Ranj Singh

Last updated

Ranj Singh
Ranj Singh for AstraZeneca UK.jpg
Singh in an AstraZeneca flu vaccine video in 2021
Born
Ranjit Singh Sangha

(1979-06-26) 26 June 1979 (age 45)
Medway, Kent, England
Occupation(s)Doctor, television presenter
Employer(s) ITV
NHS

Ranjit "Ranj" Singh Sangha (born 26 June 1979) [1] [2] is a British doctor, television presenter, author and columnist. He is best known as a celebrity dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing , and co-creating and presenting the CBeebies show Get Well Soon from 2012 to 2015. He has also worked for ITV, on This Morning, as a resident doctor from 2016 to 2021, co-hosting Save Money: Good Health with Sian Williams [3] and winning Cooking with the Stars in 2022.

Contents

Career

Singh is an NHS clinician, having trained in London and worked in several hospitals as a specialist in paediatric emergency medicine. [4] Singh became a member of The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 2007.

His television career began in 2012, having become the presenter for Get Well Soon, a children's television show airing on CBeebies, which he co-created with Kindle Entertainment. [5] [6] In 2016, the show received a children's BAFTA award in the Interactive - Adapted category.

Singh has become a prominent contributor to factual programming and documentaries, appearing on This Morning as a resident doctor and on 20 July 2018, he was a guest presenter on the show, alongside Vanessa Feltz. [7] He has also contributed to a range of other programmes such as Inside Out , 5 News and Good Morning Britain . Ranj also appears regularly on various quiz shows and celebrity specials [8] and in 2017, he won BBC's Pointless Celebrities , alongside Hilary Jones.

In August 2018, it was announced that Singh would be a contestant on the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. [9] He was partnered with Janette Manrara and was the sixth contestant to be eliminated. [10] Following his stint on Strictly, Singh became host of his own medical advice show called 'Dr Ranj:ON Call' which began airing on ITV in March 2020. [11]

Outside of his work on Television, Singh has become the author of two children's educational books: Food Fuel [12] and Skelebones, [13] a Sunday Times bestselling cookbook [14] and is a contributor and columnist for Al Jazeera , Attitude magazine and NetDoctor. [15]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Singh stepped back from his media work to focus on supporting the NHS in his role as a paediatric emergency medicine specialist. [16] During the crisis, Ranj regularly used his platform to debunk the rise in misleading information confusing parents and the general public, [17] with concern that many are being 'duped' by rumours with even celebrities sharing 'fake' information. [18]

Ranj was one of the four competitors who took part in the Christmas special edition of The Great British Sewing Bee that was transmitted on Boxing Day 2020 on BBC One. His fellow competitors in the programme were Denise Van Outen, Shirley Ballas and Sara Pascoe.

In April 2021, Singh announced he would be appearing in his own West End musical for a new one-off show called Scrubs to Sparkles, [19] following his vocal performances on television show All Star Musicals in March 2021. [20]

From August to November 2021, Singh hosted the TV series Extreme Food Phobics, in which applicants would come to cure their food phobias.

In December 2021, Singh appeared as a contestant on a Strictly Come Dancing Special that was also the first episode of the revival series of the BBC game show The Weakest Link hosted by Romesh Ranganathan.

In December 2023, Singh opened up about his poor mental health whilst working for This Morning. He claimed the show's 'culture' was to blame. [21]

From July 2024, Singh has appeared as Lance in the UK tour of & Juliet. [22] [23]

Personal life

Ranj has two brothers Harminderjit and Jaskaranjit. He grew up in an Indian traditionally Sikh household and focused on schoolwork, gaining his first GCSE at just eight years old. [24] [25]

Singh married Sulvinder Samra, a pharmacist, at a traditional Sikh ceremony in Nottingham in 2005, and divorced in 2011. [26] Singh came out as gay at the age of 30 in 2009 to his wife. [27]

He has discussed his sexuality in an interview for Attitude magazine in 2015 and in 2018 fronted the cover of Gay Times magazine as part of a special 'gaysian' celebration of LGBTQ Asians. [28]

Ranj has been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, especially among minorities, and won the Attitude TV Award in 2019 where he spoke about how "People from ethnic minorities, people of colour, or LGBT people are still at a slight disadvantage" in the media. [29] He is an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusive education. [30]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNetworkNotes
2022 Olivier Awards Guest Presenter
2016–2021 This Morning Himself ITV Resident Doctor (57 episodes)
2022 Richard Osman's House of Games Himself BBC Two
2020Dr Ranj:On CallHimself ITV (4 episodes)
2020 Sport Relief Himself BBC One Special
2019–presentLorraineHimself ITV (2 episodes)
2019-20 Would I Lie to You? Himself BBC One (3 episodes)
2020 Celebrity Mastermind Himself BBC One Episode 6
2020 Celebrity Catchphrase Himself ITV Christmas Special
2020 Celebrity Chase Himself ITV Contestant (1 Episode)
2019 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Himself BBC One 1 Episode
2018 Strictly Come Dancing Himself BBC One Contestant (Eliminated Week 7)
2019 The Ranganation Himself BBC Two 1 Episode
2017-18 Loose Women Himself ITV 6 Episodes
2018-21 Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Himself BBC Two 12 Episodes
2018 Saturday Mash-Up! Himself BBC Two & CBBC 1 Episode
2018 The One Show Himself BBC One 1 Episode
2017 Celebrity Eggheads Himself BBC Two 1 Episode
2012-15Get Well Soon HospitalDr Ranj CBeebies 15 Episodes
2016 Inside Out Himself BBC One BBC West Midlands, Brexit Special
2012-15Get Well SoonHimself CBeebies 13 Episodes
2015 The Wright Stuff Himself Channel 5 1 Episode
2020 The Great British Sewing Bee Himself BBC One Christmas Special
2013 This Week Himself BBC One 1 Episode

