Richard Osman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Osman

Richard Thomas Osman (born 28 November 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, novelist and comedian. He is the creator and co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show Pointless. He has presented the BBC Two quiz shows Two Tribes and Richard Osman's House of Games and served as a team captain on the comedy panel shows Insert Name Here and The Fake News Show. He has made appearances on many British panel shows.

Osman worked at Hat Trick Productions alongside Ben Smith before becoming creative director of the television production company Endemol UK, producing shows including Prize Island for ITV and Deal or No Deal for Channel 4. He is the author of the crime novels The Thursday Murder Club (2020) and The Man Who Died Twice (2021).

• Richard Osman
• Born Richard Thomas Osman
• 28 November 1970 (age 48)
• Billericay, Essex, England
• Nationality British
• Education Warden Park School
• Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge
• Occupation Creative director, presenter, producer and director
• Years active Early 1990s–present
• Home town Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England
• Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[1]
• Television Pointless
• Two Tribes
• Insert Name Here
• Child Genius
• The Fake News Show
• Richard Osman's House of Games
• Title Creative Director of Endemol UK
• Children 2
• Relatives Mat Osman (brother)

Early life

Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, to Brenda Wright and David Osman, and grew up in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. His mother Brenda is a teacher. When Osman was nine years old, his father David walked out on the family, which Osman says created difficulty for the rest of his life. Osman attended Warden Park School in Cuckfield. Whilst still at school he got his first broadcasting experience, as a regular contributor to Turn It Up, an open-access music show which went out every Sunday evening on BBC Radio Sussex (the show was also notable for giving early broadcast experience to BBC news journalist Jane Hill and radio DJ Jo Whiley). From 1989 to 1992, Osman studied Politics and Sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Pointless co-presenter Alexander Armstrong, who read English Literature.

Career

Production career

Osman began his career working as executive producer on numerous British game shows, including Deal or No Deal, Channel 4 comedy panel game 8 out of 10 Cats and satirical comedy 10 O'Clock Live. He created the short-lived 2013 ITV gameshow Prize Island. Osman's other credits include Whose Line is it Anyway?, Total Wipeout and the game show 24 Hour Quiz. As a producer of Deal or No Deal, Osman was the one who revealed the identity of The Banker to be the show's producer Glenn Hugill.

Osman acted as script editor for BBC One's Total Wipeout and in 1999, created and wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Boyz Unlimited with David Walliams and Matt Lucas. In 2005, Osman co-created and co-wrote the animated Channel 4 sitcom Bromwell High.

Television presenting and Pointless

Since 2009, Osman has co-presented the BBC One teatime quiz show Pointless with host Alexander Armstrong. He created the show where he is jokingly known as Armstrong's "pointless friend". Having previously worked exclusively in behind-the-camera roles, Osman got the job as co-presenter/assistant when he pitched the idea for the show to a panel of BBC daytime heads, taking the role of the assistant in the demonstration.

In October 2013, during a 'record breakers' edition of Pointless, Osman successfully broke a Guinness World Record when he named thirty countries whose capital had been given, in one minute.

Osman guest hosted Have I Got News for You in October 2013.

In 2014, Osman began presenting a new BBC Two quiz show called Two Tribes. A second series began airing in February 2015.

Since October 2014, Osman guest-presented numerous episodes of The One Show. Since 2016, Osman has been a team captain on the BBC Two comedy panel show Insert Name Here, hosted by Sue Perkins. A second series was commissioned to begin airing in January 2017.

In February and December 2016, Osman presented Dragons' Den: Pitches to Riches, two special episodes which looked back over the past thirteen series of Dragons' Den on BBC Two. Since 2016, Osman has presented Child Genius on Channel 4.

Osman appeared on Comic Relief 2017 with his World Cup of Biscuits. This involved polling Twitter to find the best British biscuit. The chocolate digestive won.

In April 2017 Osman appeared in the first episode of the third series of Murder in Successville.

Comedy

Osman has appeared multiple times on Would I Lie to You?. He has appeared as a panelist six times on Have I Got News for You: in December 2012, April 2013, April 2014, October 2015, December 2017 and April 2018, as a guest on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue: twice in Series 66 2016, twice in Series 70 2018, and several times as a guest on QI.

In 2015 he was a contestant on the second series of Taskmaster, hosted by fellow TV giant Greg Davies.

Osman is a regular on the darts show Let's Play Darts.

