NICK MOHAMMED: What It’s Really Like on Celebrity Traitors | GREAT MOMENTS

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2:37Hello everyone, I'm Jamie Lang and this is Great Moments. Hey everyone, I hope you're well and welcome back to Great Moments. Now, if you're new here, this is the place where I'm going to bring you a standout moment from one of my favorite great company conversations. These are the moments that have stayed with me long after the recording, and I hope you can take something away from them. Now, if today's conversation leaves you wanting more, you can find the link to the full episode in the show notes. So sit back, settle in, and here it is.

3:09Can we talk about traitors? We can. Have you been asked to do it? I'd love to see you on it. I would love it. Oh, come on, Jamie. I know the booker, I'll ask. I'm trying to ease my way towards it. I actually wrote about it. Did you? Yeah, I wrote about that final scene with... I think you put a really kind Instagram post. I think I remember seeing that, yes. Because it was so beautiful. Because Alan, obviously being the traitor, and as an audience, you know this throughout. Of course you do, right? So it's panto. And so obvious when you watch it back. And probably not in there, right? You probably don't see it as much.

3:43I mean, categorically not, no. but what was so incredible about it is that i think nick you you you felt so wise throughout and you felt it felt like as an audience member you had ever you were like i know everyone's number i've got this i thought i'd worked it out you thought you were playing this amazing game and when it got to that last bit it was almost like you were looking at alan going we've got this yeah oh it was so that because alan alan was one of i should say about alan as well he brightened up every single day of that whole experience and i was there for like you know nearly three weeks a long time to spend when you get to the end yeah and there is a psychological and my wife was just so phenomenal because we obviously we discuss anything that i am going to take on which is possibly going to take me away from home but we were both such big fans of that show but there was a weird psychological thing of and especially with the kids of like you don't you don't know when you're going to go you know whether you're a traitor or a faithful you know your time could be up on day one or day two it could be up you know after three weeks whatever So that was a slightly odd thing, but we were like both, okay, let's just go.

4:45It's mad. Like the whole thing is mad. Are you competitive? It felt like, are you not competitive? Well, like yes and no. I think once I got into my groove, I'm like, oh, this is actually, I like this. And I'd never done really anything as me. I mean, I'd done Taskmaster, but even then I sort of put Dracula makeup on because I was still a little bit uncomfortable being me. Whereas this was just, you know, warts and all. and you very quickly, and you'll know from reality telly, but you just very quickly sort of get numb to the cameras actually and you end up just being quite... Why are you so afraid to...

5:17Why do you feel so... Because having met you now, you're the most charming, most easy... I wouldn't say it's fear. I think it's just more about wanting to just keep something of myself... Self to yourself. And because I want to act as well and I do character stuff, I don't want to kind of give too much away because I think, you know, there was one bit of me when I was offered traitors, I just sort of thought, do I even want to just expose myself in that way? But then equally, I was like, who am I to turn this down? And I think by that point, like Stephen Fry had already said yes. Tom Daly had said yes.

5:48I think Claire Balding, Alan and other people. And I was like, oh, I mean like, and I loved the show. But oh my goodness, it was like, it was thrilling. And there were times, and particularly at the start, I was convinced I was going to be gone right at the start, like right at the start. Yeah. And I think if you watch it back, Me and Lucy were so convinced that we were... That was it. That was it. Because I remember after watching, well, I'd watched all of the British series and I remember spotting this pattern that the last two in at breakfast are often the people who've been considered as being murdered because that's how they kind of edit it together.

6:30So there's like, oh, and who's it going to be out of those three people? It could be between this and this and then the next episode is like, and the reveal it's this person. And I remember coming into the first breakfast and it was me and like Lucy and maybe Celia or Stephen who were the last in. And I was like, oh God. So I'm right. And then Claudia walks in and said, no one's been murdered. And I was like, oh relief. And she says, well, actually one of you has, but it was done in plain sight. So I was already like, oh, maybe that still means it's one of us. And then I don't know if you remember that whole funeral thing, the went paloma.

6:57I got in one of the coffins, genuinely believing it was me. Was that on TV? It was, yeah. They did show it because I, there was clues as to who it might be getting in the coffins. And I, but I was so dead certain it was me anyway. There was like one clue, which I think pointed towards Taskmaster. Like, well, that's me forgetting that like four or five people had also been in Taskmaster. And I just got in and I was like, that's it. And I was so gutted. And then when it wasn't me and I got out, I honestly, my heart was raised. I couldn't believe it. And then every day, every morning, honestly, you got this rush of like, I think it's me, I think it's me.

7:28Like you get so into the game. Of course you do, because that's your whole world. Yeah. And that moment where Alan revealed he was a traitor and you all came together as like this amazing, beautiful, like vulnerable moment of just like, there was tears and it was just, it was like a, just a perfect example of showing vulnerability and showing what real quality TV can do. And we have slightly forgotten that because of social media and TikTok and everything, but actually that is... One of the nice things actually about Traitors, and it was true with the most recent normal version, which I thought was fantastic, is that because everyone's now so aware, it's such a beloved show, people are so concerned about getting spoilers.

