‘It’s OK to mess around’: how ‘mop man’ stole the show at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games

The 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have already provided plenty of highlights. But fans across the world have been dazzled by one particular breakout star: the “mop man”.When a cleaner came out at half-time during a netball match to wipe down the court before the restart, everything appeared normal. But as the cleaner swept, and the first bars of Queen’s I Want to Break Free rang out in the venue, he went from sweeping to a standing split.A full dance routine set to the 1984 hit then followed, much to the surprise and delight of the audience at the OVO Hydro. The crowd watched him do the worm, splits and front handsprings. He has since entertained crowds during breaks in play at a number of other events and clips of his performances have gone viral online.‘It’s Doris the mop now’: CJ Miller isn’t the only one to have been given a surprising nickname. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAThe man behind the mop is CJ Miller, 25, from Livingston, West Lothian, a trained dancer who was hired by the Games to keep crowds entertained during intermissions.He considers himself more of an introvert than his cleaning alter ego. “I’m an anxious and paranoid Queen,” said Miller. “And I’m so grateful for the turn of events. It’s been a lovely 50 minutes of fame. I wish I’d had a haircut before it happened.”Miller was initially told he would be part of a flashmob at the Games with other dancers. “Then it was, ‘oh, here’s a mop. Here’s the song.’ It wasn’t until the Tuesday before the Games I found out it was gonna be Boo Boo the Fool here, on his own,” Miller laughed, pointing to himself.Freddie Mercury in Queen’s video for I Want to Break Free, the song Miller dances to. Photograph: QueenWhen choreographing the routine, Miller was inspired by “the concept of a volunteer … a cleaner that had been possessed by the music and just exploded.”But the character soon took on a life – and fanbase – of his own. “People have messaged being like, ‘Thank you for making me smile, I really needed that today.’”For Miller, the universal charm of his performance comes from “the sheer stupidity, the sheer bonkersness of it all”. “It just made people feel like it’s OK to mess around,” he said. “Sometimes, people need to be reminded to just take a break. Just take a minute to smile at someone else being so bloody ridiculous.”Miller’s performance was soon picked up by broadcasters and newspapers around the world. There was particular praise for the unexpected chemistry with his dance partner: Doris the mop.“Phil [Goodlad] from the BBC had named the mop Doris – so I didn’t even name the bloody mop!” said Miller. “He asked me, and I went: ‘The mop is a mop, Phil.’ And he was like: ‘I think it looks like a Doris.’ I went: ‘Brilliant. It’s Doris the mop now, Phil, spectacular.’”Did he have a name in mind for his other dance partner, the vacuum? “It was a Vax vacuum, so I think the vacuum should be called Vaxtina – like Xtina. You can write that one down.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionGoing into the Games, Miller felt nervous about performing in front of a sports crowd for the first time. “Basketball, for me, was a scary one. I was like: ‘I don’t think the basketball crowd are going to want to see my flamboyant ass, giving them a dance to Freddie Mercury. And I was wrong. The basketball crowd were incredible.”Miller with his dance partner, Doris the mop. Photograph: Mark Pinder/The Guardian“It was a lesson for me to check my own prejudice,” he said. “It doesn’t excuse the point of view I had of sports fans, and that has been changed now from the immense support I’ve received from the sports fans at the Commonwealth. Thank you for proving me wrong, sports fans.”Going forward, Miller is soon to join Newcastle College as a dance tutor and continue building his career as a choreographer. But will the world ever see more of mop man?“I think it would be fun,” said Miller, who has been approached by one company about taking his performance further. “If I were to do it again, let’s get some other professions in there,” said Miller. “Referee, waiter, bloody construction worker. Let’s get inventive with it.”While mop man’s performances may have come to an end, Miller hopes viewers can be inspired by his character’s self-confidence and sense of whimsy. “Be messy, fail, screw up,” he said. “That’s what makes us human. Get your mop and shake your ass, you know what I mean?”