

Big Narstie Tyrone Mark Lindo (born 16 November 1985), known by his stage name Big Narstie, is a British MC, author, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter. He started his career in 2002 as a member of grime crew "N Double A," though ...

. Between them, they have been cited as some of the original purveyors of grime comedy. He paired up with

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

to compete on the 2018 edition of ''

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' is an approximately annual British television programme broadcast in the last or first week of the year on Channel 4. The show is a comedy panel game in the style of a pub quiz. Three teams of two celebrities, mo ...

'' also on Channel 4, which they won. Gilligan hosts his own show, ''

'', which debuted 19 July 2019 on Channel 4. Later on in the year, his first comedy special on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, ''Mo Gilligan: Momentum'', was released globally in 190 countries. Since June 2020, Gilligan has appeared on the second and third series of

Celebrity Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...

, as well as the

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon tha ...

special of

Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...

alongside comedian

Babatunde Aleshe Babatunde (variant forms: Babatunji, Babajide, Babawande, Babaside, Babatide, Bababode, Babs) is a male given name. In the Yoruba language, it means 'father returns', or ' a father has returned'. This generally refers to a male ancestor such as a ...

. On 19 August 2020, ITV announced Gilligan would become a panellist on the second series of '' The Masked Singer UK'', replacing

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

. In 2020, Gilligan produced the hour long documentary '' Black, British, and Funny'' for Black History Month. He examined the history of the Black comedy circuit, featuring pioneering stars like

Angie Le Mar Angie Le Mar (born 27 October 1965) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter and producer. Le Mar is married with three children. Early life Born in Lewisham, London, of Jamaican parentage, she grew up with four older brother ...

Richard Blackwood Richard Clifford Blackwood (born 15 May 1972) is a British actor, presenter and rapper. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 2020, he began portraying the role of Felix Westwood in the Channel ...

, Danny 'Slim' Gray and Rudi Lickwood, and newer comedians including

Kayode Ewumi Kayode is a surname as well as a masculine given name of Yoruba origin. Surname * Adetokunbo Kayode (born 1960), Nigerian lawyer and politician * Bunmi Kayode (born 1985), Nigerian footballer * Femi Fani-Kayode (born 1960), Nigerian lawyer and pol ...

and

Michael Dapaah Michael Dapaah (born 10 August 1991) is a British actor, rapper, and comedian best known for portraying the fictional rapper Big Shaq (also known as Roadman Shaq). He is also known for his mockumentary ''SWIL'' (Somewhere in London), which foc ...

. In October 2020, Gilligan appeared as a contestant on The Cube alongside actor David Ajao. On 4 March 2021,

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

announced Gilligan would become a panellist on the spin-off of '' The Masked Singer UK, The Masked Dancer UK.'' On 8 February 2022, Gilligan hosted the

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

from the

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

. In October 2022, Channel 4 broadcast ''Mo Gilligan + Friends: The Black British Takeover'', a standup special featuring Gilligan plus

Eddie Kadi Eddie Kadi (born 18 May 1983 in Kinshasa) is a British-Congolese comedian, presenter and actor. Early life A resident of South-West London since 1992, he is a past student of Fulham Primary School, Henry Compton Secondary School, William Morris ...

, Ola Labib, Slim, Thanyia Moore,

Babatunde Aléshé Babatunde Aléshé is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is known for appearing on ''Celebrity Gogglebox'', and the 22nd series of British television series ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Career Aléshé has performed at the S ...

and The Compozers, recorded at

the O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely within ...

in December 2021. On 29 November 2022, Gilligan was confirmed as the host of the upcoming

BBC One 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, p ...

series called ''That's My Jam''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, Mo 1988 births Living people 21st-century English comedians Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners Black British male comedians Comedians from London English people of Jamaican descent English people of Welsh descent English people of Saint Lucian descent English television talk show hosts People from Camberwell People from Lambeth

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links