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Why is Stephen Mangan on Pointless
Pointless: Stephen Mangan confirms he’ll be back co-hosting in 2023 Virgin Radio 8 Dec 2022, 10:51 Good news Pointless fans! Stephen Mangan will take to the desk once again in 2023. He confirmed the news to virginradio.co.uk and other press while on the red carpet for National Lottery’s Big Bash on Tuesday (6th December). Stephen has been one of a to join the series following the departure of Richard Osman, who,
Stephen sat alongside Alexander Armstrong for episodes which aired in October. The Episodes star was among good company in the rotating co-host list for series 28, which included Ed Gamble, Konnie Huq, Sally Lindsay, Alex Brooker and Lauren Laverne. While keeping quiet about potentially being Richard’s permanent replacement, Stephen did share that Pointless fans can catch him yet again on the show next year.
He told virginradio.co.uk : “You will see more of Pointless. I just recorded a few more episodes the other day. “I love it. I love working with Alexander Armstrong. He’s an old friend of mine. It’s just good having all the answers to the questions in front of your laptop makes you sound really smart.
- I’m all for that.” It seems like 2023 will be a busy year for Stephen, who added: “I’m writing in my next kids novel, and we’ve got another series of Portrait Artists of the Year.
- There’s a very exciting drama happening, but I can’t tell you about it yet, so it’s all happening.” Stephen and his fellow guest co-hosts took over from Richard for series 28, after the House of Games star stepped away after 13 years.
In a statement announcing his guest role, Stephen said in May: “I am incredibly excited to be joining my old friend Xander on such an iconic show. What could possibly go wrong.?” Richard has been part of Pointless since 2009 and has appeared in nearly 30 series and 1,300 episodes.
It’s been a busy time for Richard, who recently announced,The telly presenter shared the wonderful news with fans via Twitter, with a loved-up photo of the newlyweds leaving their ceremony. In the beaming photo, is walking hand-in-hand with his new wife, and captioned the snap: “The most magical, joyful day on Saturday with my beautiful wife @ingridoliver100.
“Surrounded by wonderful friends and family, a day full of love and laughter. We’re so, so happy.” Pointless continues weekdays at 5:15pm on BBC One. : Pointless: Stephen Mangan confirms he’ll be back co-hosting in 2023
Why is Richard Osman giving up Pointless
Richard Osman is to step down as a presenter on the daytime quizshow Pointless, the BBC has said. Although Osman, 51, who has presented the show alongside Alexander Armstrong since 2009, is stepping back from the main show, he will continue to host future series of Pointless Celebrities and his BBC Two show Richard Osman’s House of Games.
- Armstrong will continue to host the quiz, with a roster of guest presenters lined up to replace Osman.
- Commenting on his departure, Osman said: “Pointless has been a joy from start to finish, working alongside my friend Alexander Armstrong, backed by the most wonderful team, and for the best viewers in the world.
I will miss everyone so much, but I’m thrilled that I’ll still be presenting the celebrity shows. I can’t thank everyone enough for 12 amazing years.” SOME NEWS! After 13 wonderful years I’m leaving daytime Pointless, to concentrate on writing. Will still be doing the celebrity shows and ‘HouseOfGames’.
- It has been the GREATEST pleasure and I can’t wait to start watching as a viewer.
- Thank you to everyone! ❤️ — Richard Osman (@richardosman) April 8, 2022 Will miss the whole team, especially the incomparable @XanderArmstrong,
- Thank you to everyone who watches, it really has been a dream, and I know the show will continue to go from strength to strength.
— Richard Osman (@richardosman) April 8, 2022 In a tweet, Osman indicated that his departure was partly due to the success of his bestselling crime novels, The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, The film rights of the former have been bought by Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Entertainment.
- Tamara Gilder, the creative director of Remarkable Entertainment, the production company that produces Pointless, said Osman had been a large part of Pointless and the success of the show.
- We’ll be sad to not have him as part of the daytime series, but we are very glad that he’ll still be part of the Pointless family, presenting our celebrity specials, as well as continuing to host House of Games.” Series 26 of Pointless, which broadcast in January, had a peak audience of 2.8 million viewers and has been BBC One’s No 1 daytime quiz and gameshow in 2021 and 2022,
In Pointless, members of the public compete for a cash prize by finding correct but obscure answers to four rounds of general knowledge questions. Osman was not originally intended to be Armstrong’s co-presenter but after filling the role as part of a demonstration laid on for the BBC, executives asked him to continue for the first series after seeing the chemistry between the pair.
