Munya Chawawa is a 31-year-old comedian whose satirical online videos made him a lockdown sensation. Viral hits included Craig Covid – Staying In, a Craig David parody, and his brutal takedown of health secretary Matt Hancock in June 2021 to the tune of Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me. Chawawa has since appeared on Taskmaster and has twice been nominated for a Bafta for his documentary work: Race Around Britain in 2022 and last year’s How to Survive a Dictator With Munya Chawawa, about Robert Mugabe. He was born in Derby, grew up in Zimbabwe and Norfolk and now lives in south London.
You were recently on Celebrity Bake Off and you split an apple in two with your hands. When did you learn that was a skill you had?
The thing is, everyone keeps saying to me: “Oh, Bob Mortimer did it first.” Listen, there’s only one true test, isn’t there? Me and Bob Mortimer in the ring, unlimited supply of apples, whoever quits first. These days, the ultimate display of toxic masculinity is YouTuber boxing, and it’s time for some YouTuber apple-splitting with Bob Mortimer, one on one.
Do you have any other party tricks?
I can distinguish between hot and cold water just by sound. So any tap, any flowing water, within maybe a couple of seconds, I’ll be able to tell the temperature of that water. And yeah, look, maybe it’s not a party trick, but it’s a survival trick, I think. Because how many times have you come across a body of water and thought: “I’d love to plunge in. But I just don’t know if it’s boiling hot.”
Can you share the secret of how you do that?
No, I think this is the kind of thing that Marvel needs to be jumping on early doors and saying: “Right, we’ve done Spider-Man. We’ve done the Avengers. Now it’s time for Hot Cold Water Man.”
Was there a moment, or video you made, where you realised that your life was going to change?
Yeah, so we were pretty much told at the beginning of lockdown: “You’re going to be staying in.” And in my mind, I was like: “Well, staying in feels a bit like Fill Me In by Craig David.” And as I was drawing on this moustache, in what I didn’t know at the time was permanent marker, I remember thinking: “This could be something.” It feels like an age ago now; there have been so many things since then that were beyond my wildest dreams: my double Bafta nominations, I’ve done a Netflix series [The Sandman], Taskmaster. My life entirely changed, so yes, I want to thank marker pens, basically.
You are known for responding very quickly: your Matt Hancock video was released four hours after the story broke. Was that an intense pressure to be under?
Let’s just say this, I had to cancel a lot of Nandos. I became the world’s worst friend for a period because we’d book in things and then a politician would get caught doing something on CCTV and I’d be like: “Guys, we’re going to have to postpone.” But to be honest with you, I was so excited during that time, and I still am. What I love about the internet and making satire online is that one video can change your life, because you never know who’s going to see it.
You did a standup tour last year. Why did you want to switch to that form of comedy?
I wanted to do standup because I was terrified of it. So it was a challenge I set myself. I said: “Right, I’ve got a year, I’m going to do 80 gigs before my tour starts.” And I’m not talking about little red-carpet rollout events: I’m talking pubs in Bexleyheath, comedy clubs in Newcastle and Edinburgh. It was basically just leaping and seeing if the net would appear.
And how did it go?
Stormzy came to watch one of my shows in London. And I just heard at one moment, he was up in this seat doing gun fingers, which is a south London sign of approval. That was good enough for me.
Ed Gamble has said you were one of his favourite guests on the Off Menu podcast, because your life has just been so bizarre. Does it feel like that to you?
Look, I want to be the effortlessly cool guy. But weird stuff constantly happens to me. And maybe it’s hereditary. I called up my dad the other day and he sounded a bit down. And he went: “Oh, I’ve just been really dehydrated this week.” And then he went on: “So my eyes have been feeling funny. And so I’m in the gym.” I was just like: “That is such an incohesive thought pattern.” The problem, the symptoms and the solution. First of all, how are you dehydrated for an entire week? And what exercise in the gym is proven to solve dehydration? I couldn’t tell you.
What’s next for you?
Well, excitingly, there’s a lot of stuff I can’t talk about. But my aspirations are to get back into making amazing TV. I want to be the Swiss army knife of TV shows, because I’m up for all of it. And I want to make important TV: my philosophy is I want to do stuff that’s hilarious, but also means something. Basically, everything Joe Lycett is doing at the moment, I’m taking loads of inspiration from that. I don’t think I’ll be as passionate about sewage and toilets as he is. But I’ll find my passion points somewhere else.
You have a vision board at home where you post images of your career goals. What’s on there now?
I’ve made two Bafta-nominated shows and I’m thinking: “Right, cool, I’m coming for that Bafta.” Probably scuba diving as well. Scuba diving is one thing I’m terrified of because I’ve got an irrational fear of sea urchins. I don’t even know why. So yeah, conquering a fear of sea urchins and the Bafta!
Munya Chawawa is on Instagram. He will appear as a panellist on Have I Got News for You on Friday 19 April
