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Richard Osman Claims Steven Bartlett Could Be An 'Accident Waiting To Happen' For BBC

Richard Osman Richard Osman has suggested the controversy that so often surrounds Steven Bartlett could become a problem for him if he wants to continue presenting on the BBC . The presenter and TV producer weighed in on the current discourse around Steven during the latest episode of his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment , offering his critique on the Dragon’s Den star’s recent claims that drinking two glasses of wine had caused a “domino effect” in his body and “ruined three days” of his life. “It meant that I got worse sleep that night, I ate more poorly the next day because my dopamine system, or the cortisol system, or whatever, was all messed up,” Steven claimed on his own podcast The Diary Of A CEO . “Then I podcasted worse, and I didn’t go to the gym the day after, and I could track all of this on my Whoop.” Steven Bartlett Since his comments went viral, Steven has been at the centre of no end of headlines and discourse about wellness and the reliance on self-optimisation devices. “Pretty much every single article you read about Steven Bartlett is headlined, ‘is this the end for Steven Bartlett?’,” the former Pointless host said in response to the conversation. “Every single article is essentially wishing him ill, and essentially saying, ‘this guy, we don’t know where he came from, but he certainly didn’t come through our conventional media routes, and yet he seems to have, for a very long time, pretended to be unbelievably rich, and via the medium of doing that, has become unbelievably rich’, which seems to be unforgivable for almost anyone.” After whizzing through a brief biography of Steven Bartlett – and reflecting on his own appearance on Diary Of A CEO – Richard said that the entrepreneur’s shift into the “wellness world” raises issues “for our broader culture” and “certainly… for the BBC”. Pointing out that Steven has been “wading into difficult territory recently”, Richard continued: “ If we’ve learned anything from people who’ve worked at the BBC for 10 years, if there is a minor, minor issue, any sort of tiny issue that might come up, then the BBC gets in enormous trouble. “I love him on Dragon’s Den, by the way, and I love Dragon’s Den. But it feels like an accident waiting to happen. It really feels [like that].” He continued: “That feels like a difficult thing, to ride both horses – to be on the BBC, where everything has to be squeaky clean, and any newspaper will pick up on anything [controversial] that happens, and to run an enormous podcast that interviews controversial people on the edge of intellectual thought, as we know it at the moment, and on the edge of health thinking, as we know it at the moment. “Both of those things you’re allowed to do. You’re allowed to do Dragons’ Den and you’re allowed to do a podcast that pushes the boundaries of what we think about things. [However, it] feels like, at some point, that might become an issue.” “ I find that dual carriageway he is on quite an interesting one,” he added. HuffPost UK has contacted Steven Bartlett’s team for comment. Steven previously sparked controversy after he appeared in ads for the brands Huel and Zoe, without disclosing within them that he was an investor in both companies . Earlier this year, he also faced scrutiny due to his choice of podcast guests, with some accusing him of platforming figures from the so-called “manosphere” . In December 2024, a BBC investigation also found that the podcast had amplified medical misinformation – including the suggestions that cancer can be treated by following a keto diet and that the Covid vaccine was a “net negative for society” – without sufficient pushback or challenge from its host. At the time, a spokesperson for Steven’s production company said (via BBC News ): “ The Diary Of A CEO is an open-minded, long-form conversation… with individuals identified for their distinguished and eminent career and/or consequential life experience.” They added that guests were chosen that offer a range of opinions, “not just those Steven and the DOAC team necessarily agree with”. READ MORE: This Is Why 2 Different Ad Campaigns Featuring Steven Bartlett Have Just Been Banned Richard Osman Teases House Of Games Is Getting A Big Rebrand When He Leaves This Is The 1 Presenter Richard Osman Believes Is The Hardest Working In TV

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