Why is Sally doing Pointless?
Former Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay has replaced Richard Osman as co-host of the tea-time quiz show Pointless after he announced he was stepping away from the role in April. Sally, who played Shelley Unwin in the soap, is one of the all-star guest hosts joining regular presenter Alexander Armstrong.
- On Tuesday Sally, from Stockport, had a comical exchange with Richard while viewers commented about her using the laptop in front of her.
- As she delivered answers and information surrounding the general knowledge questions put to the contestants some fans took to Twitter to complain about Sally ‘reading’ from the laptop.
@WHartley10 tweeted: “Will you please stop constantly looking down at your laptop and engage more with contestants? Not liking the new look, sorry.” And @JonStone101 said: “Richard Osman always gave the appearance that he knew the information he was giving, Sally Lindsay is clearly just reading from a laptop #pointless.” READ MORE: Channel 4 Gogglebox star Ellie Warner gushes as co-star Pete Sandiford’s wife shares rare couple picture Richard jokingly shared a photo of Sally looking at the screen and asked: “Wait, the laptop WORKS NOW????” And she replied with a laughing emoji: “I don’t think you had it plugged in.” As she returned to the BBC One show on Wednesday (September 21) Sally stunned Alexander as she disclosed her personal family connections over a question about teams in the third round of the men’s 2021/22 FA Cup. Sally amazed Alexander with her family link (Image: BBC) Sally, who played Shelley in Coronation Street from 2001 to 2006, said: “Manchester City is actually something I do know about because all my family are obsessed with Manchester City. My grandad was the founder member of the fan club.” Alexander gasped: “No.” And she told him: “Yeah, back in the 30s.” Sally, who also played Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy series Mount Pleasant and Kath Agnew in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours, famously made her first TV appearance at the age of seven on Top of the Pops when her school choir, the St Winifred’s School Choir, released There’s No One Quite Like Grandma, which reached number one in the UK singles chart.
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Does Richard Osman have Parkinson’s?
– Paul Sinha – (Ian West/PA)
- The professional quizzer, dubbed “The Sinnerman”, found fame as one of the formidable Chasers on ITV show The Chase.
- He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 and, in the same year, he got married and became British Quiz Champion Of The Year.
- Ladbrokes is offering him odds of 6/1.
: Who could replace Richard Osman on Pointless?
Do Pointless contestants stay overnight?
Accommodation sorted – The show has several hotel rooms put back for contestants if they don’t finish filming in one day, In our case, we had two nights in a Holiday Inn due to our filming schedue.
Has Richard Osman left Pointless yet?
Richard Osman has left the BBC gameshow Pointless after nearly 13 years as presenter alongside co-host Alexander Armstrong. The household name first forged his career in TV as a writer and then producer, helping to create iconic British shows including 8 out of 10 cats and Total Wipeout – before moving on to star as one of the faces of Pointless.
- Mr Osman announced his exit from the show in April 2022 during the 27th series, at a time when audience figures were peaking at 7m viewers.
- Working alongside my friend Alexander Armstrong, backed by the most wonderful team, and for the best viewers in the world.
- I will miss everyone so much, but I’m thrilled that I’ll still be presenting the celebrity shows.
I can’t thank everyone enough for 12 amazing years.”
Are Alexander Armstrong and Stephen Mangan friends
Did you enjoy co-hosting Pointless recently? – It’s really good fun but more complicated than it looks. Alexander Armstrong is an old friend, so I enjoyed trying to make him laugh and trying to relax the contestants – a lot of them are terrified, it’s a big moment for them. I’d be up for doing it again, definitely. Stephen enjoyed teaming up with old friend Alexander Armstrong to co-host Pointless (Picture: Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)
Who is the new presenter on Pointless 2023?
It takes many people to fill Richard Osman’s shoes, and not just because he wears a size 14, Back in April 2021, the TV presenter, producer and novelist announced that he was leaving his co-presenter role on Pointless to focus on his hugely successful Thursday Murder Club book series and other projects.
- Due to the ‘stars we see in the night sky are actually hundreds of years in the past’ nature of TV broadcast, by that point, Osman was already four months out of the job.
