Comedy
Interview
The A-Z of Romesh Ranganathan
An alphabetical biography of the sharp-tongued, travel loving comedian.
A is for Asian Provocateur
In 2015 Romesh kick-started an interest in (and talent for) travel documentaries with Asian Provocateur, in which he travels to Sri Lanka to explore his ancestral roots, after his beloved and long-suffering mother Shanti calls him a “coconut”.
B is for BAFTAs
It was back-to-back wins for Romesh at the British Academy Television Awards in 2020 and 2021, as he took home the Best Features for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and then Best Entertainment Performance for his lockdown hit, The Ranganation.
C is for Crawley
Romesh joins the likes of The Cure, Ms. Dynamite, Gareth Southgate and Yousseph “It’s Chico Time” Slimani as a famous Crawleyite. The West Sussex town isn’t exactly known for its glamour, something Romesh often leans into, but he is clearly proud of his roots; he still lives there now with his wife and children, and filmed his Netflix special The Cynic at The Hawth theatre.
D is for Deadpan
A huge part of Romesh’s comedic impact and appeal is the deadpan delivery of his acerbic takedowns, be that aimed at an unfortunate target or, as is often the case, himself.
E is for Eye
When he was a child, Romesh suffered an eye infection which would leave him with a permanently drooping eyelid. This has been something he has proudly embraced, and speaking with Katherine Ryan on her podcast What’s My Age Again?, he argued that he likely wouldn’t have become a comedian without it: “Growing up with this eye has changed my life experiences in a number of ways that meant I moved towards comedy […] I’ve read so many things saying ‘good looking is symmetrical’. That’s f*cked to me. That’s a dream.”
F is for Freestyle
There’s been several moments in Romesh’s career where he’s been put on the spot expected to drop some bars. Once upon a time, he even put himself through that voluntarily during a brief stint at freestyle rap competitions, even reaching a final where he got “destroyed in the last round,” as he once told London Is Funny. “The last line I uttered on stage was ‘Here be the Ranga (that was my rap name), rocking at the Scala, Bringing the heat like a chicken tikka masala.’ A chicken tikka masala is not hot. Everyone knows that. A phall is extremely hot. That would have worked. But I would have had to have called it a ‘phalla’ to make it rhyme. So I didn’t use that. These are the kind of snap decisions you have to make in the heat of battle. That decision cost me hugely that night. A different curry selection and I might have been a huge rapper.”
G is for Gooner
Romesh is a huge Arsenal fan, and despite admitting he’s “rubbish at sport”, his love for the game certainly helped his credentials as he took over James Corden as the host of sport-comedy game show A League Of Their Own in 2021.
H is for Hip hop
If his brief freestyle career wasn’t enough proof of Romesh’s love for hip hop, see his award-winning BBC Radio 2 show For The Love of Hip-Hop. “You changed my life and the world,” he wrote of the genre in a 2023 article for The Times.
I is for Irrational
Romesh’s first stand-up special was Irrational in 2018 which, even two years before it was filmed, boasted “irresistible gags with stink-bomb impact”, as The Guardian noted.
J is for Jonathan
Some may be surprised to learn that the comedian was actually born Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan. “The whole idea that you would change your name to make people in Britain feel more comfortable, that feels so ridiculous when you say it now,” he told Lauren Lavern on BBC 4’s Desert Island Disks earlier this year, “but my parents were obviously in a position where they’d just come over from Sri Lanka, and they were like, ‘We’re bringing up kids over here. How do we make it easier for them?’”
K is for Krishna
During Asian Provocateur, Romesh is tasked to look after his then 12-year-old cousin Krishna, who is by far the more mature of the two. The cousins reconnect later at a cattle farm in Colorado on the show Mum’s American Dream, where Romesh’s mother Shanthi tasks her son with helping to show Krishna how to be a man.
