British Comedian Romesh Ranganathan Reveals What His Father Did to Him as a Child Because He Was Worried About How His Children Would Be Treated in Britain

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan has surprised many fans after revealing that his real first name is actually Jonathan. He explained that his father chose the name because he was worried about how his children would be treated while growing up in Britain.

The comedian recently made headlines after winning the second series of Celebrity Traitors alongside actor Sebastian Croft. However, an old podcast interview has now caught people’s attention for a completely different reason.

During an appearance on Seann Walsh’s Class Clown podcast last year, Romesh opened up about his childhood and explained why his father decided to give him an English first name.

According to Romesh, his parents had moved to England hoping to give their children a better life and more opportunities. His father was particularly concerned about whether his children would be accepted in British society because of their background and skin colour.

He explained that his father worried a lot about how brown children would fit into British society, although he became more relaxed about it as the years went by.

Because of those concerns, his father gave him the first name Jonathan, even though everyone in the family called him Romesh.

Romesh revealed that his full name is Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan, meaning the name millions of people know him by is actually his middle name.

He joked about the situation, comparing himself to a terrible undercover police officer because his official name was different from the one everybody used.

The comedian admitted that he did not fully understand why his father had chosen the name when he was younger. It was only later in life that he realised the decision came from his father’s concerns about racism and the difficulties his children might face in Britain.

Romesh also shared an interesting story about how his name caused confusion during his school years.

He explained that whenever a new school year started, teachers would read out the names of students from the register. When they called out Jonathan, he would politely explain that everyone knew him as Romesh and ask them to use that name instead.

Most of his teachers accepted his request without any problem. However, one English teacher refused to call him Romesh.

According to the comedian, the teacher questioned why he wanted to be called by another name and insisted that Jonathan was a perfectly good name.

Romesh tried to explain that there was nothing wrong with Jonathan, but it was simply not the name his friends and family used.

Despite his explanation, the teacher refused to change his mind and continued calling him Jonathan for the rest of the school year.

The story has surprised fans who had no idea that the comedian had been using his middle name throughout his entertainment career.

Meanwhile, Romesh has also been enjoying attention following his victory on the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors.

He and Sebastian Croft were crowned winners after a tense final episode that saw several contestants eliminated just before the end of the competition.

The pair eventually shared the £83,000 prize money after successfully making it through the final stages of the game.

However, the ending was not without controversy, especially after singer James Blunt was eliminated following a disagreement over whether he could be trusted.

James had been close to winning a share of the money, but Romesh became suspicious of him during the final moments.

Although James strongly denied being a Traitor, the situation became increasingly tense as the remaining contestants tried to decide who they could trust.

Sebastian initially defended James and helped convince Romesh to vote out King Kenny instead.

After Kenny was eliminated, the remaining contestants were all Faithfuls, meaning they could have ended the game and shared the prize money.

Romesh and Sebastian both wanted to finish the competition, but James decided that another person should be eliminated.

His decision meant the game had to continue, and Romesh and Sebastian eventually voted him out, leaving themselves as the winners.

The dramatic ending led to speculation that James and Romesh might have fallen out following the show.

However, Romesh addressed those rumours during an appearance on BBC One’s The One Show on Monday.

He admitted that he felt bad about what happened to James and said the decision would stay with him for a long time.

Despite that, he made it clear that there was no serious disagreement between them.

Romesh revealed that James had already sent him a text message following the programme and reassured viewers that they were still friends.

He explained that everything was fine between them and wanted people to stop believing there was a feud.

While his Celebrity Traitors victory has given fans plenty to talk about, the revelation about his real first name has also brought renewed attention to his family background and the challenges his father feared his children might face while growing up in Britain.