Romesh Ranganathan addresses ‘angry’ reaction to Celebrity Traitors refugee charity choice

Romesh Ranganathan has spoken out on the backlash he has received over his choice of charity, which left some Celebrity Traitors viewers “angry”.

Appearing on Bash’s Sunday Scaries podcast, the pair discussed their respective donations and both the support and backlash they received in return.

Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan secured a win for the Faithfuls (Paul Chappells/Studio Lambert/BBC/PA)

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Ranganathan, who donated half the prize pot to the Refugee Council, said: “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.”

The 48-year-old said that has decided to get involved in the charity as he became “so fed up with the rhetoric against refugees”.

Ranganathan said he has received comments calling his charity choice a “disgrace” and calling himself and Bash “the real Traitors all along”, though added that they mainly just made him laugh.

He said that whilst many people online voiced their “angry” opinions at the pair’s respective decisions, they also saw a wave of support.

Sebastian Croft said it has been ‘killing me’ to keep his Celebrity Traitors victory a secret (Paul Chappells/ Studio Lambert/BBC)

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“The people kicking off about it has kind of galvanised the people that really think it's a lovely thing,” he added.

“I think that discussion, that back and forth, has actually been really positive.”

Meanwhile Bash, who donated his winnings to Choose Love, a charity that provides humanitarian aid and advocacy for refugees and displaced people globally.

For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only Undated BBC handout photo of comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft, with hoist Claudia Winkleman, after they have won the 2026 series of BBC1's The Celebrity Traitors as faithfuls. Issue date: Friday October 30, 2026.

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The 24-year-old, who first became involved in the organisation at the age of 15, added: “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.”

Ranganathan also revealed that neither he nor the musician had coordinated their charity choices, describing it as pure “coincidence” that both decided to support refugee organisations.

Choose Love later shared a clip of the podcast moment on their Instagram page, saying both winners had chosen “love over hate”.