Celebrity Traitors winner Romesh Ranganathan has said protesters turned up at BBC Radio 2 over his decision to donate his prize money to a refugee charity. The comedian, 48, and co-star Sebastian ‘Bash’ Croft, 24, won the show’s finale at the end of October, watched live by 11.2 million viewers.
Winning and donating the jackpot
The pair secured a Faithful victory after voting out the remaining Traitors, including ‘King Kenny’, and collected the £83,000 prize. Through tears, Romesh announced he would give his share to the Refugee Council, a charity supporting refugees rebuilding their lives in Britain. Bash chose Choose Love, which provides aid to displaced communities.
Backlash and protest claims
While many praised the winners, a vocal minority reacted with hostility. Speaking on his podcast, The Romesh Ranganathan Show, with season one winner Alan Carr, Romesh said: ‘I’m really excited about the response to me donating the money to a refugee charity.’ He added: ‘It’s hell. They turned up at Radio 2… insane.’ Alan responded: ‘No, no, no. People are mad.’
Romesh also discussed the backlash on Bash’s new podcast, Sunday Scaries, explaining his involvement with the Refugee Council: ‘I had got involved with Refugee Council because I got so fed up of the rhetoric against refugees and how these people are being demonised.’ He added: ‘Look, people have different opinions, but I feel like they’re [refugees] a distraction tactic, and people are being pointed in that direction for something to blame, is my personal opinion.’
Silver lining and support
Romesh noted that ‘the voices that are angry about it have been amplified because that’s the fun angle, right? But loads of people have come out in support.’ He added that the backlash ‘has kind of galvanised the people who think it’s a lovely thing.’ He said it was a ‘coincidence’ that both he and Bash chose refugee charities, and neither has regrets. Metro has contacted the BBC for comment.
