Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that his three sons suffered racist abuse at school, as he reflects on his own experiences of racism as a teenager.
The TV and radio star, 48, shares three boys Alex, Theo and Charlie with his drama teacher wife Leesa.
The couple are raising their boys in Romesh’s birthplace in West Sussex, in a £3million house just five miles from the modest terraced house where he grew up.
Romesh has admitted that his boys faced the same “abhorrent” racism that he himself experienced in the city, but admits that “it was worse back then.”
‘The boys were racially abused. Not many, not as many as I did, but they did comment,” Romesh told him Wolf and Owl podcast co-host Tom Davis.
‘There was a little incident. One of the kids was talking to a girl, just a friend at school, and one of the other kids said, “I don’t know why you bother talking to her. You’re going to marry your cousin after all.”
Romesh Ranganathan has revealed his three sons suffered racist abuse at school, as he reflects on his own experiences with racism as a teenager
Romesh added, “Alex said the P-word to him when he was walking through school.”
The comedian explained that he blames the children’s parents, pointing out that “at some point you have to go,” “they obviously hear that at home.” So whenever I see that or hear that a kid has done it, the next time I see their parents I think, “you’re racist,” right? And that’s a terrible thing.’
However, Romesh added that while “racism is terrible and abhorrent,” he believes “It’s a mistake to boost it.”
“What I mean by that is if someone calls you a racial slur and it immediately sets you on fire, it gives that person power over you. “I’m not saying don’t respond to racism, but I am saying I don’t want my children to immediately turn you violent.”
Romesh also recalled racist incidents growing up, admitting that “I was called a lot of slurs.”
“I remember one time I was walking out of school and there was a boy who was known to be a racist and he spit on me.”
“Then a few times in college I was jumped by skinheads coming out of a club.”
Romesh’s mother Shanthi, who stars with him in his game show Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening, moved from Sri Lanka to Crawley, West Sussex, with Romesh’s father at the age of 19.
The TV and radio star shares three boys Alex, Theo and Charlie with his drama teacher wife Leesa (pictured in 2019)
The comedian has previously spoken about his impoverished upbringing, including the challenges his family faced when their home was foreclosed after his accountant father was jailed for two years for fraud.
He recalled how the family spent a period in bed-and-breakfast accommodation while they waited for the council to rehouse them, saying: ‘This all happened very, very quickly. It was a struggle.
‘My mother found out that my father was messing around. He got into financial trouble, which eventually resulted in our house being taken away.
‘We were going to go to a council flat but they didn’t have enough so we were in a bed and breakfast for a year and a half. And my father was in prison. It was crazy.’
Although he is now known for his stand-up comedy and hugely successful TV career, Romesh was a math teacher before he became famous.
He met his wife when they both worked at a school in Crawley and before he turned to comedy, with TV roles on panel shows such as A League of Their Own after his stand-up career.
He then took over as host of The Weakest Link in 2021. He currently presents shows on Radio 2 and last year made his stage debut in the West End.
Romesh’s next big project is the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, in which he appears in an all-star cast including his good friend and regular collaborator Rob Beckett.
