Romesh Ranganathan wants to "empower" unfit men on ‘A League of Their Own’.
The 40-year-old comic is thrilled to be replacing Jack Whitehall as a regular panellist on the Sky One comedy sports quiz and even though former sports stars Jamie Redknapp and Andrew Flintoff are still in great shape, Romesh doesn’t mind taking his top off next to them because he thinks he’ll make other regular guys feel better.
He joked: "I actually think I can be of service because I am ashamed of my body – that’s the honest truth. It’s not just my mum [telling me I’m fat], it’s Twitter. But that’s why I think it’s so important for me to take my top off on shows like that.
"On ‘ALOTO’, It’s been Jamie and Freddie – they’ve got single-digit body fat percentages. I just think it’s nice for people to see someone who’s got the same body fat as an animal about to hibernate. I’m empowering s**t men, that’s what I’m doing. That’s my mission in life."
Though he’s happy to be on the show – which is hosted by James Corden – Romesh is also "scared" of being humiliated as the programme is famous for its relentless mickey taking.
He said: "I was the kid that cried in PE lessons. I was really fat, and I’ve still got that fat kid mentality. So this is like doing PE, but all of the other kids are sports stars. I’m scared of everything. I’m not so afraid of stuff – I’m scared of humiliation. The problem is that with humiliation comes entertainment."
And Romesh doesn’t think he’s going to fare as well with the physical challenges as Jack did.
He said: "Jack displayed better physical prowess than me. And also, Jack’s a slim, good-looking guy. I’m a far mess."
Romesh Ranganathan on a mission for unfit men
