...and how he's always accused of 'box-ticking'

He has become one of British television’s most recognisable faces – but now Mo Gilligan has opened up about the hidden costs of success in both financial, and emotional terms.

Speaking to Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast today, the comic told of how he got into financial difficulties in  the early days of his stand-up career – partially because he wanted to dress well on stage.

Although he says that some people told him to ‘dress down as a comic’ he pressure from the black circuit ‘to be a bit flashy because you can’t be raggedy’. So he spent money on good clothes, while feeling he couldn’t wear the same outfits from gig to gig, plunging him deep into credit card debt.

‘I didn’t really understand the credit card,’ he said. ‘The interest was something stupid… 250 per cent  APR or something like that. 

‘And you’re like, oh, at the time you’re like, that’s minor, man. It’s only until the year it kicks in. Then I’d borrow money from like a money lender. Which was super easy to do because again, it’s aimed at someone who doesn’t have money. And then I’d borrow money from another lender to then pay back the money, and then when I’d get money from a gig or a show, then I’d have to pay that money back out plus interest. 

‘So, it wasn’t bad that in a sense that I was crippling in debt, but it was definitely playing catch-up where you’re like, "I really need this show to come through". 

‘I remember once it snowed and all my shows got cancelled, and you’re like, "Oh man, I’ve missed out on £300 and that was at a time where I probably owed £300 to a money lender. 

‘So, I never got into masses of debt, like 10 grands of worth of debt, but I was always big into things like trainers and a lot of streerwear fashion places like Supreme and a ton of like Jordan creps.

‘So it got to a place where I’ve got to sell those nice trainers that I’ve always liked to make some money and pay back whoever I need to pay back or I need to get to this gig and I don’t have the money, so let me sell this really nice coat that I got. Because I can get the money back.’

He said that stand-up didn’t help with money management  because when you first start, you get paid cash in hand, which is amazing. When you first tell a joke and a promoter says, "oh great, thanks a lot, man. There’s £50". And you say, oh my God, I’ve just earned this money in my hand from telling some material. 

‘But because the job is so volatile… You’re told you’re going to get paid £200. And the day before the show, the promoter says, "We didn’t say enough tickets, show’s cancelled." And now you’re like, "Oh, I kind of needed that money. And there’s nothing you can do. There’s no union. You can definitely go down a bit of a black hole. 

He also told Day about how he felt he repeatedly had to prove himself despite his commercial success – with online comments telling him he’s only doing well because he’s ‘ticking a box’.

‘I’ve been doing this job, on a mainstream platform anyway, for just over 10 years. And sometimes it does feel hard, because you still  feel like you have to prove yourself’– citing producers reluctant to give him jobs such as hosting the Brits or a primetime BBC show, despite having hosting his own Bafta-winning show elsewhere. 

‘You do definitely have to keep constantly proving yourself,’ he said. ‘The minute I started getting success it was almost this, "yeah, but you’re only there because you’re ticking a box essentially".  

‘These are things that you would see online… those things are sometimes hard  because you’re like, "No, I’m really good in my field’, not even trying to hype myself up, but I put a lot of time and effort into the execution of something that feels so seamless and so effortless when it’s displayed on television. 

‘There is also the pressure of being on the platform of  TV. Knowing that you have to represent your community in a space that isn’t always represented, but also you are in the forefront of mainstream television on a Saturday night where little boys and girls up and down the country are not seeing someone that looks like [their] dad or [their] uncle. There is a lot of pressure that comes with that.

‘But also sometimes I do lean into that pressure because that pressure is sometimes the fuel that lights the fire in me sometimes… knowing that I am also a voice for a community that doesn’t also get their voices heard. That feels like a lot of responsibility. 

‘But at the same time, it is also quite enriching as well to be on a show and be unapologetically myself. That’s also the privilege that comes with the pressure.’

• How to Fail with Elizabeth Day is available on all major podcast platforms now, while Gilligan's latest stand-up speical, In The Moment, landed on Netflix last week.

Published: 11 Feb 2026