Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that he intends to take a "big step back" from his career when he turns 50 in two years. The 48-year-old comedian shared the news during a recent episode of his podcast, Wolf & Owl, which he co-hosts with fellow comedian Tom Davis.
Podcast Announcement
In a clip shared online, Tom Davis asked Ranganathan directly: "You're quitting at 50, right?" Ranganathan responded with a joke: "Yeah, I’m 48 now. You’ve got two years left of the podcast." He then clarified that he does not plan to abandon his career entirely but intends to reduce his workload significantly. "I’m not really walking away. There will be a big step back at 50," he said.
Davis reminded Ranganathan that he had made a similar claim about turning 45 a few years ago. Ranganathan replied: "What I’m saying is, I’m doing the things I want to do because I’m building up to the big step back." Davis responded bluntly: "No you’re not."
Future Plans
Ranganathan elaborated on his vision for the future: "I might do gigs here and there, but it's a big step back. I might call my tour 'The Big Step Back'. It'll be a mini tour and the last date will be on my 50th birthday and I'll say [while waving] 'It's been fun'."
Personal Life
Outside of his comedy career, Ranganathan is married to Leesa, whom he met while both worked at a secondary school in Crawley. She worked in the drama department while he taught maths. She supported him as he transitioned from teaching to comedy. The couple married in 2009 and have three children: Theo, Alex, and Charlie. Their youngest was born at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary while Ranganathan was performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In a 2018 interview with The Mirror, Ranganathan joked about the secret to a happy marriage: "The key to a happy marriage is myself being absent for long periods of time. My wife Leesa and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next year, but if my comedy gigs petered out and I was around the house more, we'd 100% be getting divorced. As a husband, I'm much more appealing when I'm not actually there at all."
Speaking to Marie Claire in 2018, he reflected on his wife's support: "When I started doing stand-up, I resigned from my job as a maths teacher and, three days before I was due to leave, my dad passed away. I wasn't able to focus on work, we couldn't pay the bills and our car was taken away, but Leesa never showed a lack of faith. I felt I'd put us through a bad patch and not for a very noble reason – being a comedian is a very vacuous thing to decide to do – but she came to all my shows and gave me feedback. Without her support, I wouldn't have been a comedian."
