Fatiha El-Ghorri
Comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri talks about her new tour ‘Cockney Stacking Doll’
“I am a baddy with a big heart!” cackles Hackney-born comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri, when asked to describe herself.
Fatiha, who shot to wider fame as a standout on ‘Taskmaster’ last year, kicked off her new tour ‘Cockney Stacking Doll’ at Hackney Empire earlier this month.
She explains: “I call it Cockney Stacking Doll because I am a Cockney. I’m from east London, the East End. And I’m also from the hood. I’m a hood Cockney!”
As for the ‘stacking doll’ part? That came from a confused stranger.
Fatiha recalls: “Somebody asked me once if I was Russian. And I’m like, why would you think I’m Russian? And they said that I look like that doll that goes into itself.
“As soon as you look at me, and you know what that
doll is, you’re like, yep, that makes sense!”
But it’s more than just a look. Fatiha continues: “Those dolls have lots of layers and so do I. When I’m on stage or on TV I’m quite aggressive. But I’m not usually – that’s just one part of me. I do have these other parts. It is just a survival thing.”
This layered personality – the tough outer shell and the ‘big heart’ in the centre – is what audiences can expect from Fatiha’s show, which is now touring across the UK and finishes in Liverpool in January next year.
Fatiha explains: “There’ll be lots of laughs and it’s an introduction to me to anyone that doesn’t know me. There’ll be jokes, some really good stories and some tears as well.”
Fatiha is clearly proud of her roots. Born and bred in Hackney, she grew up as one of 13 siblings in a loud, loving and close-knit Moroccan family.
“Growing up in Hackney was great, it was so mixed,” Fatiha recalls. “We had Irish Travellers, English, Scottish, Malaysian, Jewish, Greek, Jamaican, African, Turkish, Kurdish, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and others living on our estate.
“It was very community-based. All the mums and dads knew each other. If one kid got a bike, they’d let everyone ride it. We all played together.
“If we got sweets we’d go share them with all the other kids. Honestly, it was really nice, it shaped me. I’m a bit old-fashioned and I love that whole community.
“I love knowing who I live next to. I love people saying ‘good morning’ and all that.”
This nostalgia stretches to the local characters who defined her childhood, like Jim, who ran the cornershop on Goldsmith Row.
Fatiha recalls: “We’d go in there and buy penny sweets. I’d go, ‘can I have 5p of those sweets?’ and he’d go, ‘your mum said you’re not allowed any this week’.
“Or I would say, ‘my mum says we need a bag of sugar and she’ll give you the money in the morning’.
“Imagine if I went into Tesco and go, ‘can you allow me a litre of milk?’, they’ll be like, ‘go **** yourself!’”
Beyond the stage, Fatiha’s currently working on her first book, ‘The Perks of my Hijab’, which she describes as semi-autobiographical.
It’s a story about a young girl who starts to wear a hijab, and her struggles embracing it, mixed with family life and ‘a touch of mystery’.
Earlier this year, Fatiha was nominated for a BAFTA television award for her BBC comedy short film ‘Donkey’, where she wore
an incredible Georgia Harding lace dress.
Fatiha says: “I’ve got a very good stylist called Krishan Parmar. I find, being a larger lady, that it’s really difficult to find clothes that fit properly. But he doesn’t see it like that. He’s like, ‘I’m just dressing a body’.
“He always makes me feel beautiful, even when it’s not my usual style. On the night I felt like a princess. I kept on swinging around. It was just the greatest. It felt so good!”
Visit: fatihaelghorri.co.uk