Yahoo News Richard Osman gives 'heartfelt' goodbye to Alexander Armstrong on final 'Pointless'
Richard Osman delivered a poignant message to co-host Alexander Armstrong as he appeared on Pointless for the final time.
The 51-year-old TV personality and crime author said that only he and Armstrong knew the episode they were filming back in December 2021 was his goodbye to the show, but that didn't stop him slipping in an emotional note.
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In the episode aired on Wednesday, which was the last Osman filmed, he discussed his response when he is asked about Pointless and working with Armstrong in interviews.
"I always say how lovely you are, and it occurred to me, I don’t tell you in person often enough. So I just want to say how lucky I am to work with you," said Osman.
Watch: Richard Osman says in 2017 that Alexander Armstrong would continue without him
He added: "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.”
Armstrong responded that Osman's declaration was "the nicest thing in the world" as he echoed Osman's sentiment.
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In a series of tweets on Thursday, Osman revealed that only he and Armstrong knew it was his final episode at the time and that the new-look version of the show will debut in September.
Osman will be replaced by a revolving panel of "Pointless friends", including Stephen Mangan, Sally Lindsay, Konnie Huq, Ed Gamble, Alex Brooker and Lauren Laverne.
Thank you for your lovely and very kind comments about yesterday's show. It was filmed back in December 2021, and although my 2022 has mainly been writing, we have also recorded another 100 'House Of Games' so you won't get rid of me that easily!
— Richard Osman (@richardosman) July 21, 2022
Osman will continue to appear on the celebrity episodes of Pointless, as well as his own quiz show Richard Osman's House of Games.
He will devote his time now to continuing his literary career, which began with The Thursday Murder Club in 2020, following a group of retirement home residents who attempt to solve crimes.
Read more: Richard Osman learns ancestor was amateur detective
The third entry in the series The Bullet that Missed is due on shelves in September, while the star is hard at work on the fourth book.
In a BBC interview this week, he said he will then shift focus to a new series of novels, inspired by Dan Brown's bestselling sensation The Da Vinci Code.
He said: "I'd love one of those books that's a caper around the world, but that also has some truth about the world, and also makes you laugh and has also has some of the aesthetic of Thursday Murder Club, but it's Da Vinci Code. And I couldn't quite find one.
"So I thought I'd quite like to do that — a sort of Thursday Murder Club meets The Da Vinci Code."
The Thursday Murder Club and its 2021 sequel The Man Who Died Twice smashed sales records and cemented Osman as a publishing phenomenon.
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