Richard Osman

There’s a new pinnacle in the career of television presenter, producer, and novelist  Richard Osman this week, with the premiere of an all star film based on his first book in the series “The Thursday Murder Club”.  With the book series numbering four, soon to be five, this could be the beginning of a whole new franchise.

Birth Chart

With half his planets (5) in Mutable signs, Richard can turn his hand to anything.  The Sun in Sagittarius often produces physical height, but with his out of the ordinary stature of 6 feet 7 inches, I suspect a long-limbed Aquarian Ascendant (we do not have his birth time).  Richard is predominantly Sagittarian, having a cluster of planets in that sign (a satellitium of Neptune/Sun/Moon/Mercury), and being born under a New Moon in that sign.  New Mooners have an ability to easily start afresh, with new ideas, and that has characterized his career.  He has some interesting natal aspects, including the Sun exactly trine Chiron, which indicates a highly-developed ability in problem-solving.  The next exact aspect he has is Mercury sextile Mars: a quick and incisive wit.  Mercury is sextile the North Node in Aquarius, linking his mental prowess with his karmic mission.  Mars is closely trine the North Node, giving him a strong Inner Warrior.

Life and Career

Richard Osman was born in Billericay.  His father left the family when he was nine years old, and his mother attended teacher training college to try to support the family.  He obtained some experience in broadcasting while still at school, in local radio, before attending Trinity College, Cambridge where he studied Politics and Sociology.  In television, he has worked for many years as a producer, especially on game shows, including on “Deal or No Deal”.  He worked for Hat Trick Productions, and then became creative director at the TV company Endemol for a number of years.  It was in this capacity that he came up with the idea of the quiz show “Pointless”, which made him a household name as co-presenter.

Pointless

The hugely successful show Pointless was launched on 24th August 2009, and is still part of our daily tea-time fare today.  Neptune was sextile his natal Mercury at the time and trine his natal Mars.  Mars was also square his natal Pluto, a huge challenge, but crucially the North Node was trine his natal Pluto (karma supporting his power).

Until he left the programme in 2022 (a thirteen year stint), the format was Alexander Armstrong as main presenter, and Osman as fact checker (in fact he was much more than that, in the production of the programme).  The easy camaraderie between the two presenters was a warm feature of the programme.

Alexander Armstrong

The two friends met while at University.  Born the other end of the same year (1970), there are similarities in their charts which are not connected with their year of birth, such as both having 5 Mutable planets, and both having Mercury sextile Mars.  Notably they both have Jupiter opposite Saturn, a feature of their year group, an internal set of checks and balances.

In their synastry, their Mercuries exactly sextile (mentally in sync); Armstrong’s Mercury is exactly trine Osman’s Mars, adding to their communicative vigour; and Armstrong’s Venus exactly trine Osman’s Jupiter, a great inter-aspect for friendship.

And Alexander Armstrong’s transit at the time of the inception of Pointless also owed backing from Neptune (pointlessness?), with Neptune transiting his natal Mercury.  At the same time, Uranus was opposite his natal Pluto, indicating a huge change in his life

Authorship

Richard’s debut as a novelist came in 2020, with the publication of “The Thursday Murder Club” on 3rd September.  It immediately became a bestseller.  It was launched under a superbly entrepreneurial aspect of the Sun trine Jupiter/Uranus (budding authors take note). Supporting transits for this next huge step in his career, were as follows: –

Jupiter trine his natal Saturn in Taurus (his natal planet supporting his efforts); Mars sextile his natal North Node (movement in his karmic mission) and the South Node on his natal Mercury in Sagittarius (a karmic potential of his mental output realized).

He announced that he was leaving Pointless on 8th April 2022, to concentrate on his literary work, after 1,300 episodes across 30 series.  This announcement came as Pluto trined his natal Pluto – Self-Empowerment, leaving a long-running programme; Neptune square his natal Mercury (changing his mental focus); Chiron was opposite his natal Uranus, just after his Chiron Return in Aries (a re-assessment of what he needed for his own healing); and Mars trine his natal Mars, decisive action.

Three more books followed: The Man who died Twice (2021), The Bullet that Missed (2023) and The Last devil to Die (2024).  The next book is due later this month.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg immediately signalled interest in the potential of the first book to be made into a film, which at the time I thought was remarkable.  He is another Sagittarian, and Sagittarians can often magnify each other’s work, through the joint application of their ruling Jupiters.  As Sagittarians, some of their personal planets do jostle with each other.  In addition, they do have a strong karmic link: Osman’s North Node is exactly sextile with Spielberg’s Sun.

