The days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to fall, and The Celebrity Traitors is almost upon us.
Among the big names and famous faces – Stephen Fry, Tom Daley, Celia Imrie – viewers might also spot Niko Omilana.
See also: Where to watch The Celebrity Traitors on TV
Omilana is probably a newer name to many of the show’s viewers, but over the last few years, he’s built a huge following as a YouTuber, influencer and prankster, with an online audience of millions and a talent for headline-grabbing stunts.
We break down his colourful career so far.
Early days
Omilana was born on March 4, 1998, in London, to a British mother and Nigerian father. They split up when he was young, and he moved to Stafford, where he grew up.
He started his YouTube career at the age of 16, when he started uploading comedy skits, parodies and challenge videos to his account (something for which he cites KSI as an inspiration).
However, it wasn’t until 2018 that he broke through, when he uploaded a video called "UNDERCOVER As A RACIST For 24 HOURS". In it, he went undercover at the English Defence League during a protest they were doing in Telford, Shropshire.
That went viral, and he followed it up with another prank video, where he managed to get Tommy Robinson to promote his own merch branded NDL (for Niko Defence League).
Beta Squad
Originally, Omilana was working at BuzzFeed, but quit that to pursue full-time life as a creator. In 2019, he created the Beta Squad, a group of YouTube creators, with Chunkz, Sharky, KingKennyTV an AJ Shabeel. By February, it was announced that they’d be living together in a £4m mansion in London and creating content together.
Omilana quickly made his name with stunts. In November 2019, he tried to sneak into the KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing match with the aim of entering the ring; in 2020, he was nominated for a Shorty Award for Breakout YouTuber.
Over the next few years, he continued make videos such as "I Pranked America's Most Racist Man" – where he pretended to be a journalist for the BBC and pranked Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Thomas Robb into saying BLM on camera (for Black Lives Matter).
In 2023, he took part in a prank series with American influencer JiDion, to see who could pull off more pranks. The series was called The Biggest Menace, and things culminated when JiDion managed to stick a painting of himself next to the Mona Lisa (for which he was later arrested).
In 2024, he also took part in MrBeast’s video, “50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000”.
Political career
Perhaps the thing for which Omilana is best known is his various UK political stunts. In 2021, he ran as an independent candidate for the London Mayoral election, and got 2 per cent of the vote share (more than Laurence Fox, Piers Corbyn and Count Binface).
His pledges included turning McDonalds shops into social housing and removing the teeth from racists.
In 2024, he also attracted attention after 11 different constituencies registered candidates named ‘Niko Omilana’ for the general election. This sparked a police investigation; Omilana later said he had convinced people to legally change their names so they could legally run for office.
He stood for Richmond and Northallerton – Rishi Sunak’s constituency – which Sunak ultimately lost. During his concession speech, Omilana held up a sign behind him reading ‘L’, for Loser.
