Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed is one of the famous faces trying to track down swindling stars on Celebrity Traitors…
Celebrity Traitors star Nick Mohammed made an instant impact on the BBC hit from the get-go, easily solving a fiendishly difficult puzzle in the manner of a man who does five Rubik’s Cubes before breakfast.
Fans of his character Mr Swallow might not be surprised – the comic character is able to memorise a pack of playing cards and Ted Lasso star Nick has said the maths and recall stunts he does are “real and legit” explaining that he learnt them himself.
“My eldest son has an eidetic memory, which is essentially photographic, but mine is good too,” he told the Sunday Post in 2023, speaking about the feats that have gone viral after appearances on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown that left Rob Beckett and Jimmy Carr speechless.
Nick, 45, who was the scheming Nathan in Ted Lasso, studied Geophysics – essentially a study of the Earth – at Durham, having turned down the chance to attend the equally-prestigious University of Cambridge, and played violin in the orchestra. He paid his way through university doing magic at summer balls, parties and weddings.
The funnyman doesn’t say much about his private life, but it is known that he met his wife Becka, who is a teacher, way back in his student days at Durham. The couple tied the knot in 2014, with Nick announcing: “Got married last weekend, this is my niece’s impression of the events,” before adding: “WHAT IS GOING ON NEAR MY WIFE’S CROTCH?””
They have three children together, and their eldest, Finn, appeared alongside him on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. In an interview with The Guardian, Nick was asked about the ‘funniest person’ he knows. In a heartwarming reply, he said: “My wife. Pretty much every day she’ll say something that makes me roar with laughter (which I’ll then secretly write down).”
During his time at Durham, Nick and Becka performed together in the orchestra, though he didn’t make it into the Durham Revue, so he explored the comedy circuit before moving on to study at Cambridge. There, he became part of their renowned Footlights troupe.
It was at this point that he created Mr Swallow, basing the character on his secondary school English teacher. Nick’s alter-ego has brought him considerable success, and he has refined it across stage and screen throughout the years. Additional television recognition came through regular roles in Sorry, I’ve Got No Head, Drifters and Cuckoo.
However, it was Ted Lasso that catapulted him to worldwide stardom, where he appeared alongside the likes of Hannah Waddingham and Jason Sudeikis in the Apple+ comedy. When discussing the possibility of another series, he commented: “Everyone has said if there’s an idea that feels good, we would be all up for it. I would personally go back in a heartbeat!”.
Despite not pursuing music as his primary career, he has still managed to indulge in his love for it. Last year, he hosted the BBC Proms, and fans of Ted Lasso will remember that, portraying his character Nathan Shelley, he genuinely played the violin as the scriptwriters incorporated his particular talent into the storyline.
At the time, he explained that his wife also played a role, saying: “This ep of Ted Lasso is special for lots of reasons… but mostly because it’s my *incredible* wife playing the piano to Arvo Pärt’s ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ with me on my old violin from home. The piece was Jason’s idea: literally translates as ‘mirror in mirror.”
Before going into Celebrity Traitors – where he has been picked as a Faithful – he admitted he didn’t have a game plan, saying: “I think I’ll just try and be quite easy breezy in the first instance. Because, you know, people are going to go right from the off.
“A little further down the line you can maybe start considering strategy – and it also depends on whether I’m made a Traitor or a Faithful. There’s a certain thrill of being made a Traitor, of course. In conversation with BeyondTheJoke, he continued: “If I’m a Faithful, I’ll have that constant worry each night whether I’ll be murdered.
“You can of course be discovered and banished as a Traitor, but I feel that in the first instance, you’re in a little bit more control. So, I would enjoy that element to a degree and I’d love to make the final. That said, I’ve got lovely family at home, so it’s sort of a win, win. When my time is up, I get to go back home and see them!”
However, Nick has one genuine concern about the whole situation. He confessed: “My problem is I do find things very funny, and a lot of people who I’ve worked with will testify that I do often get the giggles. My biggest worry is the moment when the blindfolds are taken off at the start.
Because irrespective of whether I’ve been made a Traitor or a Faithful, I’ll struggle not to smile. So that is a real, genuine worry.”
The Celebrity Traitors returns to BBC One tonight at 9pm
