Ranjit "Ranj" Singh Sangha (born 26 June 1979), also commonly known as Dr Ranj, is a British doctor, television presenter, author and columnist. He is best known as a celebrity dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing, and co-creating and presenting the CBeebies show Get Well Soon from 2012 to 2015. He has also worked for ITV, on This Morning, as a resident doctor from 2016 to 2021, co-hosting Save Money: Good Health with Sian Williams and winning Cooking with the Stars in 2022.
Early life and education Ranj Singh was born on 26 June 1979 in Chatham, Kent, to Indian, traditional Sikh parents. He has two brothers, Harminderjit and Jaskaranjit. As a child, he focused on schoolwork, gaining his first GCSE in the Punjabi language at just eight years old. Singh attended Gordon Junior School in Strood before studying medicine at King's College London GKT School of Medical Education, where he qualified as a physician in 2003.
Career Singh is a National Health Service (NHS) clinician, starting his career at Medway Maritime Hospital as a specialist in paediatric emergency medicine. Singh became a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 2007.
His television career began in 2012, having become the presenter for Get Well Soon, a children's television show airing on CBeebies, which he co-created with Kindle Entertainment. In 2016, the show received a children's BAFTA award in the Interactive – Adapted category.
Singh has become a prominent contributor to factual programming and documentaries, appearing on This Morning as a resident doctor and on 20 July 2018, he was a guest presenter on the show, alongside Vanessa Feltz. He has also contributed to a range of other programmes such as Inside Out, 5 News and Good Morning Britain. Singh also appears regularly on various quiz shows and celebrity specials, and in 2017, he won BBC's Pointless Celebrities, alongside physician Hilary Jones.
In August 2018, it was announced that Singh would be a contestant on the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with Janette Manrara and was the sixth contestant to be eliminated. Following his stint on Strictly, Singh became the host of his own medical advice show, Dr Ranj:ON Call, which began airing on ITV in March 2020.
Outside of his work on television, Singh is the author of two children's educational books: Food Fuel and Skelebones, a Sunday Times bestselling cookbook. Singh is a contributor to and columnist for Al Jazeera, Attitude magazine and NetDoctor.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh stepped back from his media work to focus on supporting the NHS in his role as a paediatric emergency medicine specialist. During the crisis, Singh regularly used his platform to debunk the rise in medical misinformation confusing parents and the general public, being concerned that many are being "duped" by rumours, including from celebrities sharing "fake" information.
Singh was one of the four competitors who took part in the Christmas special edition of The Great British Sewing Bee that was transmitted on Boxing Day 2020 on BBC One. His fellow competitors in the programme were Denise Van Outen, Shirley Ballas and Sara Pascoe.
In April 2021, Singh announced he would be appearing in his own West End musical for a new one-off show called Scrubs to Sparkles, which followed his vocal performances on television show All Star Musicals in March 2021.
From August to November 2021, Singh hosted the television series Extreme Food Phobics, in which applicants would come to cure their food phobias.
In December 2021, Singh appeared as a contestant on a Strictly Come Dancing Special that was also the first episode of the revival series of the BBC game show The Weakest Link, hosted by Romesh Ranganathan.
In December 2023, Singh opened up about his poor mental health whilst working for This Morning. He claimed the show's culture was to blame.
From July 2024, Singh appeared as Lance in the UK tour of & Juliet. In February 2025, Singh received an honorary PhD from Canterbury Christ Church University.
Personal life Singh married Sulvinder Samra, a pharmacist, at a traditional Sikh wedding ceremony in Nottingham in 2005. He came out as gay to Samra in 2009, and the couple divorced in 2011. He has been in a relationship with actor James Colebrook since 2024.
He has discussed his sexuality in an interview for Attitude magazine in 2015 and in 2018 fronted the cover of Gay Times magazine as part of a special gaysian celebration of LGBTQ Asians. Singh has been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, especially among minorities, and won the Attitude TV Award in 2019 where he spoke about how "People from ethnic minorities, people of colour, or LGBT people are still at a slight disadvantage" in the media. He is an advocate for LGBTQ+-inclusive education.
Work Television Year Title Role Network Notes2012–2015 Get Well Soon Himself CBeebies 13 Episodes2012–2015 Get Well Soon Hospital Dr Ranj CBeebies 15 Episodes2013 This Week Himself BBC One 1 Episode2015 The Wright Stuff Himself Channel 5 1 Episode2016 Inside Out Himself BBC One BBC West Midlands, Brexit Special 2016–2021 This Morning Himself ITV Resident Doctor (57 episodes)2017 Celebrity Eggheads Himself BBC Two 1 Episode2017–2018 Loose Women Himself ITV 6 Episodes2018 Saturday Mash-Up! Himself BBC Two & CBBC 1 Episode2018 The One Show Himself BBC One 1 Episode2018 Strictly Come Dancing Himself BBC One Contestant (Eliminated Week 7)2018–2021 Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Himself BBC Two 12 Episodes2019 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Himself BBC One 1 Episode 2019–present Lorraine Himself ITV (2 episodes)2019 The Ranganation Himself BBC Two 1 Episode 2019–2020 Would I Lie to You? Himself BBC One (3 episodes) 2020 Dr Ranj: On Call Himself ITV (4 episodes) 2020 Sport Relief Himself BBC One Special2020 Celebrity Mastermind Himself BBC One Episode 62020 Celebrity Chase Himself ITV Contestant (1 Episode)2020 Celebrity Catchphrase Himself ITV Christmas Special2020 The Great British Sewing Bee Himself BBC One Christmas Special 2021Extreme Food Phobics Himself W Channel (10 episodes) 2021-2025 The Weakest Link Himself (Contestant) BBC One (2 episodes) Strictly Special, Doctors and Nurses Special 2022 Olivier Awards Guest Presenter ITV Award show for West End and other London productions 2022 Richard Osman's House of Games Himself BBC Two Series 4, week 52026The Dickie ShowHimselfBBCEpisode 3, spinoff of Smoggie Queens
Theatre Year Production Role Theatre2024–2025& JulietLanceNational tour
Bibliography
Non-fiction Save Money Lose Weight. London: Transworld Publishers. 2019. .
Children's non-fiction Food Fuel, Level 9. Illustrated by David Semple. London: Oxford University Press. 2015. . Skelebones, Level 10. Illustrated by David Semple. London: Oxford University Press. 2015. . How To Grow Up Shah Rukh Khan: The No Worries Guide For BOYS. Illustrated by David O' Connell. London: Hachette Children's Group. 2021. .
Awards Year Award Category Result 2016 British Academy Children's Awards Interactive: Adapted – Get Well Soon Hospital App 2018 British Academy Children's Awards Pre-School Live Action – Get Well Soon Hospital 2019 Attitude Awards Shah Rukh Khan
References
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