Romesh Ranganathan 'broke' after dad's tragic death - 'The car got taken away'
Comedian and presenter Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that the aftermath of his dad’s death saw him so broke that he lost his car – but a fellow comedian threw him a lifeline at the time he needed it most. In 2011, Romesh was working as a teacher but about to try and launch is career as a full-time comedian.
He was also navigating the challenges of new fatherhood at the time off his and a career shift, he and wife Leesa having started their family. But all that changed with his dad Ranga's death that year uncovered deep financial troubles within the family. He and his brother were then dealt with the tricky task of having to settle their father's affairs, which included running a pub in East Grinstead.
Romesh told The Big Issue: “I quit teaching at Christmas but three days before I was due to finish, my dad died suddenly of a heart attack. It was a real shock. So, I didn’t focus on comedy at all. My dad had a pub I was trying to sort out the estate for and I was trying to make sure my mum was all right. I wasn’t getting comedy work and we were broke. The car got taken away. It was bad.”
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However, a fellow comedian saw Romesh’s plight and gave him a helping hand. “I was really struggling, then Seann Walsh saw me at a gig. He got me Edinburgh shows, tour supports and asked me to do a set at his TV show launch. The producers also made Live At The Apollo and I got a call from them the following week. The panic was over for a bit.”
That was not the first time Romesh had faced financial uncertainly, however. When he was 12, 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,
These days, however, Romesh now has built up a thriving career in TV and comedy, with plenty of regular work flowing in. One of his biggest TV gigs is hosting BBC's iconic gameshow Weakest Link, which he began fronting in 2021.
More recently, he launched a new ITV gameshow, Parents’ Evening, which sees celebrities team up with their mum, dad or kids to answer questions on a variety of subjects to win for charity. The show even includes Romesh’s own mum, Shanthi, who oversees the scoring.
