Romesh Ranganathan

Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978) is a British comedian, actor, and presenter. His style of comedy is deadpan and often self-deprecating.

Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows and has been a regular panellist on The Apprentice: You're Fired!, Play to the Whistle, and The Museum of Curiosity. He completed his first major tour, Irrational Live, in 2016; he performed in large venues such as the Hammersmith Apollo. In 2018, he joined A League of Their Own as a regular panellist. He has presented comedy programmes Judge Romesh and The Ranganation, as well as starring in the travel programme The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan. His autobiography, Straight Outta Crawley, was released in 2018. He began hosting the revival of The Weakest Link in 2021.

In 2020, Ranganathan won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Features for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan. In 2021, he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance for The Ranganation.

Early life and education Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan was born in Crawley, West Sussex, on 27 March 1978, the son of Sri Lankan Tamil parents Ranga and Shanthi. He had an eye infection as a child that left him with a drooping eyelid and lazy eye on his right side. He has a younger brother, Dinesh Nathan, who is two years younger than he is. When he was 12, his father encountered financial difficulties and was unable to maintain the mortgage payments on the family home. He was later convicted of fraud and, while Ranganathan was still a teenager, served two years in prison. Ranganathan has said that following his father's death in 2011, he and his younger brother Dinesh had a prolonged rift over the family's financial situation, but later reconciled.

Ranganathan attended the now-closed Forest Grange prep school and then, between 1990 and 1992, was educated at the private Reigate Grammar School. He then attended Crawley's state sector Hazelwick School, before studying mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London.

Before beginning his comedy career, Ranganathan worked as a mathematics teacher at both Hazelwick School and The Beacon School in Banstead. He began performing comedy while still employed as a teacher.

Career

Ranganathan co-presented It's Not Rocket Science alongside Rachel Riley and Ben Miller in October 2013.

He started presenting Newsjack on Radio 4 Extra in March 2014. He appeared on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice in 2014, during which he presented his home-made vegan chocolate brownies.

He performed at the Royal Variety Performance in 2015, and from September 2015 presented the BBC Three series Asian Provocateur, in which he travelled to Sri Lanka to explore his ancestry.

Ranganathan discussed his travel show Asian Provocateur across Sri Lanka on BBC Radio interview with Ashanti Omkar on 16 Oct 2016.

In 2018, Ranganathan joined Season 13 of A League of Their Own and starred in his own ten-episode docu-comedy called Just Another Immigrant that premiered on Showtime 8 June 2018.

In December 2021, he began hosting the revival of The Weakest Link, replacing Anne Robinson.

He has been a guest on several episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and has appeared on Would I Lie to You?, Holby City, Soccer AM, Russell Howard's Good News, Sweat the Small Stuff, The Last Leg, Virtually Famous, Have I Got News for You, QI, and Mock the Week. He was a contestant on the first series of Taskmaster and also appeared in the third episode of Jon Richardson Grows Up.

Ranganathan hosts a weekly radio show called For The Love of Hip-Hop on BBC Radio 2. In 2023, it won an Audio and Radio Industry Award for Best Specialist Music Show. On 20 April 2024, he replaced Claudia Winkleman as the host of the lunchtime Saturday BBC Radio 2 show. Ranganathan was the guest in the 185th episode of Cariad Lloyd's podcast, Griefcast.

On 26 August 2024, it was announced that he was set to cameo in Hollyoaks, alongside Rob Beckett in September 2024. In November 2024 he was reported as having become a part-owner of Couglans Bakery, a local bakery chain in South London, Surrey and West Sussex.

In August 2025, it was announced Ranganathan would be a contestant on the second series of LOL: Last One Laughing UK in 2026.

In December 2025, Ranganathan made his West End stage debut as Bill in Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind opposite Sheridan Smith and directed by Michael Longhurst at the Duke of York's Theatre, before touring to Sunderland Empire Theatre and Theatre Royal, Glasgow in March 2026.

Ranganathan is set to appear on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors in autumn 2026.

Awards In 2020, he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Features for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan.

In 2021, he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance for The Ranganation.

Personal life Ranganathan met his wife, Leesa, while working at Hazelwick School, where she was a drama teacher and he was a mathematics teacher. They married in 2009 and have three sons together.

He was a vegetarian, before going vegan in 2013. He is a supporter of Arsenal FC. He has discussed his "obsession" with tattoos, and is tattooed with the names of his sons alongside images of Richard Pryor, Nas, the Roots, the flag of Albania, BoJack Horseman and the Autobot logo.

Ranganathan's autobiography, Straight Outta Crawley, was published in October 2018. He was still living in Crawley at the time.