- His final episode of the regular Pointless (he’ll still appear on the celebrity editions) was filmed in December 2021 and aired in July 2022, with this touching message to Alexander Armstrong.
When Pointless returned for Series 28 in September 2022, it came with a rotating clutch of new guest-hosts sitting behind Osman’s fact-checking desk. First up was Sally Lindsay, and following her were Stephen Mangan, Lauren Laverne, Alex Brooker, Konnie Huq and Ed Gamble.
What happened to Richard Osman Pointless
Why has Richard Osman left Pointless? – It was a sad day for Pointless fans back in April when Richard Osman, who has hosted the show alongside Alexander Armstrong since 2009, announced he was stepping down from his role. The comedian and Pointless creator said in a statement that the job had been “a joy from start to finish”.
“Working alongside my friend Alexander Armstrong, backed by the most wonderful team, and for the best viewers in the world,” he added. “I will miss everyone so much, but I’m thrilled that I’ll still be presenting the celebrity shows. I can’t thank everyone enough for 12 amazing years.” While Osman didn’t say why he was leaving the show, Armstrong implied in his statement that his co-presenter would be leaving to focus on his crime novel career after the success of his books The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice,
“Daytime television’s loss is international best-selling crime fiction ‘s gain. I say that like it’s a consolation – I’m going to miss the big man next to me Monday to Friday,” he said. “But at least I still get him at weekends – and weekdays if you’re watching on Challenge.” Not to fear – Osman will still be the co-host of Celebrity Pointless, a spin-off show in which celebrities compete to win money for their selected charities.
Who is the new girl on Pointless?
BBC Pointless: Sally Lindsay says she is ‘very excited’ to co-host show as she replaces Richard Osman.
Why is Richard Osman not on Pointless tonight?
Pointless co-host Richard Osman will no longer be a feature of the show as he is replaced by Sally Lindsay. Osman, who has been a feature of the BBC quiz show since it began, announced earlier this year that he was quitting. He will continue to appear on celebrity specials of the show, and is continuing to host House of Games.
In April, Osman announced he is stepping back from hosting the show after almost 13 years to “concentrate on writing”. “Richard has had to put more time into being a superstar global best-selling author which is so annoying and so inconvenient and thoughtless of him,” Armstrong joked. “He still does the Saturday shows so he is still around and I still get to see my old friend.
We’ve got a rotating roster of exciting guests and its very lovely, we get guests to come in for 11 shows and just as they’re finding their rhythm and it’s all going really well they go out and the next comes in. “It’s been really exciting, so far we’ve had five guest hosts, Sally Lindsay, Lauren Laverne, Alex Brooker, Konnie Huq and Stephen Mangan.” Osman was not originally intended to be Armstrong’s co-presenter but after filling the role as part of a demonstration laid on for the BBC, executives asked him to continue for the first series.
- He was the creative director at production company Endemol when he did the demo.
- The programme moved from BBC Two to BBC One after a successful two years.
- Pointless sees teams of two competing for a cash prize by finding correct but obscure answers to general knowledge questions.
- Sally Lindsay is an actress and television presenter known for her roles as Shelley Unwin in Coronation Street, Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy series Mount Pleasant and Kath Agnew in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours.
She stood in for Warwick Davis when he took a break from the ITV quiz show Tenable. Richard Osman told Pointless co-presenter Alexander Armstrong how “lucky” he feels to have worked with him, when Osman’s final daytime episode of the BBC gameshow aired.
Osman took a moment to praise his “lovely” co-presenter, telling Armstrong: “I was just in an interview, and they always ask about Pointless at the end of it, they always say ‘and how’s Pointless and what’s Xander like?’ and I always say how lovely you are. “And it occurred to me that I don’t tell you in person often enough.
So I just want to say how lucky I am to work with you. “I always think after the end of interviews, I must tell Xander in person, which I never do. So now I’ll tell you on telly.” A visibly touched Armstrong said: “That’s the nicest thing in the world.
And I’ll get an opportunity, I hope, to tell you the same thing.” Jokingly, Osman replied: “Well, if it were true. It only works if it’s genuine.” Osman took to Twitter to reiterate his tribute to Armstrong, and alongside a clip of the touching moment on the show he wrote: “I will still be on screen for a while in repeats, but yesterday was my final ever episode of daytime #Pointless after 12 years.
