Romesh Ranganathan, 43, said that his wife Leesa “almost questioned” whether he was the right choice to replace Anne Robinson on quiz show The Weakest Link. The comedian is set to take over from the now Countdown presenter on the BBC programme, which returns to screens on December 18 with celebrity contestants.
Romesh said that hosting the show has made his wife the most “excited” for him she’s ever been.
He added that she doesn’t tend to watch much of his work.
Romesh explained: “It is probably the most excited my wife has been about a show I’ve done.
“She doesn’t watch much of what I do but when I told her they were thinking about me for this, she was so excited, she almost questioned whether I was the right booking to be honest.”
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He went on to explain his reasons for joining the show and whether or not he was looking forward to it.
The star said that the decision to join the programme was not difficult to make, as it was such an “iconic” offering.
He said: “It is such an iconic show, and such a bulletproof and addictive quiz format, it felt like a no-brainer.”
The panel show star said that he’s scared of buckling under the pressure of audience expectation.
He discussed why he thinks his version will be different.
“When Anne hosted it was very much her flavour to it, but if someone answers something ridiculously, or is clearly The Weakest Link, I am definitely going to point that out and have fun with that, but I will do it in my own style,” Romesh stated.
He continued, saying that he will bring a “comic” element to the show that was missing from the stern Anne.
Some upcoming guests teased so far include Jamie Laing, Nikki Fox and Ed Gamble.
This isn’t the first news about Romesh replacing another celebrity host on a popular game show.
Earlier this year, Romesh took over from James Corden on A League of Their Own.
He took over in the show’s 16th series alongside Jamie Redknapp and Freddie Flintoff.
James, who lives in the US and hosts The Late Late Show, was “unable to appear in this series” due to “existing work commitments”.
At the Virgin Media TV Bafta awards this year, Romesh won the entertainment performance award for his BBC Two show The Ranganation.
The Weakest Link with Romesh Ranganathan starts on December 18 on BBC One.
