Channel 4 will be marking October’s Black History Month with a round of five commissions, including a documenarty on comedy presented by Mo Gilligan.

Black, British and Funny (working title) Mo Gilligan looks at the comedians who paved the way for artists like him and shines a light on the new wave of acts coming through.

Mo started performing live on the Black British comedy circuit; a thriving yet little known about stand-up scene which has been packing out theatres up and down the country for the last 30 years. Now Mo wants to celebrate the icons who paved the way for artists like him and shine a light on the new wave of acts coming through. He’ll look back at the history of the Black comedy circuit, asking why this scene has remained hidden in plain sight and, importantly, question why he is one of the few comedians from the scene who have crossed over and ‘made it’, enjoying mainstream success.

Other documentaries in the series are  Black Hair (w/t), which tells the story of how hair shapes Black experiences in the UK.  Black Love  (w/t) sees prominent Black British couples talk about their relationships and identity through the prism of love.  Also included, Is Covid Racist? w/t  presented by Dr Ronx, this challenging film will investigate why so many of the NHS Covid-19 victims are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups.  And finally, also presented by Dr Ronx,  Are Women The Fitter Sex? will see the Doctor exploring why women are much better at fighting disease than men.

Danny Horan, Head of Factual said;  "I am really excited about the range of programming for Black History Month this year, particularly because we are launching new onscreen talent we hope will become regular faces on Channel 4. This is an important time to reflect, celebrate and consider again what has been achieved and how much more we, as a society and an industry, have to do redress the balance of storytelling, subjects and talent, both on and off screen."