Mo Gilligan eager to champion fellow Black comedic talent: ‘It’s not a buffet’

The comedian bagged the prestigious impact in comedy award at the 2023 National Comedy Awards, hosted by Tom Allen at the Roundhouse.

Mo was recognised for his efforts to use his platform to shine a light on other brilliant Black comics, including the curation of two sold-out nights of Mo Gilligan + Friends: The Black British Takeover at The O2.

While Mo wasn’t present to accept his award in person, he gave a moving acceptance speech via video link.

During his earlier VT, he explained that there wasn’t a ‘glass ceiling’ when he started out in comedy, but rather a ‘concrete ceiling’ which prevented Black talent from being celebrated.

‘This means so much to me in so many ways,’ he began after receiving the trophy.

‘When I started my comedy journey, I was this young boy from south London – didn’t have these teeth, I’ll tell you that for free, boy! Thank you Channel 4 for that!’, Mo laughed.

‘But on a real, when I started comedy, my journey was very different to a lot of other people’s. I’d often meet a lot of comics and they’d say, “You a comic on the Black circuit? I’d love to try that.”

‘But bro, this isn’t a buffet. This isn’t a quiche, or some chicken wings on the side for you to just try. This is a real scene, with real people. Realising that, the scene that I come from, the skills that I’ve got, and the people that I’ve had around me to watch and learn from…’ he continued, name-checking the likes of Richard Blackwood and Babatunde Aleshe.

‘The list is endless. There are so many people that I’ve been on the circuit with and then you’ve got this cool, new generation.’

Other big winners of the night were Joe Lycett, who also received a special award for being a ‘game changer.’

Joe was honoured for how he has inspired social change through comedy, from his campaign against white plastic and confronting Shell on greenwashing, to highlighting inequalities faced by the LGTBQ+ community and challenging David Beckham to relinquish his role as an ambassador for 2022’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

His tour – Joe Lycett: More, More, More! How Do You Joe Lycett? How Do You Joe Lycett? – also won best stand-up show, thanks to a Twitter vote.

The National Comedy Awards is available to stream on All4.

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