Television presenter and author Richard Osman has disclosed that he issued a specific demand to the BBC after being approached to appear on the hit show Celebrity Traitors.
The 55-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Friday, November 28, revealed on The Chipping Forecast podcast that he would only agree to participate if producers guaranteed him the role of a traitor, refusing to consider being a faithful.
The Reason Behind the Ultimatum
When questioned about joining the upcoming series, Osman was unequivocal in his response. "I said to them, they did ask, I said I could only do it as a traitor," he stated.
He explained that his decision was rooted in how he would handle the intense roundtable discussions, where contestants attempt to deduce and accuse one another of being traitors.
"And the reason I could only do it as a traitor, I think, is if I am sat around that table and someone accuses me of being a traitor and I am a traitor, I don't mind, of course, that's fine and I'll fight for myself," Osman elaborated.
"If I'm around that table and someone accuses me of being a traitor, and I'm a faithful, I would lose my mind. I would, honestly, I would not be able to deal with it in any way whatsoever."
He concluded that the sheer unfairness of the situation would be too much to bear, saying, "I just couldn't, just the injustice of the thing it would drive me insane. I don't think I could do it unless I could be a traitor and they cannot guarantee that."
Confronting Fear and a Career in the Spotlight
While discussing his potential involvement in The Traitors universe, a show where comedian Alan Carr recently triumphed as a traitor, Osman also opened up about his personal battles with fear throughout his career.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, the Pointless co-host and bestselling novelist confessed that one of his most significant moments of fear was just before his debut as a presenter.
"The first time that I really had fear was sitting in a makeup chair and hearing my first live audience," he remembered. "I could hear the audience out in the studio, and that's the first time I just thought... Because I've sat in studios and heard a live audience a thousand times, I hadn't heard it when I had to go on and talk to them."
When asked how he managed to overcome this anxiety, Osman shared a simple but powerful philosophy. "You have to live with it. You have to go, 'there's two choices here, either feel that fear or go home.' And you're not going to go home, because look where you are. So I sat there, I went out there, I felt slightly uncomfortable."