“Only Xander and I knew that at time of recording, so I wanted to give him a heartfelt message.” In a tweet posted in April, Osman said he was leaving the show to “concentrate on writing”, and he expressed his excitement at getting to watch the show “as a viewer”.
- His debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, was published in 2020 and became a bestseller, with global film rights bought by Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Entertainment.
- A sequel, The Man Who Died Twice, was published last year, and his third novel, The Bullet That Missed, is expected in September.
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Has anyone survived Parkinson’s
Stages 4 and 5 – In the advanced stages of Parkinson’s, some treatments may become less effective. However, if they provide even small benefits, it may be worth continuing them. In some cases, doctors may change the delivery of some medications. For example, those with more advanced Parkinson’s may receive an infusion of carbidopa-levodopa rather than an oral dose.
The continual infusion keeps the blood levels of the drugs constant. In these stages, people may undergo surgical procedures, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), DBS involves implanting electrodes into the brain to emit electrical pulses that help reduce symptoms. Parkinson’s disease is not fatal, as the condition itself does not cause death.
However, some complications that arise from Parkinson’s, including infections and falls, can be fatal. Treatments and lifestyle changes can help people manage their symptoms and reduce their risk of complications. It is worth remembering that due to modern treatments and healthcare services, most people living with Parkinson’s disease now live as long, or almost as long, as those without this condition.
Has anyone ever survived Parkinson’s disease?
Conclusion – Although patients presenting with idiopathic parkinsonism have reduced survival, the survival is highly dependent on the type and characteristics of the parkinsonian disorder. Patients with Parkinson disease presenting with normal cognitive function seem to have a largely normal life expectancy.
The finding of a subtle CSF leukocytosis in patients with Parkinson disease with short survival may have clinical implications. In Parkinson disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, life expectancy is reduced.1 There are, however, conflicting data regarding the size of, and specific factors accounting for the reduced survival in comparison to the general population.
Most studies of survival in PD have been hospital-based or have used register-based case-finding methods. These designs may produce biased results, through underrepresentation of mild PD cases and lack of referral of older patients to hospital clinics.2 There are also few studies of the survival in unselected populations of patients with new-onset idiopathic parkinsonism (including atypical parkinsonism), rather than PD.
In PD, previous studies have found that a nontremor-dominant phenotype, PD dementia (PDD), and early autonomic dysfunction are associated with a shorter survival.1, 3, 4 The recently defined diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment in PD (PD-MCI) 5 has rarely been studied in this regard. Furthermore, the neurobiology of PD with short survival (in terms of factors such as striatal dopamine depletion patterns, CSF abnormalities, or APOE genotype) is not well known.
Against this background, we assessed all-cause mortality and associated risk factors in a population-based, Swedish cohort of patients with incident, carefully diagnosed idiopathic parkinsonism, including PD. The patients underwent extensive neurologic, neuropsychological, and laboratory testing as well as multimodal neuroimaging and received standard, or if indicated, advanced treatments by movement disorder neurologists during long-term follow-up.
Why do Richard Osman’s eyes move?
TV’s Richard Osman tells Mail on Sunday about his eye condition ‘My eyes are so wobbly that trying to read an autocue is POINTLESS’: Richard Osman reveals why nystagmus has helped make him a star and a ‘weird crush’ for fans Richard Osman has been called the guru of the TV quiz show.
- For the past 20 years, it has been impossible to turn on the television without seeing something he dreamt up, wrote or produced.
- From the satirical Have I Got News For You and Whose Line Is It Anyway to crowd-pleasers such as Total Wipeout, Million Pound Drop and Deal Or No Deal, he’s been involved in them all.
For the past 12 years, the 6ft 7in inch Osman has worked for TV company Endemol, of Big Brother fame, which he has helped shape into the biggest production company in the world. Now aged 42, Osman has moved in front of the camera, co-hosting more than 600 episodes of the BBC teatime hit quiz show Pointless with his friend Alexander Armstrong.
- It attracts a stalwart three million viewers daily and has won him an army of female admirers who crowned the bespectacled, toothy Osman their top ‘Weird Crush’ of 2011.
- With such a pedigree in TV, it might seem strange that last month Osman sent a tweet saying he was extremely nervous about hosting Have I Got News For You for the first time.