Spielberg has his natal Sun at the Galactic Centre, accounting for his power. It was confirmed in August 2020 that Spielberg had acquired the film rights. In the event, Spielberg was not directly involved in the film adaptation, but remained associated with the project as an executive producer through his company, and regularly visited the set. The film was directed by Chris Columbus.

The Film

As with the book, the story centres itself in a retirement home, with some powerful inmates: one was a spy, one a nurse, one a trade union official and the other was a psychiatrist.  Together, they have all the tools they need to solve murder mysteries. The star-studded cast included Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie.

The transits for Richard at the Premiere included Chiron sextile his North Node.  With Chiron exactly trine his Sun natally, Chiron transits feature prominently in his life.  A positive Chiron transit such as this one signals that he is on the right track in his life.

Helen Mirren plays the lead protagonist, Elizabeth Best, the former MI5 agent.  Helen has natally Chiron at 0 degrees Libra and Mars at 1 degree Gemini, and so with the current dance of Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn at these degrees, there is a high impact at this time for her, and this role is important to her.

I have read the first book, but I confess not the subsequent sequels, as crime fiction is not my genre.  But I am fascinating by the multi-faceted talent that is Richard Osman.

“I have no interest in watching someone from the far right and far left argue on Question Time. We want to be the best society we can, where everyone thrives, and it’s not going to be achieved by extremists shouting at each other.”

~ Richard Osman (Mars in Libra)

Aspects

Today we have Mercury trine Chiron, hopefully bringing some healing balm to the beginning of the week.  This aspect describes healing on a mental level (positive thinking, writing and affirmations), and helps to combine conventional and alternative or complementary healing approaches.  This is also a problem-solving aspect.  You may receive some re-assurance on the health front.

Tomorrow (Monday 1st September), Saturn returns temporarily to Pisces. Saturn entered Aries in May, ushering in a huge dose of reality, and letting go of the unreality and illusions of Saturn in Pisces.  For the population in general, it is about personal growth, accountability and maturity.  You may have done some work on this in the last few months, but sense there are t’s to cross and i’s to dot in terms of evaluating the illusions of the Saturn in Pisces era (of two or three years).  These may be personal (e.g. trust issues) or political (e.g. trust issues).

There is another ingress on Tuesday (2nd Sept), with Mercury entering Virgo.  This signals a more studious change in focus at the beginning of the next academic term.  We will be plunged into September schedules, as if we’d never been away from them!  Students and teachers will be immersed in their new schedules.  Businesses will be hoping for an extra push in efficiency for after the holiday period.  Parliamentarians will be firming up their policies, with a glance at Nigel Farage or Donald Trump, over their shoulder.  Mental application will be needed all round.

All this need for focus may take its toll, with Uranus squaring Mercury on Wednesday (3rd).  People might feel overwrought, and needing to take a moment for mental health.  Be prepared for glitches as you open up your devices first thing.  Back up your computer files, and consider I.T. loopholes.  Speech may be controversial.  Use your intuition to be one step ahead – the Universe may be trying to show you new pathways, and possible new perspectives.  However, some new pathways may prove to be cul-de-sacs.

But it’s not all bad news for Wednesday: in fact, there might be some jolly good news, for Jupiter trines the North Node.  This favours future vision, reaping karmic rewards, and looking at life positively.  A good day to refresh your hopes, and to observe how everything is happening at the right time in divine right order.  Indeed the challenge from Uranus on the same day may provide a twist in your higher thought which proves beneficial.

Going towards the end of the week, we have Mars square Jupiter on Friday (5th).  Excitement may spill over into uncontrolled action.  This combination can produce high jinks, fun and games, or just sheer over the top enthusiasm allied with energy – that’s what I would normally expect.  Emotions may be volatile.  Look for enthusiastic activity and fiery exchanges in your personal environment, and channel the energy constructively.

The last feature of the week occurs on Saturday (6th) in the shape of Stationary Uranus prior to its Retrograde motion.  Once again, the element of the unexpected is operating this week.  Uranus of course is the trickster, so things may not necessarily go according to plan. Plan for the unexpected, if you can.  You may see some goalposts moving.  The new regimes of the Autumn require adjustments.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – healing balm
  • Tomorrow – re-evaluating illusions
  • Tuesday – new diligence
  • Wednesday – over-wrought; karmic reward
  • Friday – high jinks!
  • Saturday – plan for the unexpected
Date: Aug 31st, 2025 · Comments RSS · Tags: Book Review · Celebrities · Film