Romesh Ranganathan has defended his choice of charity after donating his winnings from The Celebrity Traitors to an organisation in support of refugees.
The 48-year-old comedian was one of two winners of the second series of the hit BBC reality show, alongside actor and musician Sebastian “Bash” Croft.
Unlike the regular edition of The Traitors, the celebrity version sees the winners donate prize money to a charity of their choosing, with Ranganathan choosing Refugee Council and Croft picking Choose Love, both humanitarian charities in aid of refugees. Each winner was allotted £41,500 – half of the total prize pot.
Some of the other losing contestants also opted to make donations to their charities from their own pockets.
Appearing on Croft’s Sunday Scaries podcast, Ranganathan addressed some of the “anger” over their choice of charities, hailing the people who had shown support.
He explained that it was a “coincidence” that both of their charities had been in the same sphere.
“I know that you volunteered for Choose Love when you were younger,” Ranganathan told his fellow Traitors winner. “And I had got involved with Refugee Council because I got so fed up of the rhetoric against refugees and how these people are being demonised.
“I feel like… Look, people have different opinions, but I feel like [refugees are] a distraction tactic, and people are being pointed in that direction for something to blame, is my personal opinion.”
He added that the “voices that are angry” about their donations have been “amplified” because “that’s the fun angle”.
“But loads of people have come out in support,” he continued. “And actually, the people kicking off about it has kind of galvanised the people who think it’s a lovely thing.”
Croft, meanwhile, added that the specifics of each Celebrity Traitors contestants’ chosen charity was not discussed until the conclusion.
“It was so funny when we got to the end, and we both realised, because no one really discussed [charities],” he said. “It wasn’t like we assumed we were gonna win.
“And so it felt like such a nice moment at the time, but then to see the response, what it made me realise is that’s people’s response to a game show donating money to people who are really vulnerable. Imagine how difficult it is for those people navigating that system.”
Meanwhile Love Island host Maya Jama – who nearly walked away as the victor of this Celebrity Traitors series – matched the winners’ donation in a pledge to her chosen cause, children’s charity Action for Children.
The Traitors’ civilian version will return for its fifth series in January 2027.