When the show went on air, a die-hard fan noticed Osman shaking slightly at the start and asked if he’d been drunk. He hadn’t, and nor was he nervous. Osman has nystagmus, an eye condition that dramatically reduces his vision. He was born with it and there is no cure.
- It meant that when filming Have I Got News For You he had little chance of being able to read the autocue, just a few feet away.
- I also find looking directly at the camera pretty difficult,’ he explains.
- What viewers were actually witnessing was a neurological battle.
- One part of Osman’s brain was telling his eyes to look at the camera.
The other was then allowing them to slip sideways. Each slip and correction causes the eyes to flicker. What is so astonishing about nystagmus is that this happens at lightning speed. Within a fraction of a second, the battle starts again, over and over.
When Osman tried to look at the camera, the effort he put into trying to move his eyes back to the front led his head to appear as if it was subtly shaking. ‘Staring at a fixed point when your eyes are constantly moving can make you feel nauseous and you want to look away,’ he adds. ‘I prefer my head and body to be off-centre, like in Pointless.’ Strangely, people with nystagmus cannot see their eyes flicker, and Osman has never noticed it in either a mirror or when he sees himself on screen.
Put simply, sufferers cannot see this level of detail. Given the effects that nystagmus has, Osman’s success in a visual medium would seem all the more impressive. But he counters this argument, saying it has played to his advantage. ‘I don’t think I’d have the career I have now if I didn’t have poor eyesight.
- When I am editing a TV programme, there is no point asking me about a certain camera angle or the lighting.
- I can’t really see it.
- I want to talk about the feel of the show.
- I’ve found that while everyone else is thinking about what the set looks like, I am thinking hold on, that joke did not work or that relationship between those two people is not where it should be, and that is all I am focusing on, which is a useful skill.’ Nystagmus affects one in 1,000 people in this country.
Experts still don’t understand what triggers it. The result is eyes that relentlessly move to and fro, or up and down and, in rare cases, round and round. It means the eyes have less time to focus on what is in front of them because they quickly slip sideways.
Anything more than a few feet away is rather blurry and detail is lost. It also makes it hard to see a small, fast-moving object – such as a ball – as it whizzes past. Many also struggle to spot the tiny visual clues we give in expressions, from a twinkle in the eye to a momentary frown. Incredibly however, those born with nystagmus do not see the world as constantly shaking.
The brain manages to ‘edit’ the bit when the eyes slip sideways and translate the remainder into the same, still world that the rest of us live in. Osman grew up in Sussex with his mother Brenda, 72, who also has nystagmus, and his older brother Mat, bassist of the rock band Suede, who does not.
His mother was instrumental in making him believe he could do whatever he chose in life. She allowed him to sit close to the television because she understood it allowed him to see detail that he would miss in everyday life. He was instantly enthralled, and this love affair with TV has never stopped. She also never told him that his childhood dream of becoming a policeman would be impossible with his poor eyesight.
The reality of what she felt was, of course, hidden from the young Richard. ‘Nystagmus was never brought up in terms of what you can and cannot do,’ he says. ‘My mum never, ever made a big deal of it. It was only when I first had kids, when I had a daughter 15 years ago, that I remember my mum saying, after all the excitement had died down, “Have you noticed anything about her eyes?” I said, “No.
- Nothing at all,” and there was this look of relief on her face.
- I thought, you’ve been keeping that bottled up for 27 years and you’ve never told me you thought it was a big deal.
- What a wonderful mum you’ve been that you have been upset about this for so long and you have never, ever shown it to me, to not make it an issue for me and it worked.’ Osman was never bullied at school over his poor eyesight and refused to be ‘that kid who sits at the front’.
He learnt to sit back and just listen. Despite having no extra time in exams to compensate for his eyesight, he won a place reading Politics and Sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduating, he immediately moved into researching and then writing for TV.
- I don’t think people realise what an important medium TV is, especially for anyone who has something that restricts their life,’ he says.
- It’s why I absolutely love TV so much, because of what it can bring to people.’ Osman is separated and has two children, a daughter aged 15 and a son aged 13, who live in Cambridge with their mother.
He says his visual impairment has also made him kinder, which has in turn made him popular on Pointless. I hope that all my life I have been on the side of the underdog, because I always slightly feel like one,’ he says. ‘I always knew the world was going on a bit without me.
