Brit Awards 2022: Why isn’t Jack Whitehall hosting the Brits this year?

This year’s ceremony is being hosted by Mo Gilligan

The Brit Awards take place on Tuesday 8 February, in a ceremony held at its traditional spot at the O2 Arena in London.

Among the nominees are Adele, Ed Sheeran, Little Simz, Dave and Glass Animals. Many of the nominated acts, including Sheeran and Adele, will also be performing at the event.

One thing missing from this year’s ceremony is Jack Whitehall, who has hosted the Brits for the last four years.

The British comedian told The Independent in a recent interview that he was conscious of not “outstaying [his] welcome”.

“After that first time, I was conscious of not outstaying my welcome,” he said. “I wanted to make sure people still enjoyed seeing me do it.”

This year’s Brit Awards is instead being hosted by Mo Gilligan, whom Whitehall described as “the perfect choice” and “the hottest comedian around right now”.

Mo Gilligan is hosting this year’s Brit Awards (Getty)

“It’ll be strange seeing someone else doing it because it has become a bit of a fixture for me and something that I look forward to each year but I’m sure Mo will do a great job,” Whitehall said.

“I feel, at times, like someone who has won a competition to host the Brits,” Gilligan himself told The Times in an interview this week.

He also revealed that he doesn’t plan on roasting the famous guests in attendance, as Whitehall tends to do, as that’s not his style.

The 2022 Brit Awards will ditch gender-specific categories this year in a bid to make the show more inclusive. This includes new awards for Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year, instead of Best Male and Best Female Solo Artist and Best International Male and Female Solo Artist.

In a statement announcing the change, the Brits said the move came as they wanted to celebrate artists “solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them”.

The 2022 Brit Awards take place on 8 February. You can follow live coverage, news and updates with The Independent on the night.

See the nominations in full here and find out who’s performing live here. Everything else you need to know can be found here.