Richard Osman was born in 1970 and grew up in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. He started his career as an executive producer on TV shows such as Deal Or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He pitched the gameshow Pointless to the BBC in 2009 and has now been the show’s cohost for 12 years, alongside his university friend Alexander Armstrong. Last year Osman’s novel The Thursday Murder Club (Penguin) became the first debut to take the Christmas No 1 slot.