I know lots of people feel like that, either because of physical limitations or emotionally. And that is what I love about being on Pointless, loving that wonderful feeling of Britishness and kindness and underdogness that you get in people. A lot of that comes through having what is supposed to be a disability but is maybe an ability.’ It can also offer him unique comedy moments.
‘I was in a hotel in New York recently and at the end of a long corridor was this amazing piece of modern art. As I walked towards it, I thought, “Wow, I’m absolutely going to find out who that is by as it’s gorgeous, red and white swirls.” It was beautiful.
- But when I was a few feet away, I realised it was a fire hose curled up on the wall.’ Osman admits that being visually impaired can also be lonely.
- He loves sport but cannot play ball games.
- At school he could never see the cricket ball as it hurtled towards him, so he quickly realised his limitations, sticking to close-up sports such as pool and darts.
He watches Fulham FC but cannot make out the players or the ball, until they are right in front of him. When he tells people he has nystagmus, they rarely understand why stronger glasses won’t help. The trademark dark, square glasses he wears simply correct short sightedness but do nothing for the flicker.
- And like most sufferers, he cannot drive because his eyes are unable to gauge a busy road fast enough.
- He reads slowly too, finding it tricky to scan words across a page.
- He also worries about blanking people, both colleagues and fans.
- He says he cannot recognise faces of friends just across the street and walks past oblivious.
He can spot his daughter from a little further away because he recognises the way she walks and her long black hair. But Osman, as usual, is positive. ‘I can see the huge benefits it has brought me. I’m probably a nicer person for having it, I know that is true.
- I’m better at my job.
- It has genuinely brought me many, many things, this lack of being able to see what is going on.’ Given all that, would he have it cured? The speed of his reply says it all.
- In a heartbeat.’ This week will see the first global awareness day for nystagmus organised by the charity Nystagmus Network.
‘Wobbly Wednesday’ on November 6 aims to raise funds for research and support for sufferers. For more information and help, go to nystagmusnet.org and in-vision.org.uk : TV’s Richard Osman tells Mail on Sunday about his eye condition
How much do celebrities get paid for Pointless?
Millionaire stars including comedian Jimmy Carr are being ‘paid thousands’ to appear on charity quiz shows ‘including BBC’s Pointless Celebrities’ – Published: 22:44 BST, 26 March 2018 | Updated: 00:17 BST, 27 March 2018 Millionaire celebrities are being paid thousands to appear on charity quiz shows, it is claimed.
- Stars including comedian Jimmy Carr – who is worth £12million – reportedly pocketed up to £5,000 each for taking part in specials of ITV’s Catchphrase.
- Others thought to have received four-figure sums include Jonathan Ross, actress Linda Robson and Cold Feet star Fay Ripley.
- Stars including comedian Jimmy Carr – who is worth £12million – reportedly pocketed up to £5,000 each for taking part in specials of ITV’s Catchphrase Katie Price, David Walliams and Carol Vorderman have also appeared on Catchphrase, which was revived in 2013 after nine years off air.
Chat show host Ross, who is worth around £24 million, is understood to have donated his fee to charity – though it is unclear if the others followed suit. The BBC’s Pointless Celebrities also reportedly pays famous contestants, handing them up to £10,000 even if they win no money for charity.
Olympic athlete Tessa Sanderson admitted she was paid for an appearance on the quiz show, but claimed it was ‘hundreds, not thousands’. Katie Price (right) and David Walliams (left) have also appeared on Catchphrase, which was revived in 2013 after nine years off air A TV source told The Sun: ‘Obviously they are giving their time for good causes, but viewers probably wouldn’t expect the stars to be paid.’ An insider said the episodes are for entertainment purposes and not referred to as charity specials or appeals.
An ITV spokesman said: ‘We never discuss artist contracts for ITV shows.’ None of the celebrities commented when contacted yesterday.
How do Pointless get their answers
1. How do they choose the 100 people polled on Pointless? – If a lady with a clipboard in a shopping centre corners you and demands that you list as many winning Eurovision entries or words containing the letters ‘cat’ as you can in the space of a minute, she’s either lonely or a serial killer. What she isn’t is a researcher for the BBC’s Pointless.
- Redshift Research, a London-based market research company has conducted all of the Pointless surveys online since the show began in 2009.
