An American trying to coach football for a UK team might not be everyone's cup of tea but for 870,000 households in the US alone, Ted Lasso is an absolute hit.
As season three airs on Apple TV+, core cast member Nick Mohammed is stepping out on tour with one of his most popular comedy acts - Mr Swallow.
Nick, who plays Nate in Ted Lasso, has over 17 years experience in writing, acting, and stand up under his belt, but this is the first time he's taking his talent on tour with Nick Mohammed presents The Very Best & Worst of Mr. Swallow.
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"I'm always nervous before going on," the 42-year-old told The Mirror, "Always, every time, always. It's not crippling but It's never got easier. I quite like that, I think it's a good feeling to have."
The tour takes his character, Mr Swallow, across the country with 14 shows, starting with London on March 26, 2023, which Nick says he's "really excited for".
"It's kind of a weird thing because obviously I've been kicking and doing live stuff for donkey's years but I've never been on tour. It's just really exciting, especially in character as Mr Swallow," said Nick.
Mr Swallow is one of the comedian's best known characters, with his stints in 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown's dictionary corner regularly going viral. His rendition of the Jurassic Park theme tune has been viewed over nine million times, while his card memory trick has racked up over 12 million views.
The character was inspired by a school teacher, although Nick says he'll never say who exactly. He confessed: "I've been doing that voice since I was, crikey, maybe 14 or 15 and it's based on a woman actually, she never ever knew about it."
Nick said: "I've always shied away from doing pure stand up, partly because I've always liked to hide behind a mask to a degree. I enjoy acting and don't want to give too much of myself away, and so performing a character has always been fun for that."
Fans can see some old favourites from Mr Swallow, including his card tricks and solving Rubik's cubes as well as a new section where he "basically describes the whole of Les Mis". While nerve-wracking to put new bits out, Nick shared that it's heavily scripted and prepared before it sees the light of day.
"I think you have to just go for it," he said. "A lot of it, even when it appears quite spontaneous, it's quite heavily scripted and I do pour over scripts quite a lot before I perform them, it's good for fifth draft by the time I actually try it out for the first time.
"You can never know for sure. And that's part of the thrill. I mean, sometimes it is quite thrilling to actually try something, it keeps you on your toes. I think the audience are very forgiving but quite like seeing you flounder on your feet."
After 25 years of perfecting Mr Swallow, Nick believes he's in the "sweet spot" for the character with the audience in "safe hands", despite the new material that has "crept" into his act.
Tickets for Nick Mohammed presents The Very Best & Worst of Mr. Swallow are available to purchase now from Berk's Nest.
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