Romesh Ranganathan

Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan, born on 27 March 1978, is a British comedian, actor, and presenter known for his deadpan and self-deprecating style of comedy. Born in Crawley, West Sussex, to Sri Lankan Tamil parents, he was raised as a Hindu. As a child, an eye infection left him with a drooping eyelid and lazy eye on his right side. His father encountered financial difficulties when Ranganathan was 12, resulting in the loss of their home and later serving a prison sentence for fraud. Ranganathan has a younger brother, Dinesh Nathan, with whom he experienced a prolonged rift following their father's death in 2011 before later reconciling.

Ranganathan attended Forest Grange prep school, Reigate Grammar School, and Hazelwick School before studying mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. Before pursuing comedy full-time, he worked as a mathematics teacher at both Hazelwick School and The Beacon School in Banstead. During this period, he engaged in freestyle rap under the stage name Ranga, reaching the finals of a UK freestyle competition. He began performing stand-up comedy while still employed as a teacher.

In October 2013, Ranganathan co-presented It's Not Rocket Science alongside Rachel Riley and Ben Miller. He began presenting Newsjack on Radio 4 Extra in March 2014 and appeared on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice later that year. In 2015, he performed at the Royal Variety Performance and launched the BBC Three series Asian Provocateur, travelling to Sri Lanka to explore his ancestry. He completed his first major stand-up tour, Irrational Live, in 2016, performing at venues including the Hammersmith Apollo.

Throughout his television career, Ranganathan became a regular panellist on shows such as The Apprentice: You're Fired!, Play to the Whistle, The Museum of Curiosity, and A League of Their Own. He presented the comedy shows Judge Romesh and The Ranganation, along with the travel programme The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan. Additionally, he competed on the first series of Taskmaster and featured as a guest on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Would I Lie to You?, QI, Mock the Week, and Have I Got News for You. In 2018, he starred in the docu-comedy Just Another Immigrant.

In December 2021, Ranganathan began hosting the revival of The Weakest Link, replacing Anne Robinson. His broadcasting work includes hosting the weekly BBC Radio 2 show For The Love of Hip-Hop, which won an Audio and Radio Industry Award in 2023, and taking over Claudia Winkleman's Saturday lunchtime slot on BBC Radio 2 in April 2024. His autobiography, Straight Outta Crawley, was published in October 2018.

Ranganathan's later work expanded into stage acting, including making his West End debut as Bill in Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind at the Duke of York's Theatre in December 2025. He also arranged cameo appearances in Hollyoaks and participation in projects such as LOL: Last One Laughing UK and The Celebrity Traitors. Outside of media, he became a part-owner of Coughlans Bakery in November 2024.

Ranganathan married his wife, Leesa, a drama teacher, in 2009, and they have three sons. A vegan since 2013, he supports Arsenal FC and has several tattoos. He won BAFTA TV Awards for Best Features in 2020 and Best Entertainment Performance in 2021. In 2025, he discussed his lifelong mental health struggles on Desert Island Discs, sharing his use of running, reading, and breathing exercises to manage his wellbeing.