She is known for questioning politicians and reading headlines on Good Morning Britain.
But viewers will see a whole new side of Ranvir Singh when she appears on the famous game show The Box, hosted by Gary Lineker.
The presenter, 49, has said the experience pushed her ‘out of her comfort zone’ and was life-changing as she overcame her fear of water.
“Being on an entertainment show is very different from being obviously in the news. The whole thing was outside my comfort zone. But I really couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” she told the Daily Mail at the ITV show’s launch event.
Speaking about overcoming her fear of water, and how it helped her bond better with her son Tushaan, 14, she said: “I have a son who is very active and loves water; He’s actually a little fish, he loves it, but you know, he’s always tried to encourage me to try to get in the water.
‘I really hate anything I do… It’s not that I hate it, I can’t actually do it properly, so on our holiday after The Box it was the first time I had the courage to do it.
Viewers will see a whole new side of Ranvir Singh when she appears on the famous game show The Box, hosted by Gary Lineker
The presenter, 49, has said the experience pushed her ‘out of her comfort zone’ and was life-changing as she overcame her fear of water
“Even though I have a life jacket on, but the phobia life jacket is just something that could save my life, it doesn’t solve my phobia if you know what I mean. So it was the first time I actually snorkeled in the sea with him.
‘It was great. He was so proud of me. I was happy for him that he could see me overcoming my fear. So it’s definitely changed the way I approach my life. It has opened doors.
‘I’m really proud of myself.’
Ranvir shares Tushaan with her ex-husband Ranjeet Singh Dehal, whom she secretly split with when she was seven months pregnant.
She is currently in a relationship with Louis Church, who is 18 years her junior, after meeting him when he worked backstage during her stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
Elsewhere, Ranvir said she hopes her colleagues, including Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley, will be surprised by her appearance on the show.
She said: ‘I hope they are surprised. I’m usually pretty calm and know what I’m doing
‘The problem is also somewhat that when you are a journalist you are expected to know things and have the answers, otherwise you can definitely find out the answer. So it is very annoying for me not to have briefing notes during my daily work.”
Ranvir is currently in a relationship with Louis Church, who is 18 years her junior, after meeting him while he was working backstage during her stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
Ranvir, who has worked on GMB for more than 12 years, added that while she had interviewed her The Box co-stars, without the show they would never have become friends.
‘We only really got to know each other; that’s a beautiful experience where we never get the time to sit with a group of people who we would never work with in your normal daily life because our paths just don’t cross.
‘For my job I would probably interview everyone here on TV, but you don’t get to know people very well, so that’s a lot of fun.’
On the show, Ranvir, along with nine other celebrities, are locked in yellow boxes and dropped into mysterious locations where they face unpredictable physical, mental and logical challenges with little to no instruction.
Asked about her strategy on the show, Ranvir said, “I guess I was never really seen as a threat. I wasn’t the fastest. I never really understood the game.
‘I’m not particularly competitive. I was much more interested in enjoying the experience. Some of the others were incredibly competitive, absolutely determined to take each other out.”
Touted as a replacement for Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, each episode of The Box concludes with ‘The Duel’, an elimination match that pits two players against each other.
When asked if this was his first time hosting a major entertainment show, Lineker said: “It’s different, it’s something I’ve never done before and that appealed to me, in addition to the uniqueness of the concept.”
Lineker signed the major deal with ITV after leaving the BBC last year following a row over anti-Semitism.
The former Match of the Day host was fired after sharing a pro-Palestine video on Instagram with a rat emoji, with critics accusing him of promoting a well-known anti-Semitic slur.
He later “apologized unreservedly” for his actions, saying he was unaware of the meaning of the symbol and adding: “I would never knowingly repost anything anti-Semitic – it goes against everything I stand for.”
He said quitting his role at the BBC – where he was once the highest-paid star – was “the responsible thing to do”.
The Box starts Saturday September 5 on ITV1 and ITVX.
