Romesh Ranganathan has doubled down after facing backlash from far-right critics over his choice of charity to donate his Celebrity Traitors winnings to.
Last month, Romesh and Heartstopper actor Sebastian Croft came out on top in the second season of the Bafta-winning reality show, and by coincidence, both opted to donate their prize pot to charities who help refugees.
The comedian opted for the Refugee Council, while Sebastian gave his money to Choose Love.
BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells
Since the final aired, both stars have brushed off right-wing critics who have taken issue with their choice to give money to organisations helping refugees – which the Weakest Link host addressed in the latest episode of his podcast The Romesh Ranganathan Show.
During an interview with last year’s winner Alan Carr, Romesh remarked: “I’m really excited about the response to me donating the money to a refugee charity…”
When Alan said that “people just can’t give anyone a break”, Romesh revealed that he’d even been confronted at his place of work due to the decision.
“It’s hell,” he claimed. “They turned up at Radio 2 – [it was] insane.”
“No, no, no… people are mad,” Alan agreed, to which Romesh added that there’d been “a lot of” questions about why he and Sebastian didn’t give their winnings to what he mockingly referred to as “proper British charities”.
BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
While speaking to Sebastian on his podcast Sunday Scaries last week, Romesh commented that the two of them giving their money to refugee charities was a “slay of the week”.
He also shared: “I had got involved with Refugee Council because I was so fed up with the rhetoric against refugees and how these people had been demonised.
“I feel like – look, people have different opinions, but I feel like [demonising refugees is] a distraction tactic, and people have been pointed in that direction for things to blame.”
The chief executive of the Refugee Council said in light of Romesh’s victory: “We have loved every minute of watching Romesh and cheering him along from the sidelines. To see him win is the icing on the cake!
“Romesh continues to be a brilliant champion for our cause. His support will help us continue to provide vital frontline services to refugees and people in the asylum system who come to Britain in search of safety and the chance to rebuild their lives.”
James Blunt – who made the Celebrity Traitors final, only to fall on his own sword in the very last stage of the competition – has revealed that Romesh also made a donation to the marine conservation group the Blue Marine Foundation following his win.
The You’re Beautiful singer was playing on behalf of the Blue Marine Foundation during this year’s series, telling Hits Radio: “Romesh is a very very sweet human being, and I promise he and I get on very very well.”
