Richard Osman reveals the awkward encounter he had with David Bowie: ‘I got thrown out of his toilet’
Richard Osman reveals awkward encounter he had with David Bowie: ‘I was thrown out of his toilet’
Richard Osman has revealed the awkward encounter he had backstage with the late David Bowie during one of his concerts on Hits Radio Breakfast on Thursday.
The Quiz show host, 52, spoke candidly to Hits Radio presenters Fleur East and co-host James and Matt about his bizarre blunder with the pop musician.
The Pointless star revealed that the second time he met the icon was when he was told to leave David’s toilet, which he had mistaken for a public toilet.
He said: ‘I was thrown out of his toilet once too. It was backstage at the same festival and I thought, “Oh, that’s nice, there’s a little secluded toilet”.
‘You know how empty it is at festivals, even backstage they are quite grim.
Awel! Richard Osman, 52, has revealed the awkward encounter he had backstage with the late David Bowie on Thursday during one of his concerts on Hits Radio (pictured in 1987)
Blunder: The Quiz show host spoke candidly to Hits Radio Breakfast presenters Fleur East and co-hosts James and Matt about his bizarre blunder with the pop musician
‘But there was a very nice toilet available with padded toilet rolls, carpet and walls, it was beautiful, so I went in.
“And then I just heard a knock on the door and a voice saying, ‘Please, please leave Mr. Bowie’s restroom’…”
The TV personality, brother of Suede star Mat Osman, also revealed what it was like having a famous sibling growing up and described his initial reaction to first meeting David.
He added, “He’s very cool, my brother, and I’ve never been cool, so I’ve never competed with him like that.
‘I never wanted to be a pop star, I don’t have it in me.
‘So for me, when they really hit the big time, I would be in Barcelona watching them on stage and I would be standing next to David Bowie and I would be like, “Wow, this is absolutely crazy…”‘
It comes after Richard, who is also the author of several crime novels, claimed he was rejected by MI6 to become a spy during his student days – but jokes he would have been ‘terrible’ in the role.
Anecdote: The Pointless star revealed the second time he met the icon was when he was told to leave David’s toilet (pictured on the Graham Norton Show 2022)
Hilarious: He said: ‘I was once thrown out of his toilet too. It was backstage at the same festival and I thought, “Oh, that’s nice, there’s a little secluded toilet” (pictured on Lorraine 2022)
The TV star studied at Trinity College in Cambridge about thirty years ago and said he took part in a series of ‘fun’ tests for the intelligence service.
His first, The Thursday Murder Club, which was shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ crime and thriller book of the year upon its release in 2020, is about Elizabeth Best, an ex-spy and current retired villager who investigates murders.
The author claimed in The Guardian on Saturday, while speaking about his new novel The Last Devil To Die, that he was being put forward as a possible candidate for MI6.
Richard said: ‘They (MI6) just said, ‘No, it’s fine’… I would have been terrible. I’m too tall, not smart enough, and if I have a secret, I’ll tell everyone. You can’t find a worse spy. I can’t lie.’
He also noted, with tongue firmly in cheek: ‘By the way, I’m still available if MI6 reads this. I could be useful, because no one will suspect me now.’