Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is an English broadcaster, writer and former politician. Brandreth was educated at the University of Oxford and subsequently worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's "Good Morning Britain" in the 1980s, and has been regularly featured on Channel 4's game show "Countdown" and the BBC's "The One Show". On radio, he makes frequent appearances on the BBC Radio 4 programme "Just a Minute". In 1992, Brandreth was elected to the House of Commons as the Conservative MP  for the City of Chester constituency. He served until he was defeated in 1997, and resumed his career in the media. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books, and makes appearances as a public speaker. Early life. Brandreth was born on 8 March 1948 in Wuppertal, West Germany, where his father, Charles Brandreth, was serving as a legal officer with the Allied Control Commission. After moving to London with his parents at the age of three, Brandreth was educated at the Lycée Français in South Kensington and Bedales School in Petersfield, Hampshire, where he met his friend Simon  Cadell. Brandreth studied Modern History and Modern Languages at New College, Oxford, where he met Rick Stein. While at Oxford, he directed the Oxford University Dramatic Society and was President of the Oxford Union in Michaelmas term, 1969, and was a regular contributor to the university magazine "Isis". He was described in a contemporaneous publication as "Oxford's Lord High Everything Else". Christopher Hitchens suggested that Brandreth "set out to make himself into a Ken Tynan. Wore a cloak." Television. Brandreth has appeared in the Dictionary Corner on the game show "Countdown" more than 300 times, including Carol Vorderman's  final edition in 2008, making more appearances than any other guest. He also appeared on TV-am's "Good Morning Britain". He was known for his collection of jumpers, of which some were sold in a charity auction in 1993. Brandreth hosted the short-lived game show "Public Opinion" in 2004. In 2006 he appeared on the television series "That Mitchell and Webb Look", on the fictional game show "Numberwang", satirising his appearances in "Countdown"s Dictionary Corner. In 2007 he guest-starred in the "Doctor Who" audio play "I.D.". From July to August 2009 he hosted the game show "Knowitalls  on BBC Two. In April 2010 he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Vote Now Show". He also made a cameo appearance as himself in Channel 4 sitcom "The IT Crowd", in the episode "The Final Countdown". A frequent guest on BBC television panel shows, he has appeared on six episodes of "QI" and six episodes of "Have I Got News for You". He has also appeared in episodes of Channel 5's "The Gadget Show", and is a contributor to the BBC's early evening programme "The One Show". He appeared on "Room 101" in 2005, while Paul Merton  was host, successfully banishing the Royal Variety Performance and the British honours system into Room 101, saying that he would never accept an honour himself. In 2013 he clarified that position, stating that he had "no fundamental objection to the honours system", and that he selected the honours system for Room 101 because he could "tell funny stories about it". In 2019, Brandreth appeared on series 1 of "Celebrity Gogglebox" alongside Sheila Hancock. In 2020, it was announced Brandreth would be returning for Series 2, although this time alongside Maureen Lipman. In 2020, Gyles Brandreth and actor Sheila Hancock replaced  Timothy West and Prunella Scales in a two-episode series of "Great Canal Journeys", travelling down the River Thames. In the first episode Timothy West gave the two novice canal boaters a crash course in barging. They also went down the Staffordshire Waterways in 2021 for another two-episode series. On 16 October 2021, Brandreth appeared as a celebrity contestant on "Beat the Chasers" in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, where one of his grandchildren had been cured of cancer. Radio. Brandreth has presented programmes on London's LBC radio at various times since 1973, such as "Star Quality . He frequently appears on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel game Just a Minute". He has appeared on several episodes of Radio 4's political programme "The Westminster Hour", explaining his thoughts on how to make the most of being a government minister. From 2003 to 2005 Brandreth hosted the Radio 4 comedy panel game "Whispers". In 2006, Brandreth appeared in the Radio 4 comedy programme "Living with the Enemy" which he co-wrote with comedian Nick Revell, in which they appear as a former Conservative government minister and a former comedian. In 2010 he broadcast a Radio 4 documentary  about his great-great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, the inventor of a