Commonwealth Games ‘mop man’ describes mother’s surprise at his viral fame

The Commonwealth Games “mop man” whose dance moves have taken the internet by storm has admitted his mother is shocked he shot to fame while doing the chores.

Trained dancer CJ Miller, 25, from Livingston, West Lothian, has been wowing crowds at the Glasgow games with his cleaning-inspired dance routines.

He made his first appearance during the netball competition at the Ovo Hydro, when he stepped onto the court with a mop and burst into a dance routine to the tune of Queen’s I Want to Break Free.

CJ Miller performing during an interval in the Netball at The Hydro during day six of the 2026 Commonwealth Games (Andrew Milligan/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Milligan

He has since entertained crowds during breaks in play at a number of other events. Clips of Mr Miller’s moves rapidly went viral online and he soon found himself being interviewed on international news broadcasts from as far afield as Australia.

The dancer, who has previously appeared in James McAvoy’s movie California Schemin’ and Apple TV show The Buccaneers, said he had no idea his performances would have such an impact.

“I was thinking we were all just going to fly under the radar and there’d maybe be like a wee video taken by broadcasters, and that’d be it – but I was very wrong,” he said.

“Everyone and their dog has messaged me, including people I went to high school with and hadn’t seen in 10 years.”

He said his mother Lisa reacted slightly differently to his overnight fame.

“My mum is Googling it every two minutes. I came back yesterday and they were like, ‘Look at this article and this article, and look at the AI overview on Google’,” he explained.

“She always tried to make us clean but we couldn’t live up to her high standards, so I think she just gave up and did it herself.

“We were talking yesterday. Is she shocked that something like this has happened? No. Is she shocked that it’s to do with cleaning? Yes.”

The dancer was recruited through his agent for the undercover dance gig and given free rein to come up with his own routines.

CJ Miller has praised the crowd for getting behind his ‘mop man’ dances (Andrew Milligan/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Milligan

“I like to change it up a bit every time as I don’t want people to get bored, especially since it’s been all over social media and you can’t get away from it,” he said.

“The crowd have been great. They started really strong at the weekend and people are still enthusiastic and involved.

“I’ve done some corporate events but, of course, nothing to this scale.

“It’s hard to get something similar to the scale of the Commonwealth Games.”

The dancer said his mum is ‘shocked’ he has become famous for doing chores (Andrew Milligan/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Milligan

Mr Miller also admitted that despite his newfound fame for floor cleaning, he is not a fan of the mop.

“I am quite particular about the state of the house. I love my plants and everything has its place,” he explained.

“But (at home) that mop comes out when it needs to come out and not a second before.

“I’m quite handy with the hoover, but the mop, that’s a pain in my backside.

“It’s on brand for me now, so I need to get more acquainted with mops.”

Mr Miller completes his run of dance gigs on Wednesday.

The Games close on Sunday with a spectacular ceremony at the Hydro, headlined by Glasgow band Simple Minds.