The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan

After he picked up the Entertainment Performance Bafta for the first series of The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan in 2020, the eponymous comedian and presenter revealed he’d found the perfect place for this award.

He told Channel 4: “I keep it right next to the TV! It feels quite fitting that sometimes when I’m watching TV I just sneak it a few glances…”

However, after winning the award for Entertainment Programme this month, it seems Mo may be running out of room next to the telly. He tweeted a picture of his three statuettes (including one he picked up for his role in the Big Narstie Show), saying: “Hey Ikea, do you sell glass cabinets? Asking for a friend.”

Perhaps we shouldn’t bet against him adding even more (he’s already got three Royal Television Awards as well), as Mo is definitely on a roll.

He first found fame online, when the comedy videos he uploaded between shifts working in retail gained him a big following on social media.

More traditional media quickly followed and in 2018 he became the co-host of Channel 4’s The Big Narstie Show, before landing his own series, The Lateish Show, the following year.

He then proved he can go from cult late-night Channel 4 to primetime Saturday night ITV when he joined the Masked Singer as a judge. Mo also hosted this year’s Brit Awards and has helmed a one-off revival of The Big Breakfast, and there have even been rumours that he’s being eyed up for potential US stardom after his Netflix special There’s Mo to Life proved to be a transatlantic hit.

The comedian admits that the sheer speed of his rise would have come as a surprise to his younger self, saying: “I think he could have seen it happen but not this quickly. A lot has happened in the last four or five years where I look back and I’m like oh my god, I’ve done that, and that, and that…

“Sometimes I do pinch myself when looking through my camera roll and thinking oh wow, I remember doing that, that was awesome. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world and go to places I never thought I’d get to.

There’s still so much I want to try and accomplish though!”

But despite his meteoric rise, it seems he hasn’t forgotten the role Channel 4 played in launching his career.

During his recent heartfelt Bafta acceptance speech, he said: “In 2017, when I got offered a show, my mental health wasn’t in the best place, and Channel 4 brought me into a massive building… at a time when I was going to a lot of these meetings, and people would say ‘oh you’re really good, but we don’t know what to do with you’. And Channel 4 trusted me and they let me be myself to bring black boy joy to the screens.”

And now they’re letting him do it again as The Lateish Show returns for a third run, with guests including Top Boy actor and musician Ashley Walters, comedian and Loose Woman Judi Love, and dancehall legend Sean Paul.