Five minutes with… Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett

There are many successful comedy double acts on TV – and one of the funniest is Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett

BEST mates Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan are always up for a challenge.

That much has become evident in the hilarious Sky One show, Rob & Romesh Vs, in which the comedians push themselves to the limits as they learn about unfamiliar worlds – boxing, basketball, ballet – from experts in the field.

And the skills the stand-up stars try their hand at in the new series – the third – are arguably the most entertaining yet.

There’s golf, in which they have lessons with Olympic Champion Justin Rose, before teeing off at the world-famous BMW PGA Championship; art (culminating in each of them having to present an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery); and, finally, drag.

And, yes, we really do get to see them perform their very own drag routines in front of a live audience.

Here, Londoner Beckett, 35, and Crawley-born Ranganathan, 42, tell us more about stepping out of their comfort zones together.

Can you tell us about a moment from the new series that stands out for you?

Rob: I was so hyped up and stressed out about doing the drag performance, so the comedown after the adrenaline high was so big.

We had to film the end scene, of us on Brighton Beach, and just before we filmed that I was told we were going into Tier 4 – all the shops were shutting at midnight, I couldn’t get my wife’s Christmas present and Christmas was cancelled! So, for me, that was probably the most stressful scene that we did. I’ll remember that forever.

Tell us more about your drag routines…

Rob: I actually fancied Romesh in drag!

Romesh: Yeah, I found Rob very, very attractive in drag.

Rob: We were both quite desperate to be sexy. We’re never in ‘Weird celebrity crush’ or ‘Torso of the week’ … And I think we found a way to be sexy.

Romesh: I would say, with Rob and I in drag, it’s a thin line between sexy and terrifying. You’ll have to make up your own minds as to which side of that line we fell.

How long is the list of stuff that you’d like to try for the show?

Rob: Golf might not have been top of the list but it proved to be so funny and so interesting, and I think it made us realise that we don’t have to be really passionate about it individually – or really hate it – in order for it to work. We don’t have to have that dynamic – it can just be us two exploring stuff.

Romesh: It feels like, as long as there’s something to get our teeth into it, we’d pretty much have a go at anything.

How do you think you would cope in lockdown if you had to live together?

Rob: Even if on the surface we seem very different, we’re both essentially quite similar, I’d say, wouldn’t you, Romesh?

Romesh: I think the reason we get on so well is because we are quite similar underneath it. But there’s no denying that we have different energies, and I do think it compliments each other.

I love Rob… we had spent loads of time together. But we hadn’t been away with each other a lot and when you do this [TV show], it brings you together for intense amounts of time under quite stressful situations.

Have either of you started any new hobbies at home during the pandemic?

Rob: I’ve started walking. I’m from south-east London and I own two pairs of walking boots now, which I never thought would happen to me.

Romesh: Rob had been talking about doing colouring during the art episode. I was cynical, and then he kept on saying, ‘Honestly, you’ve got to try it’.

So, I bought a colouring book for my wife and we thought, ‘We’ll put on a little podcast, have a glass of wine and do some colouring’

Is there anything else you’ve learnt about while filming the show that you’ve carried on doing?

Romesh: I’ve now got a full DJ set-up in my garage. My target – when we’re allowed to – is to actually go and play a set somewhere that isn’t embarrassingly bad.

Rob: I think now I would actually go to art galleries when I’m on tour – which I wouldn’t ever have done before.

Sometimes, when you’re from a kind of working-class background, you feel quite alien and a bit like you’re in trouble going there. It feels like a kind of school trip and you’re going to get told off and stuff… But I think I’d feel a bit more confident going to galleries.

– Rob and Romesh Vs series 3 airs on Sky One and NOW TV from Thursday February 4