- They identify people to take part in a range of research surveys using their Crowdology online tool and pay them for the time they spend filling in questionnaires.
The key thing, according to host Alexander Armstrong is that the people polled aren’t aware they’re answering Pointless questions. “You can’t ‘apply’ to be one of the 100 people because that would then affect the outcome.”
Which presenter is leaving Pointless?
Image caption, In a statement, Osman said: “I can’t thank everyone enough for twelve amazing years” TV presenter Richard Osman is to leave the hit BBC One quiz show Pointless, the corporation has confirmed. The 51-year-old has appeared on the show since 2009, filming more than 1,300 episodes across almost 30 series.
But in recent years, he has had to juggle his TV commitments with writing his successful Thursday Murder Club series of crime novels. Host Alexander Armstrong will remain on Pointless, and Osman will continue to appear on its celebrity spin-off. Osman will also continue to present his own BBC Two show House of Games, which launched in 2017.
In a statement, Osman said: “Pointless has been a joy from start to finish, working alongside my friend Alexander Armstrong, backed by the most wonderful team, and for the best viewers in the world. “I will miss everyone so much, but I’m thrilled that I’ll still be presenting the celebrity shows.
- I can’t thank everyone enough for 12 amazing years.” Osman will not immediately be replaced with a permanent new co-host on Pointless, the BBC said.
- Instead, Armstrong will be joined by a series of rotating guest presenters – details of which will be announced later this year.
- Image caption, Armstrong, seen during a brief swap with Osman on the show’s 1000th episode, will continue to host the quiz show Osman is introduced in every episode as Armstrong’s “Pointless friend”.
He sits at a desk behind a laptop and his role is to provide additional data and trivia about the correct answers. As the former creative director at TV production company Endemol UK, a position he retained until 2020, it was Osman who created the format for Pointless.
But he also ended up being cast as Armstrong’s on-screen co-host after standing in during rehearsals prior to the show’s launch. The format of Pointless is essentially the opposite of Family Fortunes. Contestants are asked a series of questions which have already been put to 100 members of the public.
But instead of having to guess the most popular answer, contestants must identify the least popular – with extra money added to the jackpot if they find a “Pointless answer”. Obscure knowledge can help contestants keep a low score throughout the episode in the hope of ultimately winning the Pointless trophy.
In a statement, Armstrong said: “Daytime television’s loss is international best-selling crime fiction’s gain. I say that like it’s a consolation – I’m going to miss the big man next to me Monday to Friday. “But at least I still get him at weekends – and weekdays if you’re watching on Challenge.” Media caption, Henrik Larsson answer wins Pointless after advice from contestant’s boyfriend Osman has become a hugely successful author – with The Thursday Murder Club and its follow-up The Man Who Died Twice both topping the Sunday Times best-seller list for fiction.
Writing on Twitter, Osman said that the books had “become such a juggernaut around the world I simply couldn’t keep up with my schedule”. A film adaptation is also in the works after the rights were bought by legendary director Steven Spielberg. Filming for the next series of Pointless begins next month.
What is Richard Osman doing after Pointless?
Why has Richard Osman left Pointless? – When he announced his exit from Pointless in April 2022, Mr Osman explained that he wanted to shift his focus onto his writing. In a statement on social media at the time, he wrote: “After 13 wonderful years I’m leaving daytime Pointless, to concentrate on writing.
- Will still be doing the celebrity shows and ‘House Of Games’.
- It has been the GREATEST pleasure and I can’t wait to start watching as a viewer.
- Thank you to everyone!” Mr Osman has published several books, including a best-selling thriller series called Thursday Murder Club,
- His co-host Alexander said: “Daytime television’s loss is international best-selling crime fiction’s gain.
I say that like it’s a consolation – I’m going to miss the big man next to me Monday to Friday.” “But at least I still get him at weekends – and weekdays if you’re watching on Challenge.”
Will there be a series 29 of Pointless?
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Main content Pointless The quiz returns for another series in which contestants try to score as few points as possible by coming up with the answers no-one else could think of.
