ITV cling onto BBC golden boy Romesh Ranganathan as they renew his hit comedy game show Parents' Evening after he makes Celebrity Traitors final

ITV are clinging onto BBC golden boy Romesh Ranganathan as they renewed his hit comedy game show Parents' Evening. 

The comedian, 48, fronts several major TV and radio shows for the BBC and is currently starring on Celebrity Traitors, which is set to be watched by over 10 million fans. 

But ITV are holding onto The Weakest Link presenter as they renewed his comedy game show for a fourth series, even though they haven't aired the third yet. 

The ITV show sees celebrities team up with their sons, daughters, mums or dads to win money for their chosen charities.

Previously Romesh has had the likes of Joel Dommett, Alison Hammond, Carol Vorderman and more on the game show.

The next series, which is made by Romesh's company Ranga Bee, will drop early next year.

Back in 2024, BBC chiefs were said to have been ‘furious’ at the rival network for taking Romesh after they gave the former teacher a regular platform on TV and radio a decade ago and moulded him into one its most popular stars. 

The BBC and ITV have been at war for years over celebrity talent but this poaching left some BBC bosses raging after they gave Romesh the Saturday lunchtime BBC Radio 2 slot, replacing Claudia Winkleman, the new series of The Weakest Link, his show comedy drama in Avoidance and a weekly podcast called For the Love of Hip Hop, also a BBC Radio 2 production.

It comes after Romesh made a staggering £2million last year, latest accounts show.

The comedian, who was a maths teacher before he found fame, made £40,000-a-week thanks to his string of successful television deals and a West End debut.

New filings from the comedian's company Vetty Limited show the reserves grew from £2.5million to £4.5million in just 12 months.

Vetty Limited reached £5.4million, but after paying investors, Romesh was left with £4,574,114 in the bank.

Romesh also has the production company Ranga Bee with director Ben Green, which holds £468,000 in reserves.

The comic has landed numerous TV deals, including starring in Amazon Prime's second series of Last One Laughing.

Romesh is also the presenter of The Weakest Link and has a BBC Radio 2 show and tour dates.

The comedian also presented Can’t Knock The Hustle, with the four part travel series acting as a fact-check of his 2024 global stand-up tour.

Last year, Romesh made his West End stage debut as Bill in Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind opposite Sheridan Smith.

Daily Mail has contacted Romesh's representative for comment.

Despite becoming one of Britain's most sought-after TV stars, the comedian shunned celebrity enclaves and instead chosen to build a six-bedroom property in his home town in West Sussex.

The BBC presenter moved into a £3million new home just five miles from the humble terrace house where he grew up back in 2022.

It is a far cry from the small house nearby where he grew up with his Sri Lankan parents, Shanthi and Ranga, and his younger brother Dinesh.

A source previously told The Mail on Sunday: 'Romesh could have moved somewhere flash but he decided to stay where his roots are. It's where his mum and brother are and it's a town he loves.

'He has managed to find a space there to build his dream home, though it is rather bigger than his childhood home in one of the poorer areas. It's a lovely story of rags to riches which Romesh has worked very hard for.'

The comedian, who replaced Anne Robinson as the host of The Weakest Link, has previously spoken about his impoverished upbringing, including the challenges faced by his family when their home was repossessed after his accountant father was jailed for two years for fraud.

Recalling how the family spent a period in bed-and-breakfast accommodation as they waited for the council to rehouse them, he said: 'This all happened very, very quickly. It was a struggle.

'My mum found out my dad had been messing around. He fell into financial difficulty so we ended up getting our house taken away.

'We were supposed to go into a council flat, but they didn't have enough so we were in a bed-and-breakfast for a year and a half. And my dad was in prison. It was insane.'