BBC golden boy Romesh is crowned king of the castle after outwitting the Traitors in shows nail-biting finale

Leading the charge in its two-minute advert to boost TV licence payments, Romesh Ranganathan asked: 'What has the BBC ever done for me?'

For the comedian himself, the answer to that question is somewhat simple – it has made him a household name.

And last night the Corporation's golden boy had another reason to love the BBC, as he won its biggest and most-watched show in years, Celebrity Traitors.

Alongside actor Sebastian Croft, the former maths teacher managed to outdo Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny in what was the most nail-biting finale in the programme's four-year history.

But while viewers might think Romesh, 48, an unlikely winner following the impressive game played by queen of the turret Ms Jama, others may wonder whether the result was all rather convenient for the Beeb's favourite star.

Indeed, when the Weakest Link host was signed alongside the likes of model Jerry Hall, actors Richard E Grant and Michael Sheen, as well as comedian Miranda Hart, there was chatter that his inclusion was part of a plan to cement 'Brand Romesh' at the BBC.

'You could have guessed Romesh would be on that list, for certain,' TV insiders told me then. 'The BBC adore him. They would have him on their screens all day, every day if they could.

'So of course he would be on Celebrity Traitors – they want him on everything.'

News of him winning may prompt accusations of a 'fix' as a result – something producers working on the programme would furiously dismiss, arguing that it's up to the competitors to play their own individual games.

'Producers can do what they like to cause as much mayhem for the contestants as possible,' a Traitors insider told me some weeks ago. 'There would be ways and means to get people banished or murdered if they really wanted to.'

Behind-the-scenes theories aside, one thing is certain: Romesh's career is set to enjoy another significant boost. The irony, of course, is that he doesn't really need it. Following an appearance on the BBC's Live at the Apollo show in 2013, bosses handed him a comedy travel documentary series, called Asian Provocateur, which followed him as he travelled to Sri Lanka with his mother, Shanthi.

A host of other roles then came his way, such as Romesh: Talking to Comedians; The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan; The Ranganation; Avoidance; The Weakest Link, and the prestigious task of hosting the Baftas.

And he seemed to secure top spot at the Beeb this July, when an array of stars featured in the Corporation's advert to promote itself and encourage viewers to pay their TV licence.

Despite there being almost 100 celebrity cameos in the two-minute clip – including from David Jason, Greg James and Traitors' host Claudia Winkleman – BBC bosses chose Romesh as its leading man at EastEnders' Queen Vic pub.

Sky has also had a slice of him, launching comedy series Rob & Romesh Vs, which cast him alongside his best friend (and fellow Celebrity Traitors contestant) Rob Beckett as they try different sports. He also starred on panel show A League Of Their Own.

Over at TV channel Dave, he's hosted Judge Romesh. This saw him appearing in a court room, deliberating over fall outs between friends and family. And on ITV, he has another quiz show titled Romesh Ranganathan's Parents' Evening. More recently, Amazon Prime lured him to host game show Would You Rather: Decide to Survive.

He also hosts three weekly podcasts: Wolf and Owl, with Tom Davis; BBC Radio 2's For the Love of Hip Hop; and The Romesh Ranganathan Show.

But despite such ubiquity, I've never heard a bad word spoken of Romesh.

In fact, the overwhelming verdict from his showbiz colleagues is that he is not only hilarious but kind hearted. Quick to laugh at himself, he described his mortification in the castle when he failed to complete a puzzle challenge, adding that as a former maths teacher his fellow contestants would 'hammer me for that'. Romesh, who studied maths at London's Birkbeck college, went into teaching and also became head of sixth form at his old school, Hazelwick, before finding fame.

Indeed, years before he became the BBC's most sought-after man, I was at school with Romesh in Crawley, West Sussex.

He was three years above me at Hazelwick, an aspirational comprehensive, where I remember him being funny and popular.

Along with his younger brother Dinesh (now following Romesh's footsteps on the comedy circuit), he had plenty of girlfriends. In those days, he went by the name Jonathan – his Sri Lankan Tamil parents having given him an Anglicised alternative, which he has said was a 'secret weapon' to help him avoid potential discrimination.

Little did I, or any of my classmates, know Romesh's father Ranga was in prison at the time, after being convicted of fraud shortly before the star's 15th birthday.

It meant Romesh, his mother and brother lost their home. Writing in his book Straight Outta Crawley: Memoirs Of A Distinctly Average Human Being, he recalled how they spent a period in a bed-and-breakfast, adding: '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.'

The trio, who are remarkably close, eventually moved into a small, terraced house in one of Crawley's most deprived areas. He also got a part-time job at Gatwick's Sunglasses Hut to earn money while studying.

One mutual school friend of ours remarked this week: 'He has always been good at using humour to get through the difficult times. It's sad to think about now though, that he was going through that.'

But he got through it, completed his A Levels and went to university before returning to Hazelwick as a maths teacher.

One of Romesh's pupils was Erin Doherty, star of award-winning dramas Adolescence and The Crown. Romesh then went to work at the Beacon School in Banstead, Surrey.

That is where he met his future wife, Leesa. While a teacher, Romesh was continuing to try to break into the world of comedy. He was often so broke he didn't have enough petrol to drive himself to gigs. On one occasion, he even had his car taken because he couldn't afford to pay road tax.

Today, he's said to be worth at least £6million. In 2022, Romesh created Ranga Bee Productions.

The firm has created the likes of Dave sitcom The Other Half, Sky comedy Seen, and Channel 4's John and Lucy's Party of the Year. It had £468,645 in reserves as of last year, according to Companies House.

Elsewhere, assets in his business Vetty Limited hit £5.4million. After paying creditors, he was left with £4.5million.

Romesh's rags to riches story was completed four years ago when he, Leesa and their three sons, Theo, Alex and Charlie moved into their £3million Crawley home.

'He's not one to boast or show it all off,' says one of my old school mates, who still lives in the area. 'He's still humble.'

And, no doubt, very aware of everything the BBC has done for him.