Romesh Ranganathan Biography
Romesh Ranganathan is an actor, radio host, and stand-up comedian. Recently, he was announced as Claudia Winkleman’s BBC Radio 2 replacement. He will replace Claudia Winkleman as the host of the Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2. Romesh also hosts his show For The Love Of Hip Hop at midnight on Saturdays on BBC Radio 2.
Romesh Ranganathan Age
Ranganathan is 45 years old as of 2023. He was born on March 27, 1978, in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
Romesh Ranganathan Height
He stands at a height of 1.82 m or 182 cm.
Romesh Ranganathan Eye
Ranganathan suffered from an eye infection as a child that left him with right-sided ptosis or lazy eye.
Romesh Ranganathan Nationality
He is English by nationality.
Romesh Ranganathan Education
Ranganathan attended Reigate Grammar School, an independent school (at the time one for boys, but now co-educational) in Reigate, Surrey from 1990 to 1992. He then joined Hazelwick School, a state comprehensive school in Crawley, West Sussex. Subsequently, he studied Mathematics at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Romesh Ranganathan Parents
Romesh is the son of Ranga (father) and Shanthi Ranganathan (mother). His parents are Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus. As a young child, Romesh and his younger brother Dinesh attended the fee-paying Reigate Grammar School in Surrey as their father, Ranga, was seemingly a successful accountant. However, when Romesh reached the age of 12, his stable family dynamic fell apart, with his father announcing that he was leaving his mother Shanthi for another woman.
With this being heart-breaking enough for a young child to come to terms with, Romesh’s life in Crawley was turned upside down further when, just a few months later, his father was arrested for fraud and sent to prison. This created a spiral of consequences for the family, who had their home repossessed and were forced to live in a local B&B for 18 months before they were rehomed in a council house, which once their father was released from prison, he came back to.
Ranga started running a pub, the Prince of Wales pub in East Grinstead upon his release from prison. However, in 2011 he suddenly died of a heart attack.
Romesh Ranganathan Brother
Romesh and his younger brother Denise fell out following their father’s death in 2011. The huge rift was caused by money problems following their father’s death.
The presenter told Griefcast that he fell out with his sibling Dinesh after he felt that he ‘wasn’t doing enough’ to support his family when he quit teaching to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He went on to reveal it took months for him and his brother to repair their fractured relationship, and they only made up when he spoke about the row in his autobiography in 2018. His rift with his brother began when their father Ranga died in 2011 and the family had huge financial problems.
At the time Romesh had given up his teaching job to pursue comedy but was struggling to provide for his family. He said: ‘My dad passing away caused massive problems with me and my brother. We had this situation where we found out our financial situation was a house of cards, and we weren’t sure what was going to happen to the house.
‘At the same time, I wasn’t making any money from comedy, and it was a high-pressure situation. My brother felt like I wasn’t doing enough to help out.’
Detailing the moment that their relationship fell apart, Romesh continued: ‘I remember having a massive row with him in the foyer of a theatre.
Romesh Ranganathan Wife
Romesh has been married to Leesa Ranganathan since 2009. The couple met when they were both working at Hazelwick School, where Leesa was a drama teacher and Romesh taught maths. Together, they are blessed with three sons: Theo, Alex, and Charlie.
Romesh has given interviews where his sincere affection for his wife shines through. In a piece with Marie Claire, Romesh talked about Leesa’s strong impact on his life. He said that without Leesa’s support, he “wouldn’t have been a comedian”.
“I wasn’t able to focus on work, we couldn’t pay the bills and our car was taken away, but Leesa never showed a lack of faith.
“I felt I’d put us through a bad patch and not for a very noble reason – being a comedian is a very vacuous thing to decide to do – but she came to all my shows and gave me feedback. Without her support, I wouldn’t have been a comedian.”
Romesh lives in Crawley with his wife Leesa and their three sons. Leesa was born in 1979 and is 44 years old as of 2023.
Romesh Ranganathan Tattoo
Ranganathan is known by his middle name, Romesh. He did not find out until he started school that his first name, as stated on his birth certificate, was Jonathan. During his live show, Irrational, Ranganathan recalled that his parents explained to him that this was because they were concerned his name would otherwise sound too “ethnic” when applying for jobs as an adult.
He stated that he became obsessed with being tattooed and subsequently has tattoos with the names of his sons, Richard Pryor, Nas, the Roots, the Albanian flag, and the Transformers’ Autobot logo on his body.
He is also vegan, having been vegetarian until 2013. In addition, he is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club and was raised Hindu.
Romesh Ranganathan BBC Radio 2
Ranganathan has been announced as Claudia Winkleman’s BBC Radio 2 replacement, cementing the comic as the busiest man in the UK entertainment industry. On Saturday (2 December 2023), Winkleman announced that she was stepping down from the 11 am to 1 pm Saturday morning slot on Radio 2 to spend more time with her children. Revealing Ranganathan as her replacement, she called The Ranganation host, 45, “one of the smartest people on Earth”. “Think of this, if you will, as an early Christmas present,” she said.
Ranganathan is no stranger to Radio 2, as he currently hosts his show For The Love Of Hip Hop at midnight on Saturdays, which won him the prestigious Radio Academy Aria Gold award for Best Specialist Music Show in 2023.
The multi-award-winning comedian is best known for fronting Bafta-winning TV series such as The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and The Ranganation. In 2021, he replaced Anne Robinson as the host of the game show The Weakest Link.
Now, Ranganathan is one of the most prolific faces on TV. This starry career is worlds away from his previous life as a maths teacher.
In 2018, he began hosting the comedy travel series The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, the Bafta-winning show with a fourth season on the way. He also picked up a Bafta for discussion show The Ranganation, and frequently collaborates with fellow comedian Rob Beckett on their Sky series Rob & Romesh V…. Ranganathan stepped up to the The Weakest Link podium as the show’s new host in 2021.
Alongside his presenting work, Ranganathan acts too. He created and starred in the BBC comedy series Avoidance, as well as the Sky sitcom Romantic Getaway with Katherine Ryan.
Romesh Ranganathan Salary
He earns an average annual salary of $100,000.
Romesh Ranganathan Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $2.4 million as of 2023.
