Richard Osman has officially wrapped up on Pointless after 13 years of hosting the BBC quiz show, bidding an emotional farewell to his co-star Alexander Armstong in a heartfelt on-air message.
In April this year, Richard announced his decision to step down from the programme, describing it as a ‘joy from start to finish’ and praising his friend Alexander, their ‘wonderful team’ and ‘the best viewers in the world’.
While he will still present the celebrity editions, his time on the daytime series has come to an end, an occasion that he marked by writing on Twitter: ‘I will still be on screen for a while in repeats, but yesterday was my final ever episode of daytime #Pointless after 12 years.
‘Only Xander and I knew that at time of recording, so I wanted to give him a heartfelt message. New episodes with new hosts will be with in September!’
The 51-year-old shared a clip from the aforementioned recording, where he turned to Alexander to express how much he loved working with him, as he didn’t feel he said so enough to his face
‘I was just doing an interview, and they always ask about Pointless at the end of it, and they always say, “How is Pointless?” and they say, “What’s Xander like?” And I always say how lovely you are,’ Richard said.
‘And it occurred to me I don’t tell you in person often enough. So I just want to say how lucky I am to work with you.’
Alexander, 52, appeared taken aback by Richard’s kind words, saying: ‘Aw!’ as Richard continued by saying: ‘I always think after the end of interviews, “I must tell Xander in person,” which I never do. So now I tell you on telly.’
Alexander fanned his face as he appeared to become emotional, describing his co-star’s admission as ‘the nicest thing in the world’.
‘Well it’s an absolute pleasure,’ Richard replied, as several Pointless fans expressed how sweet they found the exchange.
‘We had a feeling it was the last one. Will miss him a lot,’ one person tweeted, while another wrote: ‘End of an era.’
‘These two together are incredible,’ someone else said, while one fan showered the duo with admiration by saying: ‘Aww I saw this last night and thought as much. End of an era, well played.’
Richard revealed he decided to quit the position so that he could spend more time writing, having published several books, including The Thursday Murder Club.
Several stars are set to replace him as host, taking turns in the role, including former Coronation Street actor Sally Lindsay, TV presenter Lauren Laverne and ex-Blue Peter star Konnie Huq.
Pointless next airs today at 5.15pm on BBC One and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.