Who Do You Think You Are? guest Richard Osman ‘wasn’t interested’ in exploring father’s ancestry

‘It would be like learning about strangers,’ the ‘Pointless’ co-host said of tracing his father’s ancestry

Richard Osman has stated that he had no interest in learning about his paternal heritage on a forthcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

The departing Pointless co-host will appear as part of the 19th season of the BBC genealogy programme.

Though the show usually traces the celebrity participant’s family history on both sides, Osman’s episode will solely focus on his mother’s forebears.

Osman and his older brother Mat were raised by their mother, Brenda Wright, after his father walked out on the family when the House of Games presenter was nine years old.

After describing the departure as “the worst thing to ever happen to him”, Osman explained in a recent interview that they met 20 years later but didn’t form a significant bond.

As a result, he didn’t see the need to explore his father’s ancestry on Who Do You Think You Are?

“My dad’s side of the family wasn’t something I was interested in because that’s not the family I grew up in,” he explained to Radio Times.

Richard Osman on ‘Pointless’ (BBC)

“It would, in a funny way, be like learning about strangers.”

Season 19 of Who Do You Think You Are? begins on Thursday 26 May on BBC One at 9pm, featuring Sue Perkins. Osman’s episode is scheduled to air on Thursday 9 June.