8:16They have to come off social media and they have to watch it when it goes out. So it is literally like the olden days when people would all get together, watch it together, and it's an episode every day or once a week or whatever it is, because you can't, if you catch up, if you're trying to do catch up on it, you can't really, because you'll probably hear the spoilers or see it in the press or something like that the next day. So it was just one of those shows. I mean, it felt the closest it must be to be a sports person, I guess, in that there was a real live quality to it, even though obviously it was pre-recorded.

8:47And to hold on to the secrets as well for so long was a weird thing because I came out of that castle like May the 9th, 2025 or something, and it didn't come out until like mid-October that year. So for a good period of like, you know, five plus months or whatever, it almost became like it didn't happen. It was because we couldn't talk about it because you can't give anything away and the press, you know, don't know anything about it. So there's no furore about it until it comes out. So it just almost felt like, was this just a surreal dream? And knowing particularly how it played out with betraying Joe as well and how that kind of came about with Alan winning was just madness.

9:20Just fantastic. Who do you think is the one to watch for the next series? oh my god i just when when i saw that list and i know quite a few of the comics particularly who who are doing it and um i just think it's such i mean i have no idea because and i listened to um uh i think it must have been the richmond osmond and marina hyde podcast yeah rest entertainment talk about um their the new lineup of people going in and um and they were sort of saying who would make good traitors and actually every single combination of people you think of you think oh that'd be good oh that'd be good oh i'd like to see them as that that's what's so good about it and i think that's the thing about the show is it's all about it's not necessarily about an individual it's about like a dynamic of people and um i cannot i cannot express enough how excited i'm talking amul rajan oh i love amul yeah i was at university with them all were you yeah yeah he's so great yeah he's so great yeah he's so great yeah yeah yeah we had a chat just before we went up and I said look if if if his other half if she wants to talk to Becca whilst you're up there because it is a very specific thing I think totally like big shout out to partners of people in kind of creative industry because like they are doing so much I mean Becca does so much like to kind of just keep the household running and keep the world together and keep me in check and kind of keep the kids just sort of like just you know she makes that so easy she is literally phenomenal she's also the coolest person in the world incredible yeah how she how she manages the world and also because you know one minute i could be trying out really bad mr swallow material and the next we might be at like a glitzy event and it's really fun and like to sort of is a slight psychological kind of like roller coaster i think this industry um but she's just very like i mean it helps that she's she's not part you know she's a teacher she's a musician she's a brilliant musician and so so her stories from work and so on are very different to like stories that we so so we kind of we can offload to each other uh about our own very specific kind of problems and it kind of makes us both realize like oh there that's fine like those are first four problems really and uh it's all good what is the greatest thing about your wife the greatest thing about her i mean it is her sense of humor i mean for sure i mean she she is she's funnier than you oh oh but like a billion percent my wife is so i mean like really really funny i mean she's incredibly beautiful talented and has this amazing heart and incredible with the kids and a brilliant musician and teacher and everything but her sense of you i mean that that is undoubtedly like her and i will go to the grave like laughing like laughing because i mean there's one story i will not ever repeat but it was the grimmest thing that happened to both to both of us yeah and um and and and we're in a hospital, and we were finding some...

12:08I mean, it was really dark, but we were... And it didn't affect... It was us to laugh. It was our thing to laugh at. You know, we weren't laughing at anybody else, but oh my goodness. And we all refer back to that sometimes. We're like, oh God, that was proper Galo's humor. And we... But she is so funny. So funny. And like... But I mean like proper like observational comic funny. Yeah, actually, just genius. Oh, like incredible. Without knowing she's probably genius. Like just one-liners. And I'll just like write them all down. Sophie, my wife, is the same. she says these i'm like you know you're comedy gold at times she's like what it's like so yeah what do you think the secret is to a happy marriage then i think perspective like like perspective i mean like you know it's not it's not to say that you're not gonna have disagreements and things like that like of course you are but but it's just that nice thing at the end of the day you can still sort of have that kind of perspective on it and just sort of come together and sort of look at things and think it's all right i mean look we're really lucky and and stuff like that we're so lucky with our kids and we have such a great time with them and it is man And we're often exhausted and Becca, you know, even more so, but still we'll see the fun side and still make it fun for them.

