I’ll be proud to have my ma on my arm at the Emmys
Baz Ashmawy is up for an award tonight... but Nancy will keep him grounded
‘It’s a once in a lifetime thing just to get nominated’ ‘Nancy is excited, that’s what I’m happiest about’
TONIGHT 12 million people across America will tune in to watch the hottest names in television stride the red carpet at the annual International Emmy Awards. The fame-hungry Kardashian family will fight for camera space alongside fan favourites, the Game Of Thrones cast. Unlikely to cause a paparazzi frenzy, yet equally proud to be a part of the show, will be a quiet, unassuming Co. Wicklow mother and her slightly brasher son.
Baz Ashmawy and his mum, Nancy, are nominated in the non-scripted reality category for their beautifully warm TV series 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy. Among the Gucci, Versace and Tom Ford tuxedos, Baz will vie for attention in his stylish navy suit by Louis Copeland, which matches Nancy’s blue velvet gown from Arnotts.
Yet should you search inside the pockets of that jacket, the one thing you won’t find is an acceptance speech. Baz has refused to write one, insisting they are already winners simply by getting nominated.
‘Write a speech, are you mad? We’re not going to win, I honest to God mean that,’ the 40-year-old says with a grin.
‘I had a look at the category and there are only four entries. I watched the first two and I was like, “Yeah, we can go toe-to-toe with them”, but then I saw this flying doctors programme for National Geographic. It’s about these doctors in Africa who fly around saving the lives of orphans and leopards and stuff. It is just beautifully shot.
‘So I don’t really believe we’re going to win. And look, if for some strange reason we do actually win, then I talk for Ireland and I will probably get up there and make Nancy do all the talking — that would be fantastic. But we really aren’t expecting to win.
‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing just to get nominated — I get the significance of it. That’s why we are going to have a bit of a party and just drink in all that the ceremony has to offer. I mean who gets to do that, hang out with the best and brightest in television?’
It has been two months since the news first broke that Baz and Nancy were to be honoured at the annual American TV institution. What is probably more impressive is the fact that Sky has sold their series to more than 100 territories worldwide, making the show an unmitigated success.
While Baz is keen to manage expectations, he admits that he is loving the build-up to tonight’s ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan.
‘I can’t bloody wait now, to be honest,’ he says. ‘I’ve done a talk for the academy in New York with a few other nominees, we were talking about our shows. Then there is a medal ceremony and then we have the awards ceremony tonight.
‘It’s funny because it just sort of crept up on me. Until now I have been busy working on other stuff and then suddenly all these media requests started flooding in. It has become real again and I’m really excited.
‘It was announced that we were nominated and then it sort of went away and I got on with other things. Then last week Nancy had to go and get her dress and I had to go to Louis Copeland and get a suit so, yeah, the significance is sort of setting in.’
Despite spending the weekend in New York with his mum, Baz admits that it is not a complete family affair. Unfortunately his fiancée, Tanya, opted out of the trip, preferring to stay at home with their young family.
‘I have to admit that Tanya is a bit jealous and of course I’m disappointed that she isn’t coming because I would love her to be there,’ he says. ‘But the fact of the matter is that she doesn’t like flying and she doesn’t want to leave the kids so it is just going to be myself and Nancy, and her agent Noel Kelly is flying over with her.
‘She’s in great form, she’s just really excited and that’s what I’m happiest about. The whole reason I started down this road was to get my mother to have these experiences in her life that she has never had before and you won’t get a bigger and better life experience than attending the Emmys.’
When Baz initially learnt of the nomination he had to curtail his excitement while he explained the significance of the Emmys to his 71-year-old mum.
‘I don’t think she has any real idea of what she is going to experience,’ he says laughing. ‘First of all she has never been to New York before and that in itself is a life-changing experience. Even just walking around Manhattan is tough to drink in, let alone walking a red carpet at an award ceremony with some of the biggest names in television.
‘And it’s not as if Nancy is sitting at home every night watching [entertainment channel] E! She doesn’t have a clue what’s going to happen on the night or what to make of it all.
‘You imagine it would be a long ceremony but I’ll be all nosey and people-watching, of course. Sure, you would have to. But I’ll be so proud to have my mum on my arm as I’m walking into the room. That will stay with me for the rest of my life.’
For the vast majority of his career, Baz has been known as a lovable grafter. From making his debut on How Low Can You Go? he managed to bounce around RTÉ as a presenter and host before Sky One took a gamble on his own idea of a series starring his mammy in which the mother and son team embark on extraordinary adventures around the world to test her mettle.
That spirit of endeavour is still alive and well and he plans on using his time with the Hollywood elite to try and network his way into the international market.
‘I would be lying if I said wasn’t planning on taking advantage of the situation work-wise,’ he says. ‘I mean,
you’re going to have the heads of every network and station in the one room. I have a lot of ideas rolling around in my head and I will, if I can, take advantage of it.
‘I don’t think Nancy has any such designs. I’m going out as a nobody but a nobody who has been nominated so that has to have certain currency. I’ll take advantage of that factor for the night that’s in it. My ma is going for the fun and the craic and I know that is guaranteed.’
The show is created by Ashmawy’s production company, Brown Bread Productions, and the Dublin-based presenter is enjoying being in charge of his own TV destiny.
Following the global success of 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy, Baz is venturing into serious documentary making. The former 2FM host, whose father is from Cairo, hopes to shed a light on what it’s like for the Muslim community living in Ireland — a very timely investigation.
‘They’re very loving, caring and family-oriented people,’ says Ashmawy, who carries an Egyptian passport. ‘There’s an ugly side, but there’s an ugly side to lots of religions.
‘Yes, RTÉ want it now as it’s what everyone is talking about because of Paris. It’s topical and I have been very busy with it but I want to take the time to do it properly because it’s a topic that’s so close to my heart.
‘It’s like most of the stuff I do — it’s a personal journey and it’s a bit unsure and vulnerable. But this is an important topic and there are a lot of Muslims in Ireland who simply do not have a voice and are completely misunderstood. I feel it’s important to do them justice.’
He also says he’s sick of hearing common misconceptions about Muslims as a result of the extreme and violent behaviour of fundamentalist groups.
‘The vast majority of Irish people see Muslims as outsiders, as alien, and that’s really not fair — it’s simply because people don’t understand what they’re about. In Ireland we look at a church and it is a warm, safe, familiar place for us. But imagine what a church must look and feel like to a Muslim?
‘We find the way Muslims pray really strange and a little bit hostile but in Catholic churches people are drinking blood as wine and eating bread [as body] — how is that any less strange or hostile?
My father was a Muslim and it has been a big part of my life and heritage. I just hope I can help spread a bit of understanding about a subject that is really close to my heart.’
‘My ma is going for the fun and the craic’