As suggested in The Rest is Entertainment this morning, so he can concentrate on his books (I haven’t listened yet, if this seems a bit glib). This felt inevitable really. Ed Gamble’s House of Games here we come.
Still, you can always watch Jeremy Vine’s House of Games on Five every night at the moment.
Sue Perkins’ House of Games surely?
First hinted at on Stool Pigeon I believe. Some big shoes to fill.
That was the best part of two years ago so might be doing some heavy lifting, but I think it was always on the cards following the previous pattern, the question is how much effort is doing The Rest Is Ents every Monday morning?
Crikey, it was in the back old my mind somewhere, didn’t realise it was so long ago!
You can tell the world has changed when doing podcasts and books is more lucrative than a TV hosting gig.
I think that Stool Pigeon was shortly before the show moved to Manchester for its filming wasn’t it?
Here’s the direct link – August 2024:
https://www.bothersbar.co.uk/?p=14821
“Wheels are already in motion for who to replace Richard Osman when he bows out of House of Games. Due to his busy schedule of books, films and podcasts he’ll be moving on, even though they’ve moved the production further south.”
My response:
“Having some idea of a succession in place feels like a sensible move as it does feel like an inevitability. I know they filmed some recently, and he’s not mentioned leaving, but that’s for a future press release.
Of course the question is who could replace him? Who is the female version of Richard Osman? The answer of course is Sue Perkins, they wouldn’t even need to change the graphic.
I expect it will be a bit of a thankless role whoever takes over, only for whoever takes over them getting some sort of audience credit. I would hope that the title would legally become Sue Perkins’ (Or Whoever) Richard Osman’s House of Games, and production will shout at anybody not using the full and official title.”
When did they film the current series? Back end of last year? Can’t remember.
Will he stop doing Pointless Celebs as well, then?
(And how many eps of that are still sitting on the shelf?)
Yes I believe he’s stepped down from that, and someone suggested recently there’s still about two years worth of eps in the can.
For example, the 2000th episode was filmed in February 2023 (there’s a post on Osman’s Instagram about the episode) but was only shown in August last year.
I’m curious to know what will happen to the co-host role on Pointless Celebrities. Will they get a rotation on that version as well?
Rob Beckett would have been a fun oddball choice, but may be busy with Tempting Fortune.
Anita Rani would also be another good suggestion.
However my preferred choice would be to rest it for a while and try something new in the slot.
Gotta admit I’m a little worried (but not hugely surprised given he’d already jettisoned weekday Pointless) – ROHOG has been a bit of a tonic for me in recent years, with all the worries in my own life and the wider world it’s often one of the few ‘high points’ to look forward to in my day; unlike almost everything else in the media these days it’s rarely political or partisan, you can leave your labels at the door and just enjoy half an hour of generally genial fun. So the future-Osman will have an outsize impact on my wellbeing, considering.
Who’d I want it to be? Not sure – personally can’t shake the idea of Rose Matafeo in the chair out of my head (she certainly made a decent fist of Junior Taskmaster, but would she be available for enough weeks of HOG recording to stamp out 100+ a year?). Stuart Maconie perhaps, he’s quite witty (and has quiz experience). Dave Gorman? T&C Apply was a bit like Goodish meets HOG, but seems to be doing less telly these days and though I don’t mind him others do find him grating… Bill Bailey’s done some presenting, but not many quizzes as lead host bar the birdwatching one on Sky… They need someone with light enough touch to jolly the show along, but also with the authority to be a firm and fair adjudicator for the quiz element. It’ll be tough to find someone who can do both.
I know of a few people I don’t want it to be. James Acaster, for instance, way too manic and grating to watch a big long run of (he’s entertaining in small doses, see for instance “can we sit down” on Pointless, and Hypothetical was fun, but every day for weeks on end would be a bit much.) Because I like the unpolitical nature of HOG, I wouldn’t want anyone too close to any end of the satire spectrum, so that’s the likes of Nish Kumar and Geoff Norcott out (again, can tolerate them as guests, but daily would become less pleasant.)
Richard made reference to (possibly paraphrasing) “handing over the keys [during ] one final week”.
A look at upcoming schedules shows Tim Vine among the players during the last week of this series.
Could he possibly be the successor? He wouldn’t be a bad fit.
Or have I misunderstood and there’s another full series in the can?
I *thought* the suggestion on The Rest is Entertainment is that he’s going to film the first week of the next series (i.e. a day of filming) with the new host as a crossover, but I might be wrong.
Michael Sheen’s House of Games, apparently!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2026/michael-sheen-to-host-house-of-games
That feels like a hell of a get. Surely he won’t want to do 100 of these a year for a decade so this just kicks the can down the road?
The press release just refers to it as “House of Games” which suggests they may keep their options open.