Brits 2023: Nerves? I’m more worried about my trousers splitting, says host Mo Gilligan
Mo Gilligan has revealed his biggest fear as he returns to host the Brits is his suit “malfunctioning”.
The south London comedian will take the helm of the biggest night in British music on Saturday after a successful debut last year.
It is the first time that the awards have taken place on a Saturday night and will feature performances from some of the biggest names in music, including Stormzy, Lizzo, Becky Hill and Harry Styles.
But 34-year-old Gilligan — known as “Mr Saturday Night” thanks to his appearances on The Masked Singer and That’s My Jam — is not worried about the award show changing to a weekend date, in fact he’s thriving on it.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “To come back and do it for a second time is a big honour and to do it the first time was a big deal, so the second opportunity is going to be really fun but most importantly we’re going to make it a really cool award show.
“My only nightmare would be my suit malfunctioning. If my trousers split or if I got hot and got sweat underneath my armpits going through the suit, that would be my main thing, but other than that I’m only human as well, if I miss a step and I stumble it just shows how normal I am.
“But if there’s a suit malfunction then, I’m like, ‘ah man, why? Why today?’”
He said he hopes the shift to a prime time weekend slot will make it “feel bigger for everyone watching at home”. He also acknowledged that there’ll be a lot more “people letting their hair down” but isn’t fretting over unscripted moments.
The Bafta winner said: “You can never prepare for anything that’s on live TV, anything could happen, at any time, any place, anywhere.
“If you do [prepare], you’re probably going to pre-empt it enough and it will end up happening so it’s best to stick to the job at hand and hopefully it runs smooth.
“Award shows have become a bit chaotic anyway, judging by the Oscars last year (referring to Will Smith’s onstage slap of Chris Rock). I don’t think the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle has ever left.”
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Adding: “Also award shows are moments in history, which we sometimes forget. We get that snapshot in real-time.
“As much as there are moments of chaos, there’s also a lot of calm and iconic moments as well, like Geri Halliwell in her Union Jack dress or Lil Simz bringing her mum up on stage for example. That’s what I think is kind of cool about award shows today.”
He wouldn’t be drawn on the controversy surrounding this year’s awards — after a switch to gender neutral categories saw no women nominated for Best Artist.
“I think that question is for the powers-that-be who nominate people or decide those things”, he said. “It’s not even saying it’s above my paygrade but if you want to ask me my opinions on music, I don’t really listen to current music anyway so it’s kind of a lost opinion really.”
Now about to take on his second Brits, much like Davina McCall, Jack Whitehall and James Corden before him, Gilligan said the career feat won’t “sink in” until they go live at London’s O2 Arena - an honour he is “really excited about”.
He reflected: “The fact I get to do it still doesn’t sink in until the camera pans around and they say, ‘and we’re live’ then I’m like, ‘this is a real thing? I thought we were just having a bit of a laugh’ but I’m looking forward to it.”
The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard airs Saturday, February 11 on ITV and ITVX at 8.30pm
