The longest running host on British TV ‘revealed’ – and it’s not who you would expect

RICHARD Osman has shared the method he used to figure out who the longest running presenter on British TV is.

The Pointless star counted every episode the show host had starred in before determining that she has been on telly the most.

While making an appearance on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Richard told listeners: "I recently made the argument, which I stick by, that Susie Dent is the longest-running host in British television history.

"People often say it’s Magnus Magnusson or Sue Barker, but it’s Susie Dent in terms of the amount of shows she’s done.

"And with Pointless, they always said I did 2000 episodes, and I say, well if I’m a co-host on that, Susie does the same job, so she’s the longest-running host on British television."

Susie joined Countdown in 1992 and starred alongside seven hosts throughout her tenure.

She was best known for her stint in the Dictionary Corner, where she witnessed a myriad of different words appear on the legendary board.

Richard previously joked that he and Susie are mortal enemies, citing that as a reason why he couldn't replace Anne Robinson on Countdown.

He once joined her as a guest on the Channel 4 show, and asked if she ever got bored of her job after doing it for decades.

Susie responded to his question in an interview with the Express, saying: "Honest answer is I don’t because there’s always a new game to play and I still feel the adrenaline every time that clock starts ticking down.

"Rachel will say the same, if Rachel can’t get a number game or she can’t crack it immediately she will work at it and work at it.

"Sometimes she will take it home, it really matters to all of us, which is important."

On the other hand Richard quit co-hosting Pointless in 2022 after deciding he wanted to pursue a different career path.

He is already a published novelist and is now concentrating on his books and other TV work.

The author has written multiple murder-mystery books, and The Thursday Murder Club is currently in the process of being adapted into a television series for Netflix.