Romesh Ranganathan reassures any concerned Radio 2 listeners ahead of joining station
Comedian will replace ‘Traitors’ host Claudia Winkleman
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Your support makes all the difference.Romesh Ranganathan has said “revolutionising Radio 2” is not on the cards, after it was announced the comic would take over Claudia Winkleman’s popular slot.
Ranganathan, 45, was announced as Winkleman’s replacement on the 10am to 1pm Saturday morning slot last December, after The Traitors host quit the show to spend more time with her family.
In an interview with The Times, Ranganathan – regarded the busiest man in the UK’s entertainment industry – reflected on the future of the Radio 2 show, while “giving it his own slant” when he takes over as host three months from now.
However, he added, a dramatic overhaul of the “funny discussion show” is unlikely.
The comic said: “Maybe I should bulls***, but no, I’ve got a meeting with the team soon, we’ll see. It will remain a funny discussion show, though. Revolutionising Radio 2 is not in the plans.”
Ranganathan also revealed he was “so surprised” he had been approached to fill Winkleman’s spot because he “had honestly never thought about” hosting the radio show.
Announcing Ranganathan as her replacement in a statement on 2 December, Winkleman declared The Ranganation host, 45, to be “one of the smartest people on Earth”.
“Think of this, if you will, as an early Christmas present,” she quipped.
Winkleman said she had made the decision to quit the show so she could spend more time with her children “before they leave for good” in a statement at the time.
“The truth is my children are growing up inordinately fast so I have decided to follow them around at home before they leave for good,” she explained. “I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who works on the show, I will continue to visit with badly made biscuits and will pester the bosses to present the odd special.”
Ranganathan currently hosts his own show For The Love Of Hip Hop on Radio 2at midnight on Saturdays; the programme earned him the prestigious Radio Academy Aria Gold award for Best Specialist Music Show last year.
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“In my many years working as a maths teacher thinking ‘what would happen if I gave this up’, I never imagined I’d be sandwiched between Dermot O’Leary and Steve Wright on the UK’s most popular radio station every Saturday morning,” he reacted to his gig as Radio 2’s newest host.
“I’m grateful to Claud for wanting to spend more time with her kids, and enabling me to spend less time with mine, and I look forward to finding out what the nation is up to at that time, as well as speaking to some familiar faces.
“It’s going to be fun,” he added. “Probably.”
Ranganathan also stars in his BBC sitcom Avoidance and hosts BBC Two quiz showThe Weakest Link as well as A League of Their Own on Sky.
Winkleman is currently hosting the newest season of BBC’s sleeper hit reality competition The Traitors.
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