13:11What was your first ever audition? Do you remember it? Oh, that's a really good question. Did you have to audition for Footlights? Yes, I did. Very much so. Well, my very first, if you really kind of go further back is, so I studied at Durham University and then started doing postgrad stuff at Cambridge. And you did geology at Durham? Yeah, geophysics. So yeah, like geology with maths. but yeah um and I auditioned for the Durham Review which is like the equivalent of like the comedy sketch group in Durham but I didn't get in and I and they only had one audition a year so you could only really audition once a year which was a shame really and I auditioned I think two years on the trot and didn't get in um but but I still quite like mates with them and occasionally they would ask me to sort of and I think I remember like emceeing one of their gigs um because I think someone had pulled out but I did like quite a lot of magic within that um and so so yeah so I was kind of by the time i got to cambridge and i and not that i comedy was like a big plan i thought i was going to go into academia frankly or or if anything you wanted to be a geologist didn't you a geophysicist yeah which is what what is a geophysicist oil i mean it's probably quite bad now but but i mean it was at the time it was i think my phd was sponsored by multiple oil companies and then yeah but i didn't complete it so i don't feel bad yeah fine hey listen um so so certainly a career in entertainment was not like it's not really it wasn't a thing it was like it was such It's such a hobby almost.

14:28Yeah, yeah. And even, I think I vaguely considered, just because I knew some people who were going, some of those Durham review people actually, who were going to go to drama school after university. And I just, I remember, I just remember, I have a really vivid memory of just going onto like the Lambda website and just having a little look at it. And then just thinking, absolutely not. Like I just wouldn't. What, imposter syndrome? Complete imposter syndrome. I mean, but also I wouldn't have had the skillset, frankly. But yes, a hefty dollop of imposter syndrome for sure. but I remember auditioning then for Footlights and actually what was great about Footlights is you could effectively well the first audition which is called so the the um the sketch shows that they did every two weeks were called Smokers and the first one was called The Virgin Smoker and it's basically for anyone who was new joining that year and it basically meant everyone got in so you'd still audition but everyone would get in and even if it was like 30 people doing like little two three minute sketches and it would be quite a long night but um so I remember doing that and then and then I just remember auditioning every two weeks and and and I think most of the time I kind of got in and then you became I became really good friends with a lot of those people and then you know the auditions were not that like oh you'll automatically get in but it was just very much like well if you're part of this group who really love doing it because it's not like everyone wanted to do it every week or anything um and you know I all those people I mean I absolutely adore and still good friends so my kind of cohort was like Simon Bird and Joe Thomas and Johnny Sweet sarah solemani so we were all there at the same time and just the year before was like tom basden and tim key and all that lot stephan golejewski so loved him oh god i love them all i mean they're just phenomenal and have all and i say this genuinely all were so supportive back then and to this day are also still support like we'll all like tim came to see my miss follow tour like showed like last month like like like we're always wow you guys known each other since you were kids yeah like like like early 20s like yeah yeah so it's sort of it's wonderful that and i feel so lucky and that is one thing and again it's a real privilege to say but one thing that going to cambridge did like like this idea that it's possible to to gave you that confidence yeah it did because i possibly didn't have that fully at that point and it did make me think well actually there are plenty of people who have kind of come before me who have actually managed to make it work out for a career.

16:48So you can sort of dare to dream. I mean, it's certainly not a guarantee by any means, you know, just because you've gone to a university, A, it certainly doesn't make you funny because it's not, you know, funny is so subjective. And so it was not a guarantee ever, but it certainly did make me think, well, maybe I can be slightly blindly optimistic about this and that's not so much a bad thing. And all that lot have gone into it. Because you have to be, you have to have a little bit of delusion. You have to have a slight bit, right? You do, because otherwise you'd probably give up after your last bad gig, you know, because it's so horrible to kind of go through.

17:20But you have to sort of come back and think, no, no, no, I can do better. And there's definitely a tipping point. And it's never really a specific point. It's usually probably over a period of like six months where it's probably the transition between, am I going to give this up? Or is this now my career and I'm now dead set on this kind of being the thing that I'm aiming for? And you kind of make, you have to sort of psychologically make that decision, I guess. When was that point for you, do you think? For me, it was relatively early. And it was because I was doing my PhD at the time. So, and it was a sponsored PhD.

17:53So it was, you know, I was being paid to do it. So it was a proper thing. And, but yeah, a very specific point. I remember I'd done one year of the PhD and it was approaching the summer and I got into the Footlights tour show. So that was a show that was, so I'd auditioned for that. And that was quite life-changing actually, because basically they could only afford to send five of you up to the Edinburgh Fringe because your accommodation is basically paid for. And so it can't be like a show with like 20 people in. And so, you know, they only choose five. And so they had quite a rigorous audition process for that.

18:23And I remember just sort of wanting it so much. And I remember the day getting the email and I sat in my little office with two other PhD students. And I saw that email come through and I sort of scrolled down and I saw my name. And I could not believe, I could not believe it. I've got the email, I printed it, I've got the email. and I and because of course I there was no guarantee that that would ever lead to a career in it at all but it felt like this is at the time this was massive for me but I then had to get permission from my supervisor to then take basically two months off because I was going to be away in August for the fringe and then there was like a little tour afterwards in September and so and I had a load of field book to do before then in Faroe so I remember like June of July of that year pretty much been up in the in the Faroe Islands and I remember coming back and then leaving to then basically go up to Edinburgh.

19:09I remember looking back at the Bullard Laboratories where I was based, and it was such a romantic thing, but I remember so specifically looking back and knowing that I would never come back.

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