Gyles Brandreth Popular Books

Gyles Brandreth Biography & Facts

Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is a British broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has 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 Member of Parliament (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. He is the great-great-great-grandson of Benjamin Brandreth. He has stated that he is a descendant of Jeremiah Brandreth. He moved to London with his parents at the age of three and was educated at the Lycée Français in South Kensington, and Bedales School in Petersfield, Hampshire, where he befriended 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 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 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 eight episodes of QI and six episodes of Have I Got News for You. He has 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 October 2019, Brandreth appeared in series 3 of Richard Osman's House of Games, winning two of the five episodes. Also in 2019, Brandreth appeared on series 1 of Celebrity Gogglebox alongside Sheila Hancock. In 2020 and 2021, Brandreth returned for Series 2 and 3, alongside Maureen Lipman. In 2022, he appeared in the series with Joanna Lumley and Carol Vorderman. In 2023, he returned with Lumley for Series 5, as well as Susie Dent. In 2020, 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 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. On 24 October 2022, Brandreth appeared on Bargain Hunt: BBC 100th Birthday Special to commemorate the BBC's 100th Anniversary. His team mate was Tony Blackburn. 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 books for adults and children about Scrabble, words, puzzles and jokes, and co-founded the Games & Puzzles magazine. He wrote an authorised biography of actor John Gielgud, and lipogrammic reworks of Shakespeare. In the 1980s, Brandreth wrote scripts for Dear Ladies, a television programme featuring Hinge and Bracket. Brandreth created the stage show Zipp!, which enjoyed success at the Edinburgh Festival and had a short run in the West End. In 1999, he published diaries chronicling his days as a politician between 1990 and 1997, called Breaking the Code. In September 2004, Brandreth's book on the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, 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 the then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. In 2021, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Brandreth wrote, "The duke showed me great friendliness over 40 years but royalty offer you friendliness, not friendship, and you have to remember the difference." Brandreth has written a.... Discover the Gyles Brandreth popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Gyles Brandreth books.