Author and TV presenter Richard Osman said he is “very proud of being from Britain”, as he was honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
The former Pointless co-host was made an OBE by the Princess Royal for services to literature and broadcasting during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Speaking to the Press Association after the ceremony, the 55-year-old said: “I’m very proud of being from Britain, and this place paid for my entire education and paid for my entire healthcare when I was growing up.
“I’m very proud of the opportunities this country gave me. I’m very proud of growing up in a country that’s full of writers and funny people and creative people.
“I owe this country an awful lot, and I intend to pay as much of that back as I can.”
Osman, who ventured into the world of crime fiction with the release of the first instalment of the hit Thursday Murder Club series in 2020, said he spoke to Anne about writing as well as quizzing.
“We had a nice chat,” he told PA.
“I was always trying to remember you have to shake hands and walk back to and then bow and then walk off. That’s all I was thinking.”
“I felt very nervous going in there,” he said, “It’s crazy being in Windsor Castle. It feels like a responsibility more than an honour.”
Asked about what it means to him to be British, he said: “When you’re in a place like this, and you see the pageantry of it, and you see the tradition of the place, you just think, this is a particular part of Britain, but there’s another part of Britain, which is my part of Britain.
“Part of Britain, which is the youngsters growing up and making sure they’ve all got creative opportunities and making sure they all had the opportunities that I had when I was growing up.”
Osman quit as co-host of BBC One game show Pointless in 2022 after 13 years to focus on writing.
His six books follow a group of pensioners-turned-sleuths living in a retirement village in Kent, who join together to investigate cold cases and solve murders.
Last year, a film adaptation starring Pierce Brosnan and Dame Helen Mirren was released on Netflix.
Osman announced his departure from the BBC’s House Of Games in March and will be succeeded by actor Michael Sheen.