L is for LOL: Last One Laughing UK
After the resounding success of the first season for Amazon Prime’s LOL: Last One Laughing UK, Romesh was announced as one of the contestants for its follow-up in 2026, alongside David Mitchell, Alan Carr, Maisie Adam and more.
M is for Misadventures
The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan is the comedian at his best, as he navigates some of the world’s most unlikely holiday destinations, showing the forgotten beauty of places including Zimbabwe and Mongolia, while addressing some of the socio-political issues that have hindered their development and given them bad reputations. Outside of a stage setting – outside of his comfort zone – it helped to show more sides to Romesh than his normal sardonic shtick.
N is for Nick (The Rat)
In Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Romesh lends his voice to the role of Nick, a wheeler-dealer rat on Tweedy’s Farm. He clearly enjoyed the gig, because he then did some voice acting for Despicable Me 4 as well as several audiobooks. Check out this spirited performance in a 2024 audiobook version of George Orwell’s 1984.
O is for Olympics
In 2021 Romesh and his partner in crime Rob Beckett headed to the Tokyo Olympics to join Team GB to their hands at everything from clay pigeon shooting and athletics to weightlifting and hockey.
P is for Richard Pryor
Romesh considers the late Richard Pryor to be greatest comedian of all time. In 2017 he made a one-off documentary about Pryor’s life, and even has him tattooed on his arm.
Q is for Quizzes
Romesh loves a quiz and game show, from his sporty A League Of Their Own to Parents Evening and of course The Weakest Link. He even made a brief appearance in Quiz
R is for Rob Beckett
Romesh met cheeky chappy Rob Beckett around 2014 on the comedy circuit, and quickly hit it off. “Coming up through comedy and telly,” Rob told the Royal Television Society in 2021, “which is quite a middle-class world, we bonded because we both felt we didn’t belong.” They’ve hosted the BAFTAs twice, but their best collaboration is surely Rob & Romesh Vs… in which they attempt to learn daunting tasks like DJing, ballet and drag under the tutelage of some of the biggest names in their respective fields. They even got hammered, I mean, performed, at Download Festival…
S is for Shanthi
A shoutout for Shanthi, Romesh’s mum, who the comedian is quick to involve in any of his projects. Her greatest involvement was in the lockdown show The Ranganation, in which she had a permanent spot alongside members of the public as they discussed the topics of the week. Romesh often jokes how blunt she is about him, but their familial bond is obvious.
T is for Teacher
It’s fairly common knowledge by this point that before making it in comedy Romesh taught maths at a secondary school in Crawley. It’s where he met his wife, Leesa, and he still takes immense pride in his work as a teacher. “There wasn’t a single day of that job I didn’t feel completely fulfilled,” he told Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Disks. “I cannot speak highly enough of teachers and teaching. I loved that job.”
U is for Utilita Arena
Romesh will be touring his new show at the start of 2027, including dates at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff and Birmingham, plus a whole lot of others including The O2, London, the Brighton Dome and the Playhouse, Edinburgh.
V is for Veganism
Having long been a vegetarian, the comedian committed to veganism in 2013. “People hate vegans because they know it’s the right choice,” he’s said.
W is for The Weakest Link
Not just anyone can fill the shoes of Ann Robinson. It would need someone with a similarly characteristic, razor-sharp wit. Hmm, anybody?
X is for Exploring
If you’re still reading, you’ll know by this point that Romesh bloody loves a travelogue. In fact, he must have a passport like James Bond at this point. His most recent, Can’t Knock the Hustle, takes him to the USA, Canada, South Korea and India to explore their work-life cultures.
Y is for Yum Yum
Romesh co-owns Coughlan’s, a chain of bakeries around the South East, and earlier this year they collaborated on the Ranga Yum Yum, a vegan deep-fried twist dipped in chocolate and Biscoff crumble.
Z is for Jay-Z
As a huge fan of Jay-Z, Romesh borrows one the title of the rapper’s 1996 track with Mary J. Blige ‘Can’t Knock The Hustle’ for his latest show on Sky.
