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Desert Island Discs

Richard Osman, writer and broadcaster

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.413.7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Richard Osman is a broadcaster, TV producer and writer who co-presents the quiz show Pointless on BBC One. His first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, was a publishing phenomenon, selling more than a million copies, and the follow-up became one of the fastest-selling titles since records began. Richard grew up in Haywards Heath in West Sussex and his early passion for television led to him devising quiz shows and programme formats from a young age. After graduating from university he worked for a number of production companies where he helped to develop and produce shows including Total Wipeout, Deal or No Deal and 8 out of 10 Cats. In 2009 Richard became a co-presenter of Pointless alongside Alexander Armstrong. It was not his intention to move in front of the camera, but he was given the job after taking on the role of co-host while the show was being developed. In 2020 Richard published his debut novel, the Thursday Murder Club, the story of four friends in a retirement community who band together to solve cold cases. It was an instant hit, selling 45,000 copies in its first three days on sale. Steven Spielberg has bought the film rights. Richard lives in London and is writing his third novel featuring his resourceful retirees. DISC ONE: Bring Me Sunshine by Morecambe And Wise DISC TWO: Metal Mickey by Suede DISC THREE: Snooker (Drag Racer) by The Douglas Wood Group DISC FOUR: You Can't Stop The Beat by the cast of Hairspray (Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelly, John Travolta and Queen Latifah) DISC FIVE: Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple DISC SIX: American Boy by Estelle Featuring Kanye West DISC SEVEN: Ran by Future Islands DISC EIGHT: A Little Respect by Erasure BOOK CHOICE: Hercule Poirot: the Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie LUXURY ITEM: A pad of paper, a pen and dice CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: DISC FOUR: You Can't Stop The Beat by the cast of Hairspray Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts

0:04.7

Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.

0:08.4

Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take

0:13.2

with them if they were cast away to a desert island.

0:16.6

For right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.

0:20.7

I hope you enjoy listening.

0:43.6

My cast away this week is Richard Osman.

0:46.2

His arguably television's most familiar quiz presenter, a reassuringly knowledgeable,

0:51.2

punctilious and a vumcular presence in British living rooms.

0:54.8

It wasn't until his 40s that he became a household name, although what you see on screen

0:58.8

isn't the realisation of some long-held dream, but one of our most successful television

1:03.6

executives, enjoying what he calls his downtime.

1:07.7

Before he was persuaded to take up a place in front of the camera, he spent 20 years behind

1:12.0

it, developing and producing shows including Total White Pounds, Deal or No Deal and

1:17.0

Eight Out of Turncats.

1:18.7

In recent years, he's turned his attention from all those quizzes to a different kind of

1:22.7

puzzle.

1:23.7

Right in two, smash hit murder mysteries.

1:25.8

The Thursday Murder Club became the third best-selling hardback novel of all time and

1:30.8

a Christmas number one.

1:32.2

The follow-up became one of the fastest-selling novels since records began, and Stephen Spielberg

1:36.9

has snapped up the film rights.

...

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