Richard Osman has revealed that his mother Brenda "struggled forever" after his father left her for another woman, and that he grew up without money or freedom. The 55-year-old Pointless star and best-selling author of The Thursday Murder Club opened up about his childhood in an interview with The Times.
Dad left when Richard was nine
Osman was just nine when his father left the family home in Sussex and moved to Warwickshire with his new partner. His mother, now 84, took a range of menial jobs before becoming a primary schoolteacher, but the family did not have "money, or freedom".
Reflecting on his past, Osman said he has made sure his family are now financially secure following the success of his writing career. He told The Times: "I've made sure my mum doesn't have to struggle, because she struggled forever. It's freedom, money. Because I didn't have freedom and anybody who grew up without money knows that."
He added: "I've got more money than when I was growing up, that's for sure. I've made sure my family are safe and secure."
Mum inspired Thursday Murder Club
Brenda lives in a retirement home in Sussex, which provided the inspiration for Osman's hit Netflix film, The Thursday Murder Club. The film stars Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ben Kingsley as pensioners living in a palatial countryside home while solving cold case murders.
After his father left, Osman said he cut contact with him, and so did the rest of his family. "It's ok," he insisted, adding: "The other side of my family more than made up for it. They're a lovely bunch. We fetishise our family a bit."
No interest in paternal side
Osman previously said he had no interest in learning about his paternal family during his appearance on Who Do You Think You Are in 2022. Speaking to Radio Times, he described his dad's affair as the worst thing to have ever happened to him.
When the pair met 20 years later, Osman admitted there was no relationship left, leaving him with no wish to find out more about his paternal side. Claiming it would be like "learning about strangers", he said: "My dad's side of the family wasn't something I was interested in because that's not the family I grew up in. It would, in a funny way, be like learning about strangers."