medicine called "Brandreth's Pills". He is the host of the Radio 4 comedy panel show "Wordaholics", first aired on 20 February 2012. He appeared on the Radio 4 programme "The Museum of Curiosity" in August 2017, to which he donated a button that was once owned by a famous actor. In April 2019, Brandreth began co-hosting a podcast titled "Something Rhymes With Purple" alongside friend and colleague Susie Dent. The podcast discusses aspects of the English language such as historic or unusual words and their origins , as well as the origins of popular phrases and sayings. Writing. Since the 1970s Brandreth has written various books about Scrabble, words, puzzles and jokes, for adults and children and co-founded the "Games & Puzzles" magazine. He wrote an authorised biography of actor John Gielgud, as well as lipogrammic reworks of Shakespeare. In the 1980s, Brandreth wrote scripts for "Dear Ladies", the television programme featuring Hinge and Bracket. Brandreth is also the creator of a stage show called "Zipp!" which enjoyed success at the Edinburgh Festival and had a short run in the West End. Brandreth has kept a diary . In 1999, he published his diaries between 1990 and 1997, written during his days as a politician, called "Breaking the Code." In September 2004, Brandreth's book on the marriage of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, "Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage" was published. In July 2005, he published a second book on the Royal Family, entitled "Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair", which concerns the three-decade love affair between Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Brandreth has written a series of seven works of historical fiction called "The Oscar Wilde  Murder Mysteries", in which Oscar Wilde works with both Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle. Over the years he has written and appeared in a number of comedic one-man shows and toured in a number of venues. Shows have included "The One-to-One Show" in 2010–2011, "Looking for Happiness" in 2013–2014 and "Word Power" in 2015–2016. Brandreth has also written a book entitled "Have You Eaten Grandma?" which is about the English language and correct grammar. Politics. Brandreth was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), representing the City of Chester, from 1992 to 1997. He proposed a private  member's bill which became law as the Marriage Act 1994. In 1995, he was appointed to a junior ministerial position as a Lord of the Treasury, with his role being essentially that of a whip. After his parliamentary career, he broadcast some of his reminiscences on BBC radio as "Brandreth on Office" and "The Brandreth Rules" in 2001, 2003 and 2005. In August 2014, Brandreth was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to "The Guardian" opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In May 2016, Brandreth told  The Spectator that he was likely to vote for the UK to stay in the European Union in the following month's referendum on the issue. In 2019, Brandreth confirmed that he had voted to remain, but accepted the result of the referendum and believed that the government had to "get Brexit done". Other activities. Brandreth is a former European Monopoly champion, and president of the Association of British Scrabble Players, having organised the first British National Scrabble Championship in 1971. Since 2015 he has been the president of the Oscar Wilde Society, which was founded in 1990. He is  an after-dinner speaker and held the world record for the longest continuous after-dinner speech, twelve-and-a-half hours, done as a charity stunt. With his wife, he founded a Teddy bear museum. Located in Stratford-upon-Avon for 18 years, it was relocated to the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, London. In 2016, the museum moved to Newby Hall in Yorkshire. He is a patron of the National Piers Society and vice-president of charity Fields in Trust (formerly the National Playing Fields Association). In 2014, Brandreth was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from  the University of Chester. In December 2016, he was named the university's chancellor, and officially took the role in March 2017. Personal life. Brandreth met his future wife, Michèle Brown, at Oxford University and they married in Westminster in 1973. They reside in Barnes, Southwest London and have three children, including Aphra, a former government economist who was the Conservative candidate in the 2019 United Kingdom general election for the constituency of Kingston and Surbiton, but did not win the seat. In 2021, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Brandreth said, "The duke showed me great  friendliness over 40 years but royalty offer you friendliness, not friendship, and you have to remember the difference."