Theatre credits

YearProductionRoleTheatre
2024-25 & Juliet LanceNational tour

Bibliography

Non-fiction

Children's Non-fiction

Awards

YearAwardCategoryResult
2019 Attitude Awards Shah Rukh KhanWon
2018 British Academy Children's Awards Pre-School Live Action - Get Well Soon HospitalWon
2016 British Academy Children's Awards Interactive: Adapted - Get Well Soon Hospital AppWon

Related Research Articles

Alison Hammond is a British television presenter and actress. She competed in the third series of the reality show Big Brother in 2002, in which she was the second housemate to be evicted. She has since become a presenter and reporter on ITV's This Morning (2002–present) and a co-presenter on the Channel 4 reality baking competition The Great British Bake Off (2023–present). In January 2024, it was announced that Hammond would take over For the Love of Dogs from Paul O'Grady, following his death in March 2023.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> British television series

Strictly Come Dancing is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of judges. The title of the show is a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing. The format has been exported to 60 other countries under the title Dancing with the Stars, licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a modern dance-themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever. The Guinness World Records named Strictly as the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Bruce Forsyth co-presented the series with Daly until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gethin Jones</span> Welsh television presenter

Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C as a presenter of children's programmes such as Popty, Mas Draw and the flagship children's entertainment show Uned 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Rani</span> British broadcaster and journalist (born 1977)

Anita Rani Nazran, better known as Anita Rani, is a British radio and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Wallace</span> English broadcaster, entrepreneur and writer (born 1964)

Gregg Allan Wallace is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur and writer. He is known for co-presenting MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC One and BBC Two. He has written regularly for Good Food, Now and Olive magazines.

Christopher John McCausland is an English comedian and actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!. He regularly appears at comedy venues around the UK, including The Comedy Store. McCausland is blind due to retinitis pigmentosa.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two</i> Companion weeknight show on BBC Two

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two is a British television programme, the companion show to the popular BBC One programme Strictly Come Dancing. First aired on 25 October 2004, it is broadcast from Monday to Friday during the run of the main show on BBC Two at 6:30 pm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranvir Singh</span> British television presenter

Ranvir Singh is a British journalist and television presenter. She is a newsreader and presenter for Good Morning Britain, presenter of Riddiculous and a relief presenter of Lorraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin Odoom</span> British radio DJ and television presenter

Melvin Odoom is a British radio DJ and television presenter. His work on radio has been recognised at the Sony Radio Awards for the Kiss 100 radio breakfast show (2009–2018), and he has presented BBC Radio 1 Livelounge (2019–2021). On television, he has been involved in presenting Dick & Dom in da Bungalow (2002–2009), Basil's Swap Shop (2008), the BRIT Awards 2010 and Must Be the Music (2010), The Xtra Factor (2015, Bang on the Money, and MOBO Awards 2016 as well as being a regular guest celebrity on many television shows.

Janette Manrara Škorjanec is a Cuban-American singer, television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Born to her Cuban parents, Luis and Maritza, Janette is the oldest of three. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance from the age of 19. Manrara is best known for her appearances on the US series So You Think You Can Dance and British dance reality television competition, Strictly Come Dancing. She is married to Slovenian dancer and co-star Aljaž Škorjanec. In June 2021, it was announced that Manrara would co host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two with Rylan Clark and later Fleur East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ore Oduba</span> British television and radio presenter

Ore Oduba is a British television and radio presenter who has also worked as an actor. From 2008 until 2013, he presented the CBBC news programme Newsround. In 2018 he hosted the game show And They're Off! in aid of Sport Relief. In 2019 he began his musical theatre career, starring in the UK tour of Grease. He also appeared alongside Jason Manford in Curtains the Musical. Oduba made his West End debut in January 2020. However, he is best known for winning the fourteenth series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellie Taylor</span> British television presenter (born 1983)

Eleanor Jane Taylor is an English comedian, television personality, actress, and writer. After appearing as a contestant on Show Me the Funny in 2011, Taylor has appeared on numerous television shows, including 8 Out of 10 Cats (2011–2017), Fake Reaction (2013–2014), Mock the Week (2015–2019), The Lodge (2016), Stand-Up Central (2017), The Mash Report (2017–2022), Plebs (2018–2019), Strictly Come Dancing (2022), and Knuckles (2024). She has also presented the television shows Snog Marry Avoid? (2012–2013), Live at the Apollo (2016–2018), and The Great Pottery Throw Down (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JB Gill</span> British singer

Jonathan Benjamin Gill also known professionally JB Gill, is a British singer and television presenter. He is best known as a member of the boy band JLS, who were runners-up to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. With JLS, he went on to achieve five no. 1 singles, over 10 million record sales worldwide, two Brit awards, and five MOBO awards, before the band split up in 2013. His later career saw him presenting television shows Down on the Farm (2015) and Songs of Praise (2017).

