Richard Osmans health battles including incurable | UK News

Richard Osman’s life-long food dependancy

The 54-year-old has spoken candidly about his wrestle with food dependancy. When showing on Desert Island Discs Richard said a food dependancy is a “tricky one” because, in contrast to alcohol, you can’t give it up.

He says he’s either “controlling” his battle against dependancy or “not controlling it”, noting that he believes it developed at an early age. Richard said: “My addictive behaviour has always been food since I was incredibly young. [Food addiction] doesn’t have any of the doomed glamour of drugs or alcohol but if an alcoholic came to my house they would be shocked to see that there are bottles of gin and bottles of wine completely untouched.

“If I came to your house and there were crisps and chocolate bars untouched in the fridge I’d be like ‘What – how are they untouched?’ if I’m going through an episode.”

On the Rosebud podcast with former MP Gyles Brandreth, Richard said he often discusses his struggles with dependancy in therapy. He added: “”I talk to Bruce [Richard’s therapist] about it all the time and he says, ‘Well, you’re always going to be an addict. You can’t [stop being one] because you started when you were nine. You’re not suddenly going to not be one.'”

Incurable eye condition that’s like ‘being in fog at all times’

Richard, from Billericay in Essex, was born with an incurable eye condition that he says is like “being in fog at all times”. Known as nystagmus, it means he suffers with uncontrolled eye actions.

When showing on BBC Radio 4, Richard explained the world seems in “soft focus”. He says it means he has to “constantly move from left to right” and even struggles with studying autocues when on Richard Osman’s House of Games.

He said: “I see the world as if I was driving in dense fog, although I can’t drive. I can see that there are things there, but everything is blurred.

“Nothing has sharp definition. Lights have huge halos that blind you. I’ve had it since birth so that’s all I know.”

Richard said his incapability to read the blackboard at college honed his listening expertise to an “unbelievably good” degree. “I’ve learnt to maximise what I’ve got. I can’t read an autocue, which means I have to be more reactive to what’s going on,” he told The i Paper.

Painful condition that’s ‘worse than childbirth’

Earlier this yr Richard revealed he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgical procedure after being struck by ‘severe pain’ in the evening. Richard was taken to Charing Cross Hospital where it was found he had kidney stones.

Sharing particulars of his scary episode on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Richard 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 only most painful factor that has ever occurred to me. The medical doctors stored saying it is more painful than childbirth but I’m not sure I can buy that.”

In spite of the agony, Richard heaped praises on the medical team: “It was unbelievably painful but thanks to everybody at Charing Cross Hospital who have been so great. I used to be having liquid morphine and it did not contact the edges.”

Post-surgery, he was counselled by medics to drink more water to help prevent stones in the future, a piece of advice he’s eager to heed: “That I can do, no major lifestyle modifications, just drink more water.”