Personal life

Osman is a season ticket holder at Fulham FC[ and has two children from a previous relationship; a daughter and a son. His elder brother Mat is a founding member and bassist in the band Suede and produced music for 8 Out of 10 Cats and You Have Been Watching. On 6 December 2011, Osman became an 'unlikely heartthrob' after winning Heat's Weirdest Crush Award.

Television work

Production credits

• Year Title Role Channel Notes
• 1995 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Program associate Channel 4 12 episodes
• 1998-1999 If I Ruled the World Creator, producer BBC Two 2 series
• 1999 Boyz Unlimited Co-creator (with David Walliams and Matt Lucas) Channel 4 6 episodes
• 2001 The Adam and Joe Show Additional material 3 episodes
• 2004 Ban This Filth Executive producer 6 episodes
• 2005 Bromwell High Writer 12 episodes
• 2005-2017 8 Out of 10 Cats Executive producer (41 episodes)
• Edit producer (1 episode)
• 42 episodes
• 2009-2010 You Have Been Watching Executive producer 15 episodes
• 2009-2011 Total Wipeout Script editor (36 episodes)
• Program associate (9 episodes)
• BBC One 45 episodes
• 2010 Channel 4's Alternative Election Night Executive producer Channel 4 One-off programme
• 2011-2013 10 O'Clock Live 33 episodes
• 2012-2018 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 16 series
• 2013 Prize Island Creator ITV 1 series
• 2014-2016 Only Connect Additional questions BBC Two 5 episodes

Presenting roles

• Year Title Role Channel Notes
• 2009– Pointless Co-presenter BBC One (2011– )
• BBC Two (2009–11) 18 series
• 2011– Pointless Celebrities Co-presenter BBC One 10 series
• 2014– The One Show Guest presenter BBC One 7 episodes
• 2014–2015 Two Tribes Presenter BBC Two 2 series
• 2016 Dragons' Den: Pitches to Riches Presenter BBC Two 2 episodes
• 2016– Child Genius Presenter Channel 4 Series 4–
• 2017 The Nightly Show Celebrity host ITV 1 episode
• Channel 4's Alternative Election Night Co-presenter Channel 4 One-off programme
• 2017– Richard Osman's House of Games[20] Presenter BBC Two 2 series
• 2018 Re-Play 2018 with Richard Osman Presenter ITV One-off programme

Non-presenting appearances

• Year Title Role Channel Notes
• 2012-2016 Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Panellist BBC Two 3 episodes
• 2012-l Have I Got News for You Guest panellist BBC One Numerous episodes
• Would I Lie to You? Guest 7 episodes
• 2013 The Big Fat Quiz of the Year Himself Channel 4 TV special
• 2013-2017 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Contestant 5 episodes
• 2013- QI Guest BBC Two 4 episodes
• 2014 Not Going Out Himself/cameo role BBC One 1 episode: "Pointless"
• Room 101 Guest 1 episode
• 2014 World Snooker Championship Special guest (1 episode)
• Potless presenter (3 episodes)
• BBC Two 4 episodes
• 2015 2015 World Snooker Championship Celebrity predictions (1 episode)
• Celebrity player (1 episode)
• 2 episodes
• Let's Play Darts Participant / Commentator BBC Two Charity series
• Danger Mouse Professor Strontium Jellyfishowitz CBBC Voice only
• Celebrity Juice Guest ITV2 3 episodes
• 8 Out of 10 Cats Channel 4 1 episode
• 2015-2017 Loose Women ITV 3 episodes
• 2016 Play to the Whistle Himself 1 episode
• Duck Quacks Don't Echo Guest Sky One 1 episode
• Taskmaster Contestant Dave Series 2
• Eurovision Song Contest 2016 UK spokesperson BBC One, EBU Annual programme
• 2016-2017 The Last Leg Guest Channel 4 3 episodes
• 2016- Insert Name Here Team captain BBC Two 3 series
• 2017 The Fake News Show Channel 4 1 series
• Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit Contestant Dave 1 episode
• 2018 Frankie Boyle's New World Order Guest BBC Two 1 episode
• 2019 Catchphrase Celebrity contestant ITV 1 episode

Bibliography

With Alexander Armstrong

• The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2012)
• The 100 Most Pointless Arguments in the World (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2013)
• The Very Pointless Quiz Book (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2014)
• The A-Z of Pointless (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2015)
• A Pointless History of the World (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2015)
• The World Cup Of Everything: Bringing the Fun Home (Coronet, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, 2017)