Comedian Mo Gilligan took aim at Miriam Margolyes’ offensive comments towards Andi Peters as he presented an award at this year’s National Television Awards
Mo Gilligan at the NTAs 2026(Image: Getty Images for The NTA’s)
Mo Gilligan jokingly introduced himself as Andi Peters at the NTA Awards as the backlash from Miriam Margolyes’ comments continues. The veteran actress was caught up in a racism row following her shocking chat with the ITV presenter on This Morning last week.
And comic Mo, 38, couldn’t help but make a jibe about the derogatory incident. Making light of the moment, Mo introduced himself to the audience as he presented the Factual Entertainment award at The 02 Arena in London.
He said before announcing the category nominees: “f you know me, I’m Mo Gilligan. And if you don’t know me, then I’m Andi Peters.”
The joke received mixed opinion by online viewers. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “Mo Gilligan does make me laugh.” But the laughter wasn’t universal as another complained: “That joke fell flat as a pancake.”
Mo’s jibe comes after Miriam, 85, labelled Andi “high yella”. She told the presenter on Thursday: “That’s what they call it in America when someone isn’t deeply black.”
Noticing the issue, Andi tried to play it down during the live segment. The presenter then pointed to his earpiece and revealed that bosses were intervening, explaining that they were “getting nervous”.
But Miriam continuied: “There are shades and this is what we have to incorporate. Don’t be nervous, we welcome everybody. That’s what I want to write about in my book, it’s about inclusion.”
According to the Merriam-Webster US dictionary, the term which is sometimes spelt high yaller, is defined as a dated and often offensive piece of slang used to describe a black person with a light complexion.
Miriam caused further uproar as she tried to diffuse the situation. During an audience performance, Miriam attempted to explain what she was trying to say, but brought about more fume.
The Harry Potter actress said: “I didn’t want to embarrass or hurt Andi because he seems very nice. I’d never met him before; I didn’t know who he was and I didn’t know he was black until I saw him.
“When you see someone, of course you know they’re black. I wanted to know what he thought about it because that’s what interests me.”
She went on: “How do black people feel? How do brown people feel? How do fat people feel? You see what I mean? All of us feel something about who we are and how people see us, what they think of us.”
As she get deeper into her discussion, she was cut off by the show’s host on the evening, who interjected: “In other words you wanted to discuss his identity with him.”
Miriam agreed, adding: “They are the people that interest me, not the celebrities so much. It’s everybody. What their story is, what made them who they are, why you are the way you are.”
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