Richard Osman

With many hours spent as a child ogling the "magic box” that centre-pieced his living room, Richard continues to channel his passion for entertainment into his work today. He first displayed his skills on the small screen as a producer with Hat Trick Productions, and later as creative director of Endemol UK, where his name is credited with many high-profile shows, including the ITV gameshow Prize Island in 2013. Richard has also executively produced programmes such as Deal or No Deal, Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats, and 10 O'Clock Live.

Between sessions in the Politics and Sociology sections of the library at Trinity College, Cambridge, Richard befriended Pointless co-presenter Alexander Armstrong: following an impressive pitch to a panel of BBC bosses, he was offered the job as Armstrong's "pointless friend" on the quiz show in 2009.

Richard has made guest appearances on several familiar TV titles, including Whose Line is it Anyway?; 24 Hour Quiz; Have I Got News for You; Would I Lie To You; and Let's Play Darts For Comic Relief. In 2014, he began presenting a new BBC Two production called Two Tribes, the second series of which began airing in February 2015. He has also guest presented The One Show with Alex Jones twice.

A friend of the pen, Richard acted as script editor for BBC One's Total Wipeout and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Boyz Unlimited with David Walliams and Matt Lucas. His book The 100 Most Pointless Things In The World was published in 2012.

Heavily bespectacled and boasting a mighty 6ft 7in in height, the TV presenter’s signature look earned him the status of Weirdest Crush by Heat Magazine in 2011—a claim to fame that resulted in a deluge of social media-borne marriage proposals.

In 2020, Osman was widely praised by critics for his debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club. Recognised as the fastest selling adult crime debut in recorded history, Osman has since written two more novels. 

According to Heat editor Lucie Cave, Richard is "a smart, clever man who wows readers with his uniqueness". It is safe to say that after spending time with Richard, delighted audiences depart with a host of fun facts they never realised they needed to know.