Interview with Dr Ranj Singh: Get Well Soon

Ben Wakeling talks to rising media star, TV heartthrob and presenter of CBeebies’ ‘Get Well Soon’, Dr Ranj Singh.

To his patients Dr Ranj is a source of comfort of healing. To thousands of mums across the country however, he’s the rather handsome presenter of CBeebies’ ‘Get Well Soon’ and – more recently – the children’s health expert on ITV’s ‘This Morning’. In fact, his wide grin and trademark quiff are now so well-known he’s often recognised on the street.

“I find it a bit surreal,” he admits. “It’s so nice though because everyone that does recognise me is so lovely and they’ll always talk about the show and how much they like it. It’s just so nice to get positive feedback from people – it’s better than being slated!”

And the female attention? Dr Ranj laughs. “It’s not something I’ve ever been used to,” he says, “or ever will be, I think. It’s very flattering but it’s all a bit weird to me because I’m not used to that stuff. I’m not sure how to deal with it!”

There’s no doubt that Dr Ranj is a busy man. When he’s not in front of the camera he’s working as a paediatrician for the South London Healthcare Trust. It’s a field he fell into almost accidentally; after a year of struggling as a junior doctor he took some time out to. During that time, he found a job in paediatrics and thought he would give it a go. He’s never looked back since.

“I loved it, I absolutely loved it,” he enthuses. “I enjoyed the patients that I was working with, the medicine is so incredibly interesting and the people that work in paediatrics are immensely inspiring and that combination really worked for me. All of a sudden, I felt like I was in control, like I was doing something that I understood.”

Through his experiences of working with children Dr Ranj came up with the concept of a television programme aimed at children which explained common illnesses in a way which was entertaining yet informative. He sought advice from a friend: Simon Hickson of Trevor and Simon fame. At the time Hickson was working for Kindle Entertainment, an independent television production company and over the next year and a half they refined and perfected the concept into ‘Get Well Soon’. Following a successful pitch to the Head of CBeebies Production, a pilot was filmed and a series subsequently commissioned, with Dr Ranj as the presenter.

“I’d done some television stuff before, around medical topics and issues, but children’s TV is a completely different entity in itself, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it tough; but it was the most fun I have ever had in the name of work. The days were long – when we were filming the days were 14-15 hour days – but I had so much fun I was laughing literally from beginning to end!”

And how does he feel about singing a song about poo in front of a room of adults?

“The poo song was one of the first songs that we filmed and it was the toughest because all the songs are filmed in front of green screen and everybody is watching you. It’s the hardest song to get excited about and I did find it really difficult but it’s the most successful one out of the lot of them, so I must have done something right!”

The songs featured in ‘Get Well Soon’ deal with a range of illnesses, from stomach aches to verrucas – and the reason they’re so catchy is that they are inspired by modern pop culture. For example, ‘The Catchy Rash’ – a song about ringworm – is based on the musical style of Lady Gaga. Although Dr Ranj does not write the songs – his main role away from the camera is to act as the medical consultant – his respect for the songwriting team is obvious.

“The beauty of the songs is that they sound like something that everyone knows,” he says “and that’s testament to the guys that wrote the songs and the music. If I have to pick a favourite I’d have to choose the diabetes one. I love the message because it’s about having diabetes but still being able to do everything else you want to do. Plus, the music itself is based on a Bollywood beat and being Indian I can relate to that, so I really enjoyed singing that song.”

A decision has yet to be made about whether a second series of ‘Get Well Soon’ will be commissioned; but if it is, says Dr Ranj, he’d like to make a few changes, to push the boundaries a little.

“I want to explore illnesses that aren’t necessarily run of the mill, that might be a little more serious, perhaps even go out and meet some actual children with long-term conditions,” he explains. “I’d like to go into things in a bit more depth and explore things that children might get that may not be that common, or conditions that might be chronic.”

Until a decision is made, Dr Ranj has everything crossed. He remains modest about his rise to fame, though. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, I think, with the right idea,” he says. “It was a lot of hard work, and I’ve been very fortunate. We have been quite lucky.”

Luck is something which Dr Ranj mentions regularly. He recently made the decision to go part-time with his doctoring in order to juggle his media and professional careers, and counts himself as “lucky” that he gets to do both. He knows, though, that it could all change in a heartbeat.

“I think anyone that works in the media, unless you’re on a massively successful regular show, feels that it could end, and that’s life,” he says, pragmatically. “For a lot of people the media stuff is a career, it’s their job, but I’m very lucky in that if the media work does come to an end I’ve got something I can go to as an alternative career. A lot of people won’t necessarily have that, so I’m lucky in that respect. I’m enjoying it while it lasts; I’m living the dream and loving it, and I think I should enjoy it while I’ve got it and use it for something positive; because tomorrow it might all go away.”

In reality, though, very little of Dr Ranj’s success is down to luck. As a teenager he identified that he wanted to become a doctor – “as a child I also wanted to be a teacher and an astronaut” – but didn’t think he would be strong enough academically to succeed.

“I just thought that if I try hard enough it might pay off, and it did, and that’s what I say to everyone: it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your background is, or how clever you think you are, you can actually work hard enough and achieve what you want to achieve if you put the work in.”

Many people ask whether working with children is an emotional strain. “Yes, it is,” he responds, “but fortunately the vast majority of children bounce back, they don’t have serious illnesses. That’s the beauty of working with kids: the majority of them get better, and the ones that don’t, you can do so much to make their lives better, and you can give so much to help them cope with their illnesses…it’s just such a rewarding profession.”

Dr Ranj’s passion for paediatrics has led to him dedicating his time to a number of children’s health charities, including Saying Goodbye, the Meningitis Trust and Selfharm.co.uk.

“I don’t like to use the word famous,” he says, “but having a profile and having a voice is only useful if you do something with it, so I lend mine to causes and projects I feel passionately about. I’m more than happy to help out in any way I can.”

With so much time taken up with his work in medicine and the media, I wonder whether Dr Ranj has time for a relationship. “I do,” he says, “but I think anyone that’s got any sort of public spotlight needs to have a very understanding other half. And, luckily, I do. I think you have to be very organised and manage your time wisely.”

It seems Dr Ranj will be gracing our television screens for a long time to come – the culmination of years of perseverance, hard work…and the odd little bit of luck. One final question, though: how does he manage to get his quiff to stand up so well?

“There is a lot of hair product that goes into that,” he chuckles. “It involves a combination of drying and spraying…it’s become a trademark, so I have to keep it and maintain it. It’s the bane of my life – I now have to get up twenty minutes earlier!”

Ben Wakeling is a father of three who lives in Warwickshire. He has written two books on fatherhood (‘Goodbye, Pert Breasts’ and‘Teething Pains’), as well as recently publishing a book which raises money for charity: ‘How I Came To Hold You’, which raises money for Sands. He also blogs at the award-winning ‘Goodbye, Pert Breasts: The Diary of a Newborn Dad’. When he’s not writing, you can usually find him talking rubbish on Twitter.