Does Richard Osman see his father
Pointless star Richard Osman’s ‘cold’ reunion with dad who abandoned him aged 9 Pointless legend Richard Osman has a strained relationship with his father, who walked out when he was just a child and left him and his brother to be raised by their mother Richard Osman discusses his future on Pointless in 2021
had a happy childhood until one devastating day which changed his life forever. The legend, who has already after announcing his decision to leave, was just nine-years-old when his dad walked out. Richard and his brother, is a bass guitarist and founding member of one of the biggest Britpop band Suede, were raised by their hard-working single mum.
“It was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he told The Mirror back in 2014. “He just left and I didn’t see him again for 20 years – that’s hard. “When you’re a kid growing up you’re all right so long as you have a parent who loves and cares for you.
It is only when you get older that you realise you really missed that male role model. “It derails you and it takes a long time to get back on track. It takes you a lot longer to mature and find yourself. “Everyone has hard times, it’s just how you respond to them. Adversities when you’re growing up are the things that make you, sometimes they become a strength.
But it’s never good, it’s always awful.” Richard Osman grew up without his father ( SHARED CONTENT UNIT) Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Richard vividly remembers being sat down by his father, David Osman, who confessed that he had fallen in loved with someone else and was leaving.
Speaking about his upbringing in The Big Issue’s Letter To My Younger Self by Jane Graham in November last year, the Pointless star recalled the upsetting moment. “I find it hard when I’m looking back at my childhood to have my dad in it in any form. Maybe he’s sort of there in my head, I suppose, but he’s definitely not in my heart.
“I remember very clearly when I was nine, and my world was a fairly great place, and I walked into the front room, he was there, my mum was there, my grandmother was there, which was weird, though of course I realised later that was for moral support, and they just said, ‘Look, your dad is in love with somebody else and he’s leaving.’ “I just thought, ‘Riiight, okay.’ And he left and his entire side of the family never spoke to us again.” Richard, who is now 51, said his dad’s departure took its toll on him, leaving him going in a “slightly different direction” as he grew up.
- He continued: “I went off course, which is understandable, because I had to find a way to fix the pain.
- And everyone else’s pain, which of course I couldn’t do.
- I focused entirely on protecting myself, being overly careful about everything.” His brother Mat Osman is part of Suede ( NurPhoto via Getty Images) Richard is the star of Pointless ( BBC/Remarkable Television, an Endemol UK company/Matt Frost) “Listen, we all have trauma and I had a much lesser trauma than a lot of people have,” he added.
“It’s our ability to deal with trauma that’s the important thing, and I dealt with it very badly, and this was 1979, when no one talked about such things. You got maybe a couple of days off school and then it was, ‘Right, let’s get on with things.’ “Looking back now, I think everything up to age nine, that is the real me.
- It took me many years, but eventually I found that again and that’s how I feel now.” Richard’s mother, Brenda Wright, struggled to make ends meet but raised both lads by herself.
- He told The Mirror in 2014: “We never had any money or a car.
- I’m the most middle class man in Britain now, but I was never brought up with houses and foreign holidays.
It must have been so hard for mum, raising us on no money. “But you don’t need to be middle class and have money to succeed. You need a parent who is engaged, pushes you and understands how to do well. “I don’t buy any of this nonsense about kids in single parent homes and how awful that is.
In the main, you’re fine if you have a parent that loves you.” Richard finally met up with his father two decades after he walked out on the family, but he didn’t feel any connection. Richard had a ‘cold’ reunion with his father When asked if it broke his heart, he admitted: “Of course. But the heart doesn’t lie.
It would be lovely to have that father-son relationship, but there isn’t a connection. “If you haven’t seen your dad for 20 years you expect something and I would have loved it if we could have been best buddies. “I’m thankful I have the relationship I now have with my dad.
He’s a perfectly nice fella – I think he’s just one of those people who married the wrong person – but I don’t feel it in my heart. Which is sad.” Richard, who is grateful for the soft and caring maternal side in his family, met up with his dad at one of his uncles’ 50th wedding anniversaries. “I’m going to take the kids, they should really meet the rest of this family,” he thought at the time, but said the reunion was “cold”.
He added: “The other side of my family fortunately, my mum’s side, are completely the opposite. Loving and open. So, I did all right. I think if I was talking to my younger self, I would say, ‘You know what? You’re a Wright, not an Osman. “You’ll live like a Wright and you’ll have the same sort of career and life and kindness and happiness as a Wright.’ And that would be a massive relief to the younger me.” Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected] You can find this story in Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.