Maths teacher swaps classroom for comedy and wins top award
Romesh Ranganthan is a comedian and won comedian of the year JPCO
A teacher who swapped the classroom for stand up comedy has won a ‘Comedian of the Year’ award.
Romesh Ranganathan, 34, from Broadfield, was a maths teacher at Hazelwick School in Three Bridges.
But a few months ago he decided to leave the maths books behind and has since been touring the country with his comedy act.
He was crowned Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival in the city on Saturday (February 23).
His ten minute set included school room gags proving he has the winning formula to be a comedy king.
Dad-of-two Romesh said: “I am really happy to have won, it was a great honour. I was happy to just be nominated and so to win was really nice.
“I always liked stand-up, I just started doing it as a hobby and then I decided to have a go at gigs and it went from there.
“I do a lot of gigs at uni versities and there is not one gig where there isn’t someone there that I used to teach!
“I usually get a ‘go Sir!’ and I think ‘Oh God,’ they don’t tell me they are going to be there.
“I do talk about teaching in it and I think to myself there are people in the audience who were there too!”
Romesh has appeared in several television programmes including 50 Funniest Moments of 2012, on Channel 4. Chris Ramsey’s Comedy Fringe, on BBC3, The Comedy Store, Comedy Central and Soccer AM, on Sky Sports 2. He has also performed with the likes of comedians Seann Walsh, Andi Osho and Paul Chowdhry.
But he isn’t recognised inand around Broadfield.
He said: “My mum is very proud of me. I think my wife thought it was me having a sort of crisis to start with, but she came to some proper gigs, not the type where eight drunk people are looking at you in a pub and don’t really care, and she said, ‘you know I think you can really do this’.
“I have two children and my oldest comes in when I am writing my stuff and says is that funny and is that funny. I say ‘I hope so mate!’ I have lived in Crawley my whole life. My neighbours have no idea what I do, they must think I am just the weird guy who lives next door and gets home at weird times!”
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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