Richard Osman’s in awe of Child Genius kids

WE’RE arguing over the relevancy of Jaffa Cakes and chocolate fingers.

TV presenter and producer Richard Osman has a very strong idea on what constitutes a chocolate bar and what makes a biscuit a biscuit, and apparently most of us don’t know where to draw the line between the two.

But the Pointless co-host has recently turned his attention from snack food to quizzes as question master on the fourth series of Channel 4’s docu-quiz Child Genius.

Run in association with British Mensa, the show is a chance for seven to 12-year-olds to compete to be crowned the UK’s “child genius”.

“It is quite uncool to be clever,” admits Richard, 46.

“Certainly around the age of 10, 11, 12, it becomes really uncool, and that’s what I love about this show.

“It celebrates these kids, and tells them it’s OK to be smart. I like the way it makes them heroes.”

The kids, in front of a studio audience filled with their families, are tested on spelling, definitions, general knowledge and individual specialist subjects.

“I want them to know I’m entirely on their side and I’m not Paxman,” says Billericay-born Richard, who feels the pressure as much as the kids when it comes to pronouncing the words they have to spell.

“The last thing I want to do is mess up.”

He explains how awe-inspiring it is watching children go through a stressful few minutes being quizzed, and then breaking into smiles at the end.

“You think ‘yeah, that’s what life is,’” he says.

“And I was wowed by how they looked after each other, which I thought was incredible.

“They wanted each other to do well, in a way you wouldn’t have got on an adult quiz. It was lovely — there was a sense that they’d found their people.”

Aside from the sheer intelligence on show, the parent-child relationships involved are also fascinating.

“Most of the parents are taken aback that their child is so clever, and they’re along for the ride,” says Richard.

“I find that very funny. The kids have put themselves forward.

“There are some families geeing each other up to win.

“But there’s a million different ways to bring up your kids, that’s the truth — there’s a million different ways to be successful and happy.”

Richard doesn’t consider himself remotely pushy — “unless wanting your child to be happy is pushiness” — and says that when it comes to his two children, “you can’t tell them to go to bed, let alone take part in a competitive TV quiz”.

However, he doesn’t think kids being under pressure to perform, on telly or otherwise, is necessarily a cause for concern.

“Sometimes we think you mustn’t ever put children under any pressure whatsoever, but kids are much more resilient than adults,” he reasons.

“Every child on this show is competitive — I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

To Richard, quizzes are sport, “competitive question answering”.

He says: “I loved taking part in things at school. I was always rubbish at football, but I was OK at quizzes.”

In fact, he’s built a career on them, from producing 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown in his day job as creative director at TV production company Endemol, to co-hosting tea-time BBC quiz show Pointless with Alexander Armstrong.

“We’re both quite different as human beings, but we’re both quite amateurish,” says Richard.

“Neither of us is slick, and we both really, really like making each other laugh, and that’s key.

“I endlessly take the mick out of him, I endlessly tell him Ben Miller’s more talented than him, but he takes it all in good part.

“I adore him.”