Richard Osman has said Steven Bartlett’s wellness content could become an issue for the, adding fresh public pressure to a role the 33-year-old has held on Dragons’ Den since 2021. Osman made the comments on the latest episode of The Rest Is Entertainment after a clip from Bartlett’s podcast resurfaced and spread widely online.

The clip came from a 2025 episode of Diary of a CEO, where Bartlett said a couple of glasses of wine once “ruined my life for three days.” He said he did not get drunk, but that the alcohol set off a “domino effect” through his body: worse sleep that night, poorer eating the next day, no gym session, and effects he said he could track on his Whoop. The remark sparked debate and mockery, with critics questioning optimisation culture and the habit of treating health trackers as guides to daily life.

That reaction is what gave Osman’s comments weight. He said the gets into enormous trouble if there is even a minor issue, and described the setup as “an accident waiting to happen.” He said he loves Bartlett on Dragons’ Den, but argued it is difficult to “ride both horses” when someone is tied to a show and also runs a large podcast that interviews controversial people and pushes the edges of health thinking.

The has featured Bartlett as an investor on Dragons’ Den since 2021, which is why the backlash around a podcast clip has landed where it has: on a public broadcaster that is often judged by a stricter standard than the open internet. Osman’s point was not that Bartlett cannot do both jobs, but that the combination leaves little room for error once a viral moment takes hold.

What happens next is still unclear. Neither Bartlett nor the has signalled any change, but Osman has now put the question in plain view: whether Bartlett’s podcast persona and his role can keep coexisting without the next flashpoint becoming the thing that forces a decision.