Romesh Ranganathan: I can’t stand to watch myself on TV

The comedian, 43, has replaced Anne Robinson to host a celebrity version of the BBC One quiz show, which launched last month.

Ranganathan is joined by eight famous faces each week as they try to win up to £50,000 for their chosen charity.

Talking to co-hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas on The One Show, he said: “I cant stand watching myself, I find it unbearable to watch myself on TV so I don’t ever ever watch.

“All I ever see is what I did wrong, I think I look smug and I hate what I’m doing.

“I just can’t stand it, so I only ever watch anything when I have to for the edit – but otherwise I can’t bring myself to watch it.”

Ranganathan “wasn’t sure” about taking over from no-nonsense quiz master Robinson when he was first offered the role because he did not want to change into a “shiny” host.

He said: “I wasn’t sure about doing it all really… I had never seen myself as a quiz show host, I didn’t think that was one of the things that I would end up doing so when we talked about it I just wasn’t entirely sure if it was right for me.

“They said to me, we just want you to be yourself and play it how I would play it.

“I didn’t want to be something I am not and I didn’t want to change to this shiny floor quiz host so I thought I would just be myself.”

The comedian added that he was “most nervous” about asking the questions on the show.

“You ask so many questions in The Weakest Link so that was one of the things I was most nervous about.

“I was worried about reading the questions and reading them properly so I got sample questions and started reading them to my kids.

“That lasted about 30 seconds before they said can we go upstairs and do something else,” he joked.

The original series was first broadcast in 2000 before ending 12 years later. It returned for a Children In Need special in 2017.