Why has Richard Osman left Pointless?
TV star Richard Osman has quit quiz show Pointless after 13 years.
The 6ft 7 inch star has been the sidekick of Alexander Armstrong on the show since the very beginning.
Why has Richard Osman left Pointless?
Richard Osman announced he was leaving BBC One show Pointless in April 2022.
Osman said he wanted to focus on a different career path which ended up in a deal with Steven Spielberg.
He is already a published novelist and is now concentrating on his books and other TV work.
The Pointless host, who is also the creator of the show, has written multiple murder-mystery books, including one titled The Bullet That Missed that launched in September 2022.
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He shared a tweet on April 5, 2022, saying: "Absolutely thrilled to reveal the front cover for the new #ThursdayMurderClub novel #The BulletThatMissed."
A BBC source confirmed his Pointless exit in a statement: “Quiz fans and housewives all over the country will be gutted by this news.
"Richard has become a staple of the daytime schedule but sadly all good things must come to an end.
“Richard has loved every second of doing the show alongside Xander but he really wants to give his all to his writing career which has been
an enormous success.
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“His departure is completely amicable but he just does not have enough hours in the day to do everything so sadly something had to give.
“His literary career is going from strength to strength so he’s having
to be slightly more choosy with what he does TV-wise."
How long was Richard Osman on Pointless for?
Richard first began hosting Pointless in 2009.
He and co-host Alexander Armstrong appeared on every episode until Richard's final show was aired on July 20, 2022.
Richard tweeted on July 21, 2022: "I will still be on screen for a while in repeats, but yesterday was my final ever episode of daytime #Pointless after 12 years."
He added: "Only Xander and I knew that at time of recording, so I wanted to give him a heartfelt message. New episodes with new hosts will be with in September!
Richard and Xander are known for their onscreen banter - and even swapped roles on the show to celebrate the 1,000th episode.
Who has replaced Richard Osman?
As his departure was announced, the BBC source also shared: "The headaches of what to do with his role long-term now begin.
"In the meantime, they're going to rotate guest co-hosts behind the laptop, but there's not heaps of time before filming begins so they're trying to find the right people quickly.
"He is a telly legend so is a hard man to replace."
It has taken six people to replace Richard on Pointless.
The guest hosts on rotation will include: Sally Lindsay, Stephen Mangan, Lauren Laverne, Alex Brooker, Konnie Huq and Ed Gamble.
What is Richard Osman doing now?
Richard is still hosting House of Games.
On July 21, 2022, Richard tweeted that they had recorded "another 100 House Of Games".
He is also an author.
His first novel The Thursday Murder Club was launched in 2020, and its sequel The Man Who Died Twice came in 2021.
The Thursday Murder Club is the third best-selling hardback of all-time in the UK, while the follow-up is the sixth best-selling.
The film rights have already been bought by Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg.
His released The Bullet That Missed in September 2022.
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Will Alexander Armstrong also leave Pointless?
Richard has co-hosted the game show alongside his friend Alexander
Armstrong since the start.
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Alexander has no intention of leaving the show and will continue to host as normal.
Filming for the new series started in May 2022 and is the first time Richard was absent.