Comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan are set to appear together on the new series of Celebrity Traitors, bringing their long-standing friendship into the castle's competitive arena. The pair, who have hosted shows together numerous times, will test whether their familiarity helps or hinders their gameplay.
How Their Friendship Began
Rob, 40, and Romesh, 48, first met on the comedy circuit as young comedians. Rob told the Royal Television Society in 2021: 'I remember my friend saying 'I've seen this Romesh and he's pretty good.' I thought I'll be the judge of that.' He added: 'I went to see him at his dad's pub and I thought 'Yes, he is good.' I was quite annoyed at that point because I wanted to be the only good one at comedy.'
Romesh recalled: 'I'd seen Rob perform. He was a bit obvious, but he smashed it.' Beckett said: 'Coming up through comedy and telly, which is quite a middle-class world, we bonded because we both felt we didn't belong.' He added: 'We really did get on…Having a mate that you can share the madness with was great.'
Shows They've Done Together
Beyond panel shows like Taskmaster, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and A League of Their Own, the duo have hosted Sky One's Rob & Romesh Vs since 2019. The show sees them take on unlikely challenges in worlds like tennis, ballet, and drag. Romesh said: 'Everything we do, we're hoping we find some undiscovered ability, and it hasn't happened for me yet.' He added: 'The ballet revealed a really annoying trait of Rob where he's happy to say we're doing this as a team until he spots any kind of distance between us in ability. Once he knows he's better than you, he'll cut you loose in a heartbeat.' Rob responded: 'If I'm half good at something, I'm like a rat up a drainpipe.'
They have also presented the Royal Variety Performance and the Bafta TV Awards twice, in 2023 and 2024.
Thoughts on Celebrity Traitors
Neither has qualms about banishing the other. Romesh told the BBC: 'Well, it's weird, isn't it? Because Rob is one of my best friends, and we've worked together for a decade now, but I still won't be able to trust it.' He continued: 'I mean, he's just as easily going to be on my side as he is going to twist the knife in my back given the opportunity. I mean, it's completely unpredictable. Whereas this time, he can't be trusted. It can't be the end of the relationship because it's financially beneficial. But I think if it wasn't financially beneficial, then it could be the end of the friendship.'
Rob said: 'Claudia knows who will be best suited to make it a great game, and I want it to be a great game. So, I'd happily be either. Claudia and the producers are the experts in this, not me, but I'm very happy to do both, and I've got no qualms about killing people off.' He also reflected: 'Romesh, obviously everyone knows we're such good friends, but Joe Lycett and James Acaster, I did gigs with them nearly 20 years ago, in pubs in Soho in front of eight people, and now all of a sudden we're in this situation.' He continued: 'So, it's quite a reflective moment to consider this journey we've all gone on to now be on the biggest show on TV. Everyone wants to be on it, and we're very lucky to be here and to be here with friends and people that I've come through the ranks with and been able to confide in over the years. It's quite nice to see all of us here as grown-ups.'
Celebrity Traitors starts Thursday, October 1 on BBC One at 8pm.
