How dentist’s manager Niall became a TikTok star with his Scouse prinny sketches

Dentist assistant manager Niall O’Callaghan has become everyone’s favourite ‘Scouse gerl’ with his hilarious TikTok sketches.

In just over a month the 32-year-old from Skem has gone from 5,000 followers to a rocketing 35,500 on TikTok with his on-the-money impressions including a Scouse girl at the races, a ‘Scouse gerl who can’t get a refund from Zara’ … and a ‘Scouse nan who’s just bought an air fryer from Curry’s’!

Niall said:

“I had this idea one day of doing a skit of a Scouse girl who’d lost her vape and it just blew up. The reaction was mad, and it’s been a crazy ride ever since.”

“I was very surprised, I didn’t expect it, but in a matter of weeks it’s just shot up. It’s insane.”

Niall had been on TikTok for a while and was trying to find more relatable content to create and put up whether, he says, that was educational or comedy.

It was his boss at a city centre dentistry practice who prompted the videos that have seen him become such a massive hit.

“I had an appraisal with my boss at work and he told me that my secret weapon was my personality,” he explains. “He said I used it to my advantage with patients.

“I like speaking to people, I love following their journeys and building a rapport. Dentistry can be quite scary, so it’s important for me to make people feel comfortable and enjoy the experience. They see my face and it calms them down.

“So I thought how can I use this in my personal life?

“I’ve had my TikTok account since lockdown but I hadn’t really thought about using it to showcase my personality. But people come on TikTok to be entertained so I did the vape video and that was it. It progressed from there.

“I’m a born entertainer and I’ve known since I was a little kid that I was born to entertain. I wasn’t sure how I just knew I had the personality for that. Me and my sister Katie have a bit of a battle and argue about who’s the funniest; my brother Thomas is hysterical and every time we go to a family party my mum Joanne’s well-known for singing ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ by Bjork.

“And all that comes from my nan. My mother’s mum is Loretta and the Scouse nan skits are basically my nan. It’s my nan who’s my best friend and my number one supporter, and the motivation behind my TikTok account.

“She’s the Scousest, campest woman you’ve ever come across. Born in the city centre, she’s unbelievable and just an incredible woman and I really look up to her.”

Surrounded by Scousers – ‘my dad’s side all come from Anfield’ – Niall never has to look far for the stories to fill his successful videos, and he says: “My ideas and inspiration come from the alter ego that lives inside me.

“In the same way Beyonce has Sasha Fierce – I have Terri from Anfield, and I create all these characters and channel them through her. She’s my backbone and my voice… and she comes out more when I’ve had a drink.

“All my friends, we’re from Skem but we’re Scouse, and it’s a little bit of all of them but exaggerated. In my head I’ve definitely heard these conversations. And my followers help me with ideas aswell.”

Niall is having a ball right now and admits doing it is loads of fun:

“I get the biggest kick out of knowing people enjoy the videos. That’s my favourite part, knowing I can make people laugh; whether that’s one person or hundreds of thousands of people. That I’ve made someone’s day through one of my videos.

“I’ve had DMs from people saying I’ve dragged them out of depression, or they’ve been in hospital for two weeks and this is the first time they’ve laughed, and that’s what keeps me doing it and being creative.

“It’s very selfish of me because I get more of a thrill out of knowing people like my videos than them actually watching and enjoying them.

“But laughter is the best medicine, and I want to use the videos to create a positive community, where people can come on, cheer up, be entertained, or have a laugh.

“2022 was the worst year of my life mentally.

“I was in car accident and it really shook me up and that escalated into me not wanting to get back into the car or leave the house or see my friends and family. I put weight on, and I lost the social side of life, I lost my confidence, my self-esteem, and I hit rock bottom.”

Niall came to a turning point where he was on anti-depressants but felt they didn’t work for him, so he weaned himself off and admits:

“What saved my life was sitting on the couch with my best friend and just laughing.

“Now, if I can get people out of their ruts, and do that for them with my content, there’s not an emotion or word that can describe how that makes me feel.

“Life is hard. In the UK at the moment things are tough. So I want to use my platform to bring a bit of light to people’s lives.

“It makes me buzz when people enjoy what I do. It’s boss.”