Aljaž Škorjanec is a Slovenian dancer and choreographer, who is known for appearing on the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer from 2013 to 2021, and from 2024 onwards.

Alex Joseph Pritchard is a British dancer and choreographer. In 2013, he auditioned for the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent along with professional partner Chloe Hewitt, where they reached the semi-finals. From 2016 to 2019, Pritchard appeared as a professional dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing. In 2020, he participated in the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan France</span> Pakistan-British fashion designer and television personality

Tanveer Wasim "Tan" France is a British-American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as the fashion expert for the Netflix series Queer Eye, host of the web series Dressing Funny, and co-host of Next in Fashion. His memoir, Naturally Tan, was released in June 2019. Of Pakistani descent, he is one of the first openly gay South Asian men on a major show, and one of the first openly gay Muslim men on western television.

Johannes Radebe is a South African dancer and choreographer.

Hamza Ahmed Yassin is a British wildlife cameraman and presenter, known for his role as Ranger Hamza on the children's television channel CBeebies and his work on shows such as Countryfile and Animal Park, as well as presenting programmes about Scottish wildlife. In 2022, he won the twentieth series of the BBC contest Strictly Come Dancing.

References

  1. ↑ "Dr Ranj's Top Ten Questions And Answers". mumazine.com. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ @thismorning (26 June 2018). "After we caught you dressed like this in the studio, we're imagining you're going to have a good night!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ Nisbet, Megan (29 July 2018). "Dr Ranj real life uncovered away from ITV's This Morning". OK! magazine .
  4. ↑ The Guardian (4 July 2018). "Confessions from A&E: Peppa Pig, the unsung hero of paediatric medicine - video". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Get Well Soon". CBeebies . Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. ↑ "Dr Ranj Singh talks about his new CBeebies show, Get Well Soon". BBC Media Centre. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  7. ↑ Hughes, Roxanne (20 July 2018). "Vanessa Feltz STUNNED at Dr Ranj outburst as she admits fears for show". Daily Express .
  8. ↑ IMDb. "Ranj Singh". IMDb. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Dr Ranj Singh is the seventh celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2018". BBC Media Centre. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Dr Ranj Singh becomes the sixth celebrity to leave Strictly". BBC Blogs. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Molina-White, Lidia. "Dr Ranj: On Call – Everything you need to know". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Singh, Ranj; Semple, David (illustrator) (26 March 2015). Food Fuel. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198306429.
  13. ↑ Singh, Ranj; Semple, David (illustrator) (26 March 2015). Skelebones. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198306467.
  14. ↑ Penguin Books. "Save Money Lose Weight by Dr. Ranj Singh". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  15. ↑ Singh, Ranj. "Dr Ranj Singh". NetDoctor. Hearst UK. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. ↑ Harvey-Jenner, Catriona. "Famous faces who have stepped up to work during the coronavirus crisis". nz.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. ↑ Singh, Dr Ranj. "Doctor's Note: Coronavirus myths and misconceptions". www.aljazeera.com.
  18. ↑ Hodge, Lisa (3 April 2020). "TV Doctor warns parents not to be 'duped' over virus child separation fears". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  19. ↑ Tutton, Charlotte (15 April 2021). "This Morning's Dr Ranj Singh teams up with The Chase's Jenny Ryan for new show". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Tutton, Charlotte (21 March 2021). "All Star Musicals fans 'speechless' over Dr Ranj's 'unexpected' singing talent". mirror. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Dr Ranj: This Morning was bad for mental health". BBC News. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "& Juliet announces complete casting for UK and Ireland tour, including Ranj Singh". WhatsOnStage . 14 May 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  23. ↑ "&Juliet". ATG. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  24. ↑ BBC. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - Dr Ranj Singh". BBC. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  25. ↑ @DrRanj (2 February 2021). "I have a complex relationship with my Indian farming heritage ..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ Adejobi, Alicia (30 November 2018). "Dr Ranj responds to ex father-in law about him coming out as gay". Metro. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  27. ↑ "Strictly's Dr. Ranj Singh: 'Coming out as gay to my wife was hard, but telling my family was another level'". Attitude.co.uk. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  28. ↑ Connolly, William J (20 November 2018). "Dr Ranj Singh Gaysians cover interview: "As queer Asians, we have so much to offer ourselves and to the wider world"". Gay Times.
  29. ↑ Attitude (9 October 2019). "Attitude TV Award: Dr Ranj Singh". Attitude.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  30. ↑ Wareham, Jamie. "Dr Ranj's Personal Reason For Supporting LGBT Inclusive Education". Forbes. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.