Richard Osman has opened up about a health scare that landed him in hospital for emergency surgery, describing it as “the single most painful thing” he has ever experienced.
The 54-year-old TV presenter was rushed to Charing Cross Hospital in London after waking up in excruciating pain and revealed that even liquid morphine couldn’t ease his agony.
Doctors quickly diagnosed him with kidney stones, a common yet extremely painful condition that affects more than one in 10 people. Kidney stones form when high levels of calcium, oxalate, and phosphorus accumulate in the urine, often due to dehydration or diet.
The NHS states that kidney stones can develop in one or both kidneys and are most common in people aged 30 to 60.
Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Osman said: “I've had quite the week of it. I woke up the other night in pain and I had a kidney stone.
“It is the single most painful thing that has ever happened to me. The doctors kept saying it's more painful than childbirth but I'm not sure I can buy that.”
While many cases resolve on their own, the former Pointless star required surgery to remove the stones and praised the hospital staff for their care.
The House of Games host added: “It was unbelievably painful but thank you to everyone at Charing Cross Hospital who were so great. I was having liquid morphine and it didn't touch the sides.
“Then I had an operation and they took it out. So I have the absolute joy of not being in pain.”
His hospital dash comes after Osman achieved platinum status for the third time with the most recent novel in his Thursday Murder Club series.
The Last Devil To Die, the fourth book in the murder mystery series, was among five titles honoured at the annual Bestseller Awards in London last month, having sold more than a million copies in the UK.
Osman, who became a household name on Pointless, left the hit TV quiz show in 2022 to concentrate on writing, having co-hosted alongside Alexander Armstrong since its debut in 2009.
The first book in The Thursday Murder Club series became a platinum bestseller, and book number three, The Bullet That Missed, achieved the same status last year. The film rights to Osman’s debut novel have been sold to Steven Spielberg’s production company.
Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie will play the lead roles in the Netflix film, while the cast also includes Richard E Grant, Tom Ellis, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
The 2020 bestseller follows retirement residents who attempt to investigate murders in their sleepy English village for fun, but find themselves caught in a real case.
