What has the BBC ever done for me? Romesh Ranganathan reveals all

Romesh Ranganathan walks into a pub and asks: "What has the BBC ever done for me?"

And now he's answering our questions.

What’s your earliest memory of the BBC?

I grew up watching children's television and one of my earliest memories is probably Newsround with John Craven. I watched Blue Peter and we always had the BBC on in my house.

Did you have a favourite BBC programme when you were growing up?

I'm a massive comedy fan, so I watched a lot of Lenny Henry and I really liked Goodness Gracious Me. I didn't think people that looked like me could do comedy. I was doing stand up as a little kid and then you watch something like Goodness Gracious Me and you think, yeah, I could do that.

I was a hip-hop fan, so I loved The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on BBC Two. I still dress influenced by watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – I mean, my wife says tragically – but you know, that is the legacy of that show for me.

When did you first appear on the BBC and how did that feel?

My first recollection of doing something that felt really massive was Mock the Week. I spent years watching that show as a comedy fan, then I started doing stand up and then you go on a show that you've been watching and you have to slightly disassociate, because if you connect too much with how it feels, then I think suddenly you're not going to be very funny. My dad passed away before I really started doing TV but for my mum, the idea of me appearing on the BBC was a massive deal.

Why did you want to front the Making the Case film?

I strongly, strongly believe that the BBC should exist and look, don't get me wrong, I don't think it's without its flaws. There have definitely been times and issues where I wished it could have dealt with things differently - but I feel incredibly passionate about the fact that we should have it and it adds so much to our lives. And I'm really proud of it.

And so when I was asked to front this film, first of all, I was very surprised that they’d chosen me and very honoured but I thought it was a no-brainer, really.

I really do feel strongly that we should have a BBC and I think that there is nothing else that does what the BBC does.

How would you describe the shoot?

It was a bit surreal, really. I mean, I was very excited, because I got a stunt double. I’ve not had that before. But obviously you're doing this thing where you've got all of these super famous, iconic characters and stars and that felt very validating because you’ve got such a wide range of people who feel the same way that I do about the BBC.

You’ve got to not get too starstruck and just do what you're supposed to do, because it's going to delay filming if you try to ask for selfies with everybody. It was an amazing experience and also it's such an iconic sort of film. You couldn't help feeling really honoured.

What was the most fun?

Being shot at by Daleks was exciting and the falling onto the hospital bed in motion, that actually felt very Tom Cruise. Meeting Mr Tumble (Justin Fletcher) was great and just being in the Queen Vic was amazing.

What's your favourite BBC programme now?

We’re in a period when things that you sit down and watch together as a family are few and far between. As a dad, I really relish when the family get together to watch something, because we're all so fragmented and watch what we watch.

And that's the reason that The Traitors is such a cherished thing in our house. It’s an amazing format and everybody in my family loves watching it, so it's like appointment to view. We also really love The Apprentice.

What do your kids think about you going into The Celebrity Traitors’ castle?

Well, my youngest son is the reason I did The Celebrity Traitors because I wasn't going to do it - contrary to popular belief, I do enjoy some TV shows without wanting to be on them. And then we were watching the last series and my youngest son said to me, it’d be really cool if you went on that.

And so I only really went on for him. But then the problem is that when you do that for your kid, you're really worried about making a fool of yourself and I can't tell you whether I did or not. I told the kids this is the only request you get - I'm not a jukebox.

• Find out who's joining Romesh in The Celebrity Traitors' castle

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