In a 2025 interview on Desert Island Discs, Ranganathan spoke candidly about his lifelong struggles with his mental health, including periods of suicidal ideation. He credited running, reading, and breathing exercises with helping him manage his wellbeing.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2021 Cinderella Romesh the Mouse 2023 Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Nick (voice) Replacing Timothy Spall 2024 Despicable Me 4 Dr. Nefario (voice) Cameo; replacing Russell Brand 2026 Minions & Monsters Dr. Nefario (voice) Cameo

Television Year Title Channel Role Notes 2013 Live at the Apollo BBC One Himself Series 9, episode 3 2015 Live at the Apollo BBC One Himself Series 11, episode 4 Yonderland Sky One Priest Series 2, Episode 5 Taskmaster Dave Himself Contestant; Series 1 The Apprentice: You're Fired! BBC Two Himself Series 11, regular panellist 2015–2016 Asian Provocateur BBC Three Himself 2017 Anthony Joshua vs Rob & Romesh Sky One Co-presenter with Rob Beckett One-off special Romesh: Talking to Comedians BBC Three Presenter 1 series Comedy Playhouse: Mister Winner BBC One Ajay One-off comedy 2018 The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan BBC Two Presenter 4 series and Christmas special Judge Romesh Dave Presenter 2 series The Reluctant Landlord Sky One Romesh 2 series 13 episodes Romesh's Look Back to the Future Sky One Host One-off comedy panel showJust Another Immigrant Showtime Himself 10 episodes; documentary series 2019 Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast Channel Four Guest 1 episode; 4 January 2019 2019–present Rob & Romesh Vs... Sky One Co-presenter with Rob Beckett 5 series 2019–2022 The Ranganation BBC Two Presenter 5 series 2020 Have I Got News for You BBC One Guest host 11 December 2020 Sunday Brunch Channel Four Guest 13 December 2020 A League of Their Own: Christmas Party 2020 Sky One Himself 19 December 2020 One Night In...Hamleys Channel Four Himself 24 December 2020 King Gary BBC One Stuart Williams Series 1, Christmas Special and Series 2 2021 Staged BBC One Himself A League of Their Own Roadtrip: Loch Ness to London Sky One Himself 8 April 2021 Have I Got News for You BBC One Presenter 17 May 2021 2021–present The Weakest Link BBC One Host New host 2022 DNA Journey ITV Himself 29 September 2022 Rob and Romesh vs Christmas On Ice Sky Max Himself Alongside Rob Beckett; 21 December 2022 2022, 2024 The Misinvestigations of Romesh Ranganathan BBC Himself 2 series 2022–2024 Avoidance BBC One Jonathan Co-creator & co-writer (second series commissioned) 2023 Romantic Getaway Sky Comedy Deacon Co-writer 2023–2024 British Academy Television Awards BBC One Co-host With Rob Beckett 2024–present Romesh Ranganathan's Parents’ Evening ITV Host Celebrity game show 2025 Romesh: Can’t Knock the Hustle Sky Max Himself Travelogue series2026 LOL: Last One Laughing UK Amazon Prime Video Himself Contestant; Series 2 Would You Rather: Decide to Survive Amazon Prime Video Host Reality series The Celebrity Traitors BBC One HimselfContestant; Series 2

Stand-up Year Title Role Notes 2016 Irrational Live Stand-up TV special 2019–21 The Cynics Mixtape Stand-up Tour 2022 The Cynic Stand-up Tour 2026 Work In Progress Stand-up Tour 2026–27 Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Life Stand-up Tour

Theatre +YearTitleRoleVenue 2025 Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright Guest star (21 March performance) Wyndham's Theatre, London Woman in Mind Bill Duke of York's Theatre, London2026 Sunderland Empire Theatre Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Books YearTitlePublisherISBNPagesNotes 2018 Straight Outta Crawley: Memoirs of a Distinctly Average Human Bantam Press 978-1787633599 272 2023 Lil' Muffin Drops the Mic Puffin Books 978-0241647646 256 Released 20 July 2023 2025 Yasmin Bandara Levels Up! Puffin Books 978-0241493281 304 Released 10 April 2025

Music YearTitleRecord label 2023 Verb T - Four Oh! (Remix) Feat. Doc Brown & Romesh Ranganathan (Prod. Vic Grimes) High Focus Records

Guest appearances Mock the Week (2013–2017) The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (2014) Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast (2019) Hypothetical (2019) Jon & Lucy's Christmas Sleepover (2021) The Jonathan Ross Show (2022) The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan (2023)

Awards and nominations Award Date Category Work Result Ref. 2019 Royal Television Society Programme Awards Best Presenter The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan 2021 Best Entertainment PerformanceRob & Romesh Vs 2021 BAFTA TV Awards 2021 Best Entertainment Performance The Ranganation 2025 BAFTA TV Awards 2025 Best Entertainment Performance