Richard Osman's rock star brother in one of UK's biggest chart-topping bands
Richard Osman has become a household name - but he's not the only famous face in the family.
The former Pointless star has a lesser-known rock star brother. Richard's older brother, Mat Osman, is a bass guitarist and founding member of one of the biggest Britpop bands in history - Suede. Formed in 1989, Mat and singer Brett Anderson are the only remaining original members of the group, whose debut album was the fastest selling in almost ten years and went to top of the UK charts.
Suede were one of the 'Britpop big four' along with other highly-acclaimed bands Oasis, Blur and Pulp in 1995. Richard used to hear Mat, who is three years older than him, recording demos upstairs at their home when he was a teenager. "I have always been a fan," Richard told The Douglas Anderson Show. "And then it broke for them very, very big in the early 90s, and it was amazing."
Richard found fame on Pointless (BBC/Remarkable Television, an Endemol UK company/Matt Frost)
Mat Osman of the alternative english rock band Suede (NurPhoto via Getty Images)When Suede broke up for the first time in 2003, Mat started to provide music for television programmes such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Marriage Ref and You Have Been Watching. He returned to play with Suede when the band reformed in 2010, but he has also moved into writing like his youinger brother.
Richard's debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, became a Sunday Times Number One bestseller in September 2020. While Mat's first book, The Ruins, was published in February 2020 and his second, The Ghost Theatre, was acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2022. Mat was also the London editor of the email magazine le cool and has had his writing published in British magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian, The Independent and The Observer.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
The boys were raised by their single mum after their dad left when Richard was just nine-years-old. "It was the worst thing that ever happened to me," he told The Mirror. "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."
Richard's mum struggled to make ends meet but managed to keep afloat and raise her two lads by herself. He continued: "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 first the knot in the late 1990s and divorced in 2007, but not before having two children, Ruby and Sonny, with his ex. In an interview with The Times, Richard said that he wanted to spend as much time with his children as possible after his dad left home when Richard was just 10 years old.
"When my partnership broke up, I did think, 'Oh God, this is going to be awful'. I've seen my kids nonstop. It was quickly worked out it wasn't going to be the same, which is an extraordinary relief," he said. "They know I love them and I tell them nonstop, which bores them rigid. But I never got told that."
After the split, he dated jazz singer Sumudu Jayatilaka in 2018 but their relationship was short-lived. When he was asked about the breakup, he refused to speak about it but when he was asked whether the romance in his book was autobiographical he said: "I'd rather not go into all of that.
"We're not together, so I'd rather not upset her at all." In an interview before he met Ingrid, he said that he enjoyed being single. "Being single in your 40s is really great. But added: "It's probably easier being a single man in your 40s than a single woman." A short while later, he gushed on the Christmas Day edition of Desert Island Discs about his new relationship.
He said: "I'm happy with myself, I've got these beautiful kids, I've met the woman who I’m going to be with for the rest of my life. That thing of competition and ambition, you soon realise that rocket fuel disappears and it’s about happiness and my kids bring me happiness and Ingrid brings me happiness."
The pair had taken their relationship to the next level and Ingrid has moved into Richard's home in south-west London. Ingrid, who is best known for her role as Petronella Osgood in Doctor Who, has previously featured alongside Richard on his show - Richard Osman's House of Games. She is the daughter of Conservative MP Jo Gideon and starred in her BBC sketch Watson & Oliver. Upping the romance levels further, Richard very smoothly dedicated a classic Erasure track A Little Respect to the actress.
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