Romesh Ranganathan

Preview: QI - Series N

It was sad to see Stephen Fry leave QI at the end of Series M, but fans of the intellectual panel game have no need to worry with Sandi Toksvig in charge.

Romesh Ranganathan and his mum

Romesh Ranganathan's mother stole every scene in the first series of Asian Provocateur. Now the pair are back and squabbling about Sri Lankan family politics - and who is most eager to be recognised in the sandwich shop.

Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational review

The Asian Provocateur star gets gleeful payback on those who bug him.

Romesh Ranganathan talks Asian Provocateur

"My mum is the main star... I'm not happy about it"

Review: Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational

Over the course of two hours in the company of Romesh Ranganathan, you'd be forgiven for thinking he plans to style himself in the mould of grumpy-man-of-comedy Jack Dee. Throughout his latest show Irrational he takes aim at a whole range of life's little annoyances to many nods of agreement from the sold out Colston Hall.

Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational - review

Self-referential and self-deprecating he may be, but he's never navel-gazing - unless you count the references to his middle-aged belly.

Comedians recall their first gigs

Shappi Khorsandi felt as if she'd walked on the moon. Isy Suttie watched a man change a dressing on a wound as she spoke. Omid Djalili fell off the stage. So how did the first gigs of Paul Merton, Susan Calman and other top comics go?

Having consumed hours of "debate" programmes which involved neither side contesting each other, bewildered viewers rushed to Jack Dee's Referendum HelpDesk for some much-needed light relief, and guidance.

First, was an issue that many of us have failed to think about: cafe service. A middle-aged lady told Dee and his panel, including the rampantly funny Romesh Ranganathan, that her main reason for voting "Remain" was that upon returning to the UK from abroad she looks forward to buying a coffee: "I really like the service you get in coffee shops."

When the audience stopped laughing 10 minutes later, she revealed she was in dispute with her husband over the referendum. He must have been a tea drinker. So (shockingly), we could face a critical shortage of competent foreign-sounding baristas. Now I'm confused.

Other perplexing issues were raised as we were encouraged to "make a suitably ill-informed decision". That's actually a given. Someone was worried about losing the Queen's head off the currency. We're voting about a republic now? Hang on. Dee, however, was adamant: "I want David Bowie on our money."

Others was quite concerned about food. Aren't we always? According to one, "wet mozzarella" might disappear in the event of Brexit, along with "Spanish omelettes you make yourself" and Italian-style gesticulation. I'm definitely out now. By far the funniest contribution came from one gentleman who suggested: "Shall we just leave to see what happens?" Or is that the equivalent of, "will the last person to leave please turn off the lights?".

Review: Jack Dee's Referendum Helpdesk, BBC2

Nobody seems to have told the person that did the opening credits for this comedy version of Question Time that it is about the EU. Instead subject titles such as "relationships" and "money"Romesh Ranganathan rolled past as if our host, serial cynic Jack Dee, was any old agony aunt.