I Just Realised Who Richard Osman’s Brother Is, And He’s Pretty Famous Too

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about Tom Holland’s low-key famous dad. Claudia Winkleman and Benedict Cumberbatch both have pretty well-known parents, too.

But what about famous siblings? 

Well, it turns out Thursday Murder Club author Richard Osman’s brother has been pretty well-known for years. 

The former Pointless co-host is renowned for his telly and literary endeavours, as well as his popular behind-the-scenes showbiz podcast The Rest Is Entertainment. 

But his older brother Mat has taken a more musical avenue, playing bass guitar in iconic ’90s band Suede.

Sorry, what? 

I’m just as surprised as you are. 

Mat Osman, who is three years older than Richard, is his only sibling. 

They both grew up in West Sussex.

And if you’re thinking, “Wait, those are pretty different people,” apparently they’ve both just been very… themselves since childhood.

In a Guardian interview last year, Mat told the publication: “The biggest difference between my world and his is that Rick has no interest in being cool. And he never has – it’s quite impressive.”

He added: “At the age of 15 he was writing for a golf magazine. He loves Saturday night TV. He loves Ant and Dec. He loves Busted. He doesn’t want to be Martin Scorsese. And I’ve got so much respect for that.”

In a later Virgin Radio interview held this year, Mat revealed: “Our mum was a teacher. So there were always books in the house.” 

“All my mum really did was leave us alone, to tell you the truth. Kids these days, they’ve got to do piano lessons or French lessons,” Richard added.

“She worked out that Mat liked music, she worked out that I liked watching telly and writing stuff. And she just let us do it, I think, and she loved us. And she never pushed us. She never told us to go to university.”

Richard added that she “loved Mat more than she loves me, because he’s the oldest”. 

Mat has his own book out too

Richard’s detective Thursday Murder Club series has given his fame another dimension.

But Mat, who has worked in TV composing and culture journalism since his Suede fame, has penned his own novel too called The Ghost Theatre. 

It’s set in Elizabethan London and seems to involve birds, theatre, and royalty. 

“It’s so lyrical, it’s about Shakespearean London,” Richard told Virgin Radio when speaking about his brother’s book.

“There’s sorts of chase sequences, all sorts of stuff going on. The writing is so beautiful, but you have to keep turning the pages. I think it’s a work of absolute genuine genius.”