Babatunde Aléshé: ‘Dipsy from the Teletubbies got me into comedy’
Who’s your comedy hero?
Eddie Murphy. How can it not be? Eddie Murphy is the greatest of all time.
Do you have any preshow rituals?
Just to be left alone, that’s the only ritual that I have. Leave me alone, stop talking, allow me to think. No, that’s a lie. I like jumping up and down before I go on stage. I blow raspberries for some reason, for like 20 minutes. It calms me down. It gets the butterflies out of my belly.
How did you get into comedy?
At the age of 17 I met the standup Kojo Anim. I was adamant I wanted to be a comedian, and I took his number. He also gave me the number of another comedian, John Simmit, who happened to be Dipsy from the Teletubbies. He gave me my first show in Croydon.
What’s been one of your all-time favourite gigs?
It would have to be last year; I was in Salford for my Babahood tour. That crowd was amazing. Big up yourself, Salford!
What inspired your forthcoming tour show, High Expectations?
After the last year, doing the Babahood tour, and TV successes here and there, I feel as if there are high expectations from everybody. Not only from fans, friends and family – my wife and my son and baby girl, now I’m a dad of two. I’m a Christian, so there’s high expectations there from God to act properly, too. I feel pressure from every side, which is why I called it High Expectations.
What are you most excited about right now?
I just love hanging with my family. It sounds cheesy but I do. I love visiting new places and trying out new food. I’m back to dating my wife again, we now go on date nights which is really cool, so I get very excited about that.
Who did you look up to when you were first starting out?
Kojo. He was the one that gave me a lot of bookings and showed me the ropes, like how to manoeuvre being a comedian in London at that time.
Can you recall a gig so bad that it’s now funny?
My second gig, which was at Z Bar in Brixton. I was so bad, a lady in the front sucked her teeth. That’s how bad I was. That was the loudest response I got that night. My date never looked at me after I came off stage, so that was a pretty bad gig.
Any bugbears from the world of comedy?
Getting there late. I do not like getting there late so I am very strict with my time, I plan my travel so strict. Lateness, that’s the fear.
Who’s your non comedy hero and why?
My mum is everything – she supports me, has supported my whole career, and she doesn’t ask for a penny, which is why I give her everything.
Babatunde Aléshé: High Expectations is on tour from 10 September-30 November 2025
