Mo Gilligan has broken his silence after being called a 'deadbeat dad' by his ex-partner.
Back in July, it was rumoured that the comedian had welcomed a son with model Selina Christoforou in January 2024. It's believed that Christoforou fell pregnant in May 2023, during a brief relationship with the former Masked Singer judge.
Christoforou would later confirm the news on social media and accuse Gilligan of being an absent father, claiming that he had 'ignored' his son's existence.
The 34-year-old also reacted to the news that Gilligan was expecting a second child with his fiancée, Taia Tulher, adding: "Could you not just look after the one you've got. Try and be a dad before you have another one."
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Tulher is understood to have given birth to her and Gilligan's child, a girl, this summer.
Gilligan has now broken his silence for the first time about Christoforou's comments, publicly confirming that he is the father of her child.
Speaking at a work-in-progress comedy routine, the 37-year-old referred to the youngster as a 'very lovely boy' and defended Christoforou.
"He’s a very lovely boy. A very, very lovely boy and despite whatever you see on social media, his mum is a good mum," Gilligan said (via The Sun). "I’m not here to disrespect. That’s the mother of my child."
He continued: "And I would never disrespect her publicly because she’s raising my son. He’s very polite. He’s very kind, he’s very loving."
Gilligan previously acknowledged his paternity over the child, named Rudi, earlier this year by sharing a brief black-and-white video of the tot on social media.
He also made a joke about supporting the child financially during the routine, adding: "If you lot see me on Antiques Roadshow, you’ll be like, 'The rent is due'.
"The minute you lot see me on Strictly in some pink shirt, going, ‘Keep dancing’, you lot will be like, 'Ooh, his baby mama’s not playing'."
Gilligan also opened up on life after becoming a dad more generally, calling it an 'amazing joy'.
"As much as life goes left and right and your career can go different places, I kind of always do it for my family because they keep me the most grounded," he said.
'It’s so weird being a dad now, because the worries I used to have were so small. It’s an amazing joy. It’s interesting. You don’t think of this joy until you actually have children.
"I feel like now I have a sense of purpose."
Brenna Cooper