Introduction
Mosiah ‘Mo’ Gilligan (born 19 February 1988) is a British stand-up comedian 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, which debuted in 2019 on Channel 4. He currently co-hosts The Big Narstie Show on Channel 4.
Early life and education
Gilligan was born in Lambeth to British parents of Jamaican and St. Lucian descent. His mother was born in Wales while his father is from Brixton. His parents split up when he was 5, and he was raised by both parents while living in Camberwell, London. He began his interest in comedy whilst attending a performing arts school in Pimlico.
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, who quoted some of Gilligan's comedy on his own Instagram account. His influences include Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock; he did his first lengthy show after watching a Chris Rock stand-up film.
Gilligan currently co-hosts The Big Narstie Show, which debuted 29 June 2018 on Channel 4, with rapper Big Narstie. Between them they have been cited as some of the original purveyors of grime comedy. He paired up with Claudia Winkleman to compete on the 2018 edition of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year also on Channel 4, which they won.
He hosts his own show, The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan, which debuted 19 July 2019 on Channel 4. Later on in the year, his first comedy special on Netflix, Mo Gilligan: Momentum, was released globally in 190 countries.