This Morning’s TV doctor, Ranj Singh, will join the likes of presenter Katie Piper and cricketer Graeme Swann on the dancefloor for the forthcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.
As he prepares to swap his stethoscope for sequins, here are five things you need to know about the ITV’s show’s resident medic.
OMG!! THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!! ✨🕺🏾✨ https://t.co/6yhnKRFyno
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) August 16, 2018
– Dr Ranj, 39, is an NHS clinician who trained at a number of hospitals in London. He specialises in care for children and young people.
– The medical professional’s broadcasting career began in children’s television. He appeared on CBeebies Bedtime Stories as well as Get Well Soon.
The latter helped its young audience to understand their bodies. Dr Ranj sang songs, danced and acted alongside puppet co-stars.
– Dr Ranj has previously discussed how his marriage to a woman in his 20s ended in divorce following reflection on his sexuality.
In 2016 he told Attitude Magazine: “Honestly, I think that’s still something I’m working on. I didn’t wake up one day and think ‘Yay, I’m gay!’, nor was it something I always knew.
“What I did know was that my sexuality wasn’t as blac and white as we are led to believe. That’s the reality about human sexuality – it’s not always simple.”
He added that he had felt uncomfortable about coming out before his divorce at the age of 30.
– In 2017 a spokesman for This Morning said advice Dr Ranj had given on the show on how to stop babies from choking had helped save the lives of six children.
A mother from Portishead, near Bristol, credited a video she remembered seeing of the TV doctor’s instructions with helping her rescue her eight-month-old son.
She said: “I would have probably rung for an ambulance straight away and those minutes could have been fatal. I wouldn’t have had a clue without seeing it, really.”
– Dr Ranj posed in his underpants for award-winning photographer Rankin for ITV show Loose Women’s campaign to promote male body confidence.
He appeared alongside professional footballer David Ginola and Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli.