Gay comedian Leo Reich appears on BBC Two gameshow Richard Osman’s House of Games

Leo Reich is the up-and-coming gay comedian many people are talking about amid his appearance on Richard Osman’s House of Games.

The 25-year-old stand-up comic got his big break in an HBO comedy special: Literally Who Cares?!. The raucous, tongue-in-cheek show explored his relationship as a Gen Z adult with fashion, sex and social media, while wearing short shorts and showing off purple eyeshadow.

By the end of 2022, Reich was nominated for best newcomer at the Dave Comedy Awards while his show was ranked the number one comedy by The Guardian.

He can be seen on BBC Two this week in trivia gameshow Richard Osman’s House of Games. 

Is Leo Reich gay?

Leo Reich is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has publicly described himself as gay.

Recently, he told The Advocate: “To reduce the complexity of human sexuality to percentages would be brutal and reductive. But I like the joke.”

In his teenage years he was inspired by fellow LGBTQ+ comedian Simon Amstell, and went on to open for the UK funny man and TV presenter on tour. 

“What was amazing about him is that he was gay, and since I was gay, as well as shy, neurotic and anxious, he always appealed to me,” Reich said.

“He made me laugh so much. And really, that was my first time watching someone do stand-up where I was like: this is incredible, maybe I can do that.”

Sexuality forms part of Reich’s material, but, as he told Gay Times, he’s never seen that as much of an obstacle.

“I was extremely lucky to start doing comedy in London, where there are alt gigs, queer nights and cabaret shows, where you can perform comedy about Call Me By Your Name to a hundred gender-non-conforming students with futuristic hairstyles,” he said.

Richard Osman’s House of Games continues tonight at 6pm on BBC Two.