Dr Ranj struggling to juggle 'exhausting' 'Strictly Come Dancing' rehearsals with 13-hour A&E nightshifts

Dr Ranj and Janette Manrara (Credit: PA)
Dr Ranj and Janette Manrara (Credit: PA)

Dr Ranj Singh has said that juggling his job as an A&E doctor with ‘exhausting’ rehearsals for Strictly Come Dancing is proving harder than he thought.

The TV doctor works at St George’s Hospital in London, where he’s a paediatric emergency medicine physician.

But he’s revealed his struggle in a column in the Radio Times.

“Not only is dance choreography totally out of my comfort zone, but going from six hours of exhausting rehearsals straight into a 13-hour night shift at the hospital has definitely taken it out of me,” he writes.

(Credit: BBC)
(Credit: BBC)

“There have been times when even standing up on my ward rounds has been a struggle, as my legs felt like jelly. And I’ve looked a right plonker trying to practise my steps down the corridors when nobody’s looking.”

He also writes about finding out about getting a slot on BBC show.

“After screaming in a train toilet as my agent broke the news over the phone (I dread to think what the other passengers thought), the reality started to sink in,” he goes on.

“How could I possibly do this? I had already organised the next six months of my life, including starting my new NHS job in a major trauma centre in London as a paediatric emergency medicine physician! But there was no way I could pass this up.”

Dr Ranj’s dance partner Janette Manrara appeared to confirm his heavy schedule on the show on Saturday night, telling Claudia Winkleman: “One day he was up for 36 hours!”

Despite exhaustion, however, he managed to pull off a score of 27 for his debut dance, a cha cha cha, on Saturday night’s show.

Read more
Big Brother reveals next eviction
Bake Off’s Mel and Sue get first sitcom
Bodyguard finale praised over treatment of mental health