Viewers are raging at Child Genius Rahul’s dad for ‘laughing’ when his son’s rival got a question wrong
VIEWERS were raging at a dad on tonight’s Child Genius final for “laughing” when his son’s opponent got a question wrong.
The series finale, which aired earlier this evening, saw talented Rahul Doshi, from Barnet, London, crowned a deserving champion.
The 12-year-old, who has a higher IQ than both Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, has shone throughout the series, wowing viewers with his amazing gift for spelling, memory and maths.
But despite his incredible achievement, many viewers were distracted by his parents’ behaviour in the final.
Fans were angered when Rahul’s snooker player dad Minesh smiled as competitor Joshua crashed out of the competition, having scored 13 on his specialist round, losing out to Rahul and nine-year-old Ronan by two points.
Later when Ronan got a maths question wrong, Minesh and his pharmacist wife Komal appeared to snigger.
Joshua’s mum Kelly said she was angry after seeing the scenes on last Saturday’s final.
She said: “It upset me to see a parent do that. It’s disappointing behaviour.”
Viewers were also furious, with many taking to Twitter to lament the pair’s unsportsmanlike behaviour.
One wrote: “Why does Rahul’s dad think it’s acceptable to laugh when Ronan has an incorrect answer? That’s a 9 year old child. Disgusting.”
Another tweeted: “I truly respect the intelligence of the children on #ChildGenius however Rahul’s dad is one of the most disrespectful people I’ve seen!!”
One viewer pointed out: “I feel like we shouldn’t judge Rahul because of his dad. Rahul’s great, no two ways about it.”
It’s not the first time that the Channel 4 show, hosted by Richard Osman, has provoked controversy this year.
Viewers blasted the programme as “child abuse” after contestants were left in tears on Thursday night’s show.
A cheating row was sparked when some viewers complained that a mum gave her daughter the answer to a question using a hand gesture.
We told how bosses are set to tighten the rules as some watchers also accused parents of mouthing answers.