‘I met Sir Paul McCartney and he showed what he’s really like with one question’ | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

TV host Richard Osman has reminisced about the “pinch me moment” when he encountered Sir Paul McCartney. Paul’s songwriting collaboration with fellow Beatles member John Lennon is recognised as the most successful in music history.

The band are believed to have sold approximately 600 million albums globally. Some estimates suggest they may have even surpassed a billion records once single sales are factored in. In 1979, Paul was awarded the Guinness World Record for being the “most honoured composer and performer in music” with 60 gold discs.

He was subsequently named the “most successful songwriter” in 2009. Former House of Games host Richard recounts meeting the 83-year-old Beatle recently, describing the experience as a “pinch me moment”.

Richard concedes that he was initially apprehensive about what he should say to such an “iconic” musician. However, Paul posed one question that offered a glimpse into his domestic life.

On his The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Richard shared: “I had the great pleasure of meeting Paul McCartney recently. It was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.

“I thought, ‘What am I going to say to Paul McCartney?’ I do think that of all the billions of people who have ever lived, he’s had, pretty much he’s had one of the absolutely most extraordinary lives.

“And from where he came from, so I thought, ‘What am I going to say to Paul McCartney?’ And then he said to me, ‘On House of Games, do you film a day or do you come back the next day?’

“So I thought, ‘Great, there you go’. It was extraordinary to see him. What an extraordinary man and how lovely it is to be alive at the same time as him, and what joy he has given to everybody. It was a pinch me moment, I love it that he watches House of Games.”

Richard drew parallels with the occasion when he found out the late George Michael used to watch Deal or No Deal. He added: “I love it when icons and legends are human beings, it’s such a lovely thing.”

Richard, 55, is no stranger to mingling with musicians. His elder brother Mat Osman is the bassist for rock band Suede.

Mat, now 58, established Suede in 1989 alongside fellow band members Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann. Their debut album, launched in 1992, won the Mercury Music Prize and is recognised for sparking the Britpop movement of the 1990s.

Last year Richard teased his brother during a conversation about AI replacing musicians. Podcast co-host Marina Hyde asked: “Are you just another job that’s getting replaced by AI? Because humans are annoying, people in bands are definitely annoying, that’s the whole point of them.”

Richard couldn’t resist a light-hearted dig at his older sibling, commenting: “Listen, I grew up with one and I love him but…yeah.”