Richard Osman has announced he is stepping down as host of the BBC quiz show 'Richard Osman's House of Games' after more than 800 episodes. The 55-year-old revealed the news on his podcast 'The Rest is Entertainment', saying: 'It will no longer be Richard Osman's House of Games. It will be somebody else's House of Games. And I gladly hand over the keys.'
Osman, who also created the show, met his wife, actress and comedian Ingrid Oliver, when she appeared as a contestant in 2020. The couple are now married and reportedly own an £8million home in west London. Reflecting on his time on the show, Osman said: 'I've loved it. And of course, I met my wife through it as well.'
Beyond his television career, Osman is a bestselling author of the 'Thursday Murder Club' series. His fifth book, 'The Impossible Fortune', sold 391,429 hardback copies last year, making it the UK's biggest-selling hardback. In total, he has sold around 17 million copies of his books. A film adaptation of his debut novel, produced by Steven Spielberg for Netflix, stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley.
Osman, who is 6ft 5in tall, began his career as a journalist and sitcom writer before co-creating the quiz show 'Pointless'. He described his path into television as 'an accident', adding: 'There was never going to be a lifetime where I wasn't going to write a novel.' His departure from 'House of Games' is expected to free up more time for writing.
