Inside Richard Osman’s famous family – from Doctor Who star wife to musician brother

Richard Osman is one of our favourite TV stars with his ever-popular House of Games series and his breakout role in Pointless. Alongside this, the father-of-two is also a best-selling author with his Thursday Murder Club series.

However, Richard is not the only star in his household as he is married to Ingrid Oliver who has had major roles in TV series such as Doctor Who and Beyond Paradise. Meanwhile, Richard’s brother, Mat, has become a talented musician.

Here’s all you need to know about Richard’s famous family…

Ingrid Oliver

The former Pointless presenter married actress and comedian Ingrid Oliver in 2022, after meeting on Richard’s House of Games show.

Reflecting on how they met, Richard shared on This Morning: “Ingrid came on House of Games. I knew who she was through social media. We’d never met – I had never met her. I had a little twinkle in my eye, I’ll admit that.

“She came on, we filmed that day together. Our first date is completely on camera. After filming, I was thinking, ‘How can I ask her for a drink, this is difficult.'”

Ingrid is one half of the comedy duo Watson & Oliver alongside close friend Lorna Watson, who she met at Tiffin Girls’ School. The pair have since taken their comedy act to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and had a two series run on the BBC.

© Matthew Horwood

Alongside her comedy, Ingrid is also an actress and one of her largest roles was in Doctor Who when she played fan favourite character Petronella Osgood. Her other acting credits include Beyond Paradise, Father Brown, Plebs, and she will also be appearing in the film adaptation of her husband’s book as Joanna.

Mat Osman

Richard’s older brother, Mat Osman, is a noted musician and author, and performs as the bass player in rock band Suede. It’s not just the bass that Mat provides for the band as he also wrote several of the band’s songs including Attitude, Golden Gun and Lost in TV.

© Matt Jelonek

Alongside his work with Suede, the 56-year-old has also written music for shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats and You Have Been Watching.

Like his brother, Mat is also a successful author, having published three books: The Ruins, The Ghost Theatre and England on Fire. On top of this, he was previously the London editor for online magazine le cool.

Jo Gideon

Richard’s mother-in-law is Jo Gideon, a politician for the Conservative Party who was elected to the seat of Stoke-on-Trent Central in the 2019 general election. Her victory in the ‘red wall’ seat was the first time in its history that it had been represented by a Conservative.

© Benjamin Wareing / Alamy Stock Photo

Jo only served for one term, with the politician electing to stand down at the 2024 general election. The 71-year-old was critical of her party in a statement where she said: “Sadly, my political journey has been overshadowed by a persistent lack of support and a toxic culture from the party, both at Westminster and locally.

“By populating our more winnable seats with ever more political careerist candidates who have little experience outside the Westminster bubble, with fewer women, less diversity in age, social background and professional experience, we are creating a democratic deficit which will dictate the quality of our politics for years to come.”