Mo Gilligan stresses importance of championing Black comedic talent after facing ‘concrete ceiling’ in his early days

Mo Gilligan is keen to use his platform to help other Black comics (Picture: JMEnternational/Getty Images)

Mo Gilligan is passionate about championing Black comedic talent, and offering a stage to others thanks to his own success.

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.

He was honoured with the impact award at this year’s comedy awards (Picture: Tom Dymond/Shutterstock)

‘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.’

Mo stressed that the Black comedy scene ‘isn’t a buffet’ (Picture: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock for BAFTA)

He added: ‘So, while everyone was giving me my props, I wanted to give them their props. That was why I started doing things like the documentary, Black, British and Funny, or shows at the O2 to show this amazing scene that some people didn’t even know existed. Do you know what I mean? Funny is funny.’

‘I share this with all the people that have been part of my journey,’ Mo concluded, thanking his friends and family.

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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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‘While everyone was giving me my props, I wanted to give them their props.’