Fatiha El-Ghorri on Taskmaster, Divorce & Accidentally Becoming a Comedian

From accidentally discovering stand-up through a pop-up ad to becoming a breakout star of Taskmaster, Fatiha El-Ghorri’s route into comedy has been anything but conventional. Fatiha joins Mo Gilligan for a hilarious, honest and surprisingly emotional conversation about the reality behind her rise — including starting comedy after her second divorce, being heckled as a Muslim woman, dealing with the pressure of representing a community and why giving her unsolicited comedy advice might be a very bad idea. She also opens up about what viewers never saw during Taskmaster: while she was making people laugh on screen, Fatiha was privately going through a painful breakup and crying between takes. Plus, Fatiha talks about her huge family, her debut tour Cockney Stacking Doll, Edinburgh nerves, her upcoming novel The Peaks of My Hijab and the moment her success allowed her to send her mum on a pilgrimage. 0:00 Intro 0:14 Life Is Busy & The Code-Switch Voice 1:11 The Snapchat Comedy Gig Disaster 1:56 Growing Up in Hackney & Bethnal Green 3:03 Growing Up With 12 Siblings 4:52 How Fatiha Got Into Stand-Up Comedy 6:17 First Gig Nerves & The Comedy Community 7:24 Being The Only Minority On The Line-Up 8:31 Being A Muslim Woman In Stand-Up 9:44 The Risks of Crowd Work 10:30 Mo Gets Threatened After A Gig 12:12 Finding Your Voice & Commanding The Stage 13:17 Addressing Your Identity On Stage 14:43 Building Trust With An Audience 15:05 Mo Gilligan on Hosting & Setting The Tone 16:30 Taskmaster, TV Success & A Difficult Breakup 18:07 Performing Comedy While Going Through Real Life 19:35 Can Comedy Help You Through Tough Times? 20:20 Fatiha Nearly Fights Two Hecklers 21:42 The Pressure of Representing Your Community 22:50 Criticism From The Muslim Community 24:23 “I’m A Muslim Author, Not An Islamic Author” 24:57 The Pressure of Fatiha’s First Tour 27:10 Making Her Edinburgh Fringe Debut 28:37 Why Mo Doesn’t Perform At Edinburgh Anymore 30:22 Pre-Show Rituals & Ignoring Unwanted Advice 31:37 Fatiha’s Prayer Before Going On Stage 33:12 When A Host Ruins Your Introduction 34:04 Why Life Experience Makes Better Comedy 35:23 Can You Tell When A Comedian Has Writers? 37:05 Family Reactions To Fatiha’s Success 38:12 Sending Her Mum On Umrah 40:06 What’s Next For Fatiha’s Career? 41:12 Starting Comedy Later In Life 41:42 Gigging Six Nights A Week For Eight Years 42:49 Why Hard Work Matters More Than Hype 43:33 Advice For Anyone Wanting To Try Stand-Up 44:13 Why Stand-Up Is Harder Than It Looks 46:03 What’s Really Going Through A Comic’s Head On Stage 47:52 When Audience Members Walk Out Mid-Show 48:28 The Man Who Fell Asleep In Mo’s Front Row 49:03 Could A Netflix Comedy Special Be Next? 49:24 Mo Reflects On Fatiha’s Journey 50:42 Outro & Subscribe Welcome to my YouTube Channel! Subscribe for brand new stand up, behind the scenes action, sensational podcast content and exclusives from the MOMO G Network. Comment, like, share and tell us what you think. Follow Mo on Twitter/Instagram:   / mothecomedian   |   / mothecomedian   Like the page on Facebook:   / mogilligan   Join the Mo Gilligan mailing list on www.mogilligan.com for updates on shows and events.