Eating fried chicken for 28 days in a row almost broke me, says Mo Gilligan
SLUMPED in a chair in his hotel room, eyes blood-shot and his mood low, comedian Mo Gilligan is a shadow of his normal self.
His mission — to eat only fried chicken for 28 days in a bid to discover what it does to our bodies — had at first sounded like a fast-food dream come true.
But the challenge quickly took its toll, piling weight on the happy-go-lucky entertainer, sending him into a depression, increasing his chances of developing diabetes and leaving him barely able to recognise himself in the mirror.
Addressing the camera in his dimly lit room, a visibly broken Mo says: “I’m eating this food and I don’t feel like myself.
“I look in the mirror and I don’t look like myself. I feel so low.”
Mo, 38, has teamed up with Netflix for a new special, Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy, which echoes Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me, in which he munched only McDonald’s grub for a month.
In one harrowing scene from Mo’s documentary, he breaks down in tears as he struggles with the physical and emotional effects of his diet.
During the show, he travels to visit so-called food deserts where grub is limited and pop-up takeaways are the only option.
Chicken is often seen as a healthier alternative to a burger. But in reality, more and more natural and artificial flavourings and preservatives are being added to fried poultry, which can lead to dire health consequences.
Some has even been found to contain dimethylpolysiloxane — an ingredient used in kids’ silly putty and the manufacturing of condoms.
Mo tells the film: “I’ve met a lot of experts over the last couple of days.
“You know, one of the ingredients, they also put it in condoms for lubrication. Who knew that went into a burger? So many things go into it that are artificially engineered to give you a better experience and get you to come back for more.”
Speaking exclusively to The Sun ahead of the show’s release on Wednesday, Mo said he felt it was crucial for viewers to see how far the TV experiment pushed him — even when he desperately wanted to switch the cameras off.
He explained: “Being paid to eat fried chicken sounds like the dream. In my head I was like, ‘Well, I like eating fried chicken, I want to know more about it’.
“But it quickly turned into a nightmare.”
Mo — who is a judge on ITV’s The Masked Singer with regulars Maya Jama, Jonathan Ross and Davina McCall — continued: “Look, I do a job that’s very front-facing and in the public eye. I’d be lying if I said I don’t care about my image, especially if I’m eating fried chicken every day.
“Eating the food was something that I was a bit self-conscious of, but also knowing that in the space of a few days, I went from a large in my T-shirt size to an extra large because of what I’m eating.”
Mo underwent a medical assessment before and after the TV experiment.
Over the 28 days, he gained 1½in around his stomach, felt his mood skydive and saw his chances of developing diabetes increase. But despite no longer fitting into some of his clothes, Mo insists he will not use fat jabs as a quick slimming fix.
Shockingly, one spicy chicken sandwich from US chain Popeyes, which came to the UK in 2021, contains a massive 142 ingredients.
Health Professor Laura Schmidt said: “These companies are doing everything they can to make it cheap, make it convenient and to make it taste irresistible. If you see 45 ingredients and they are chemicals you don’t recognise, it is probably ultra-processed.”
She added: “Natural and artificial flavours. That’s the question mark, as it’s a bunch of chemicals they don’t have to list and those chemicals may not be regulated as there is a loophole in the federal regulation in the US. Even in Europe, when they go to regulate a chemical additive, they ask the company to prove it’s safe. In the US they don’t. The companies decide what is safe. These foods promote chronic disease. This is the big concern for our health.”
Mo, who has been touring America, insists that if anything, doing the documentary has made him more committed to his fitness.
But the comic — who played football when he was younger and now enjoys running — stressed that, regardless of your diet, nobody needs to go to extremes to benefit their health.
He reveals: “I do love my fitness, man. I love it, especially because I travel a lot on tour.
“All I need is a gym, some equipment and some gym shoes. I think when it comes to exercise, people think you must be doing a 5k. But you don’t have to be totally extreme to lose weight. As I learned, a ten-minute walk can burn calories.”
Sales of fried chicken have exploded since the 1960s.
In the UK, we spend an incredible £12million on it every day.
Britain now boasts more than 6,000 fried chicken shops, with London Road in South London having some 20.
In comparison, Tesco has 3,010 stores and Sainsbury’s has 1,485. In the doc, Mo says: “I only remember one chicken shop growing up.
“Now, one road alone has more than 20.
“In central London, you have your more gourmet ones, something from the US. Then the further you go out, they don’t even have names any more.
“DFC, MFC, we know the FC is fried chicken, but what is the M?
“PFC. What is that? Perfect Fried Chicken? . . . I have no idea.
“This bird is big business.”
Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy has been created by documentary maker Louis Theroux’s team.
And Mo is proud of showing his emotions on film.
He said: “I think men do need to be more comfortable speaking about how we feel in the moment as well with our other friends, other guys.
“It will definitely break the silence. As men, we need to speak up and be like, ‘I feel low in myself’ or, ‘I don’t look how I want to look’ or, ‘I don’t feel how I want to feel’.
“It’s really important for me to be my authentic self on camera.”
Last week, Mo was confirmed for series eight of The Masked Singer.
And he insists he is not making a concerted effort to crack America.
He says: “When I think of America, I always say they are great at exporting entertainment and fast food. I’m quite fortunate that I’ve had three Netflix specials and they go all around the world.
“So if it lands me in America, I’m here for that. But if it takes me to Australia or Africa, it’s equally good for me.
“I’m really fortunate I’ve been able to tick off doing all the things I wanted to do and some of the things I never thought I would be able to do as well.
“Now, being in this space and making hopefully an impactful documentary . . .
“I really enjoy this subject and seeing where it goes and telling it to the rest of the world.”
Meanwhile, away from this serious project, Strictly Come Dancing and I’m A Celebrity regularly try to recruit Mo as a contestant.
He said: “They do come knocking. Yeah . . . not just yet. But never say never.”