Richard Osman, 53, is the author of the bestselling The Thursday Murder Club series about four residents of a retirement home who solve murders.
He presents Richard Osman’s House Of Games and is the creator and former co-presenter of Pointless. The first Thursday Murder Club novel is currently being made into a film and a theatre show – both expected in 2025. He’s married to actor Ingrid Oliver and they live in West London.
In this weekend’s 60 Seconds, Richard talks to Graeme Green about meeting Pierce Brosnan, food addiction, and his latest novel We Solve Murders, the first in a new series of murder mysteries…
Why did you want to write a book in a new series, rather than another The Thursday Murder Club book?
At some point, you want to explore different worlds and characters. I’d done the first quartet of Thursday Murder Club books, and I genuinely think they need a year off because I’ve put them through quite a lot.
I wanted to go into different worlds and have fun as a writer. It turns out that my brain remains exactly the same, so if anyone likes The Thursday Murder Club, they’ll love this, I think. But, at least, the palette is different.
What’s We Solve Murders about?
I wanted to write something globetrotting. My first thought was ‘Who would it be funny to send around the world?’ And I thought ‘Someone who really, really doesn’t want to go around the world’ I’ve got a retired cop, Steve Wheeler, who lives in the New Forest, has a cat he loves and a pub quiz that’s very important to him – he doesn’t want to leave his village.
His daughter-in-law, Amy Wheeler, is a bodyguard, looking after celebrities and billionaires. A murderer targets Amy. She can only go to one person, so poor Steve has to leave the New Forest and get on a private jet. They travel the world to try to catch a murderer.
Did you have to travel to lots of exotic locations for research?
No, I’m not a huge fan of doing research – I like to stay at home. I set the book in places we’d already been to – St Lucia, Dubai, Ireland… I didn’t have to go to Barbados for research. Looking back, I should’ve done, right? Maybe for the next book, I can travel and make it tax-deductible.
So, your book has a main character who owns cats (like you), loves quizzes, and doesn’t like to travel – was that a real stretch for you?
How dare you! Yes, you have to bring a bit of yourself to one of your characters. Steve definitely started with a bit of me in him. But he’s a big Van Halen fan. That’s where he and I part company.
You’ve posted photos of you on the set of The Thursday Murder Club film with Steven Spielberg, whose company, Amblin, is producing the film, director Chris Columbus, and cast members: Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie…. How was that?
Someone on Twitter saw a photo of me on set and said that I look like a competition winner. That’s exactly what I looked like. I haven’t written the film and I’m not interfering, but to go down onto the set and see Chris Columbus, the director, and these brilliant people and crew, is such an amazing privilege. I’m like fans of the book – I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
I loved meeting everyone. But to be in the presence of Pierce Brosnan… I think he might be the most handsome man who ever lived. It’s genuinely very difficult to be within three feet of him because his charisma is so powerful it’s like a force field. I was slightly weak at the knees meeting Pierce Brosnan.
You’ve done bestselling novels, quiz shows, panel shows, a podcast, with a film and theatre production on the way. What’s next? Christmas No 1? Principal Dancer in Swan Lake? A solo exhibition at the Tate?
I’m doing a grime mixtape. That’s my next big thing.
People often say ‘Is there nothing you can’t do?’ and I want to say to them that all of these jobs are the same thing. I’m not a chef/ballerina/rocket scientist. Everything I do is just putting words in the right order – it’s one skill. My whole career is that.
You’ve spoken recently about having a food addiction throughout your life. Is that something you still struggle with?
Yes. Anyone with an addictive personality knows you’re either in the throes of it or you’re successfully managing it.
One thing that food addiction has taught me is to be incredibly unjudgmental of people. When I think of my behaviours around food and addiction, they’re absurd. They’re self-defeating. They’re stupid. Then, you understand we’re all stupid.
We’ve got ridiculous brains and we’ve been put on this million-miles-an-hour planet – however we want to get through it, we get through it. So whenever I see someone doing something irrational or stupid, I just think ‘Listen, mate, you and me both.’ Hopefully, it makes me less judgemental about how other people act.
You’ve also spoken about your dad walking out of the family when you were nine. Is that what triggered your problems with food?
Yes, I guess so. I’m sure it was a child’s protection against pain. You’re not going to turn to booze or cocaine when you’re nine or 10. We all have to go through trauma, but I dealt with it badly. I still have the after-effects of that now. But if you place all the bad luck I’ve had against all the good luck, I’ve had more luck. I’ll take that.
You’ve spent years presenting quizzes. Do you still enjoy a good pub quiz?
People tut if I walk into a pub quiz, for sure. But I love a pub quiz. My wife’s a big quizzer. My daughter’s a great quizzer. We’ve got a little team. It’s great – it’s like the Olympics for people who can’t do sports.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is available now from Viking (Hardback, £22).
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