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Gyles Brandreth
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth's career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major's government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London's West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News for You), an acclaimed interviewer (principally for the Sunday Telegraph), a novelist, children's author and biographer, his best-selling diary, Breaking the Code, was described as 'By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark's' (The Times) and 'Searingly honest, wildly indiscreet, and incredibly funny' (Daily Mail). He is the author of two acclaimed royal biographies: Philip & Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage and Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. In 2007/2008, John Murray in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US began publishing The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, his series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as the detective.
As a performer, Gyles Brandreth has been seen most recently in ZIPP! ONE HUNDRED MUSICALS FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF ONE at the Duchess Theatre and on tour throughout the UK, and as Malvolio and the Sea Captain in TWELFTH NIGHT THE MUSICAL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Gyles Brandreth is one of Britain's busiest after-dinner speakers and award ceremony hosts. He has won awards himself, and been nominated for awards, as a public speaker, novelist, children's writer, broadcaster (Sony), political diarist (Channel Four), journalist (British Press Awards), theatre producer (Olivier), and businessman (British Tourist Authority Come to Britain Trophy).
He is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown, with whom he co-curated the exhibition of twentieth century children's authors at the National Portrait Gallery and founded the award-winning Teddy Bear Museum now based at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. He is a trustee of the British Forces Foundation, and a former chairman and now vice-president of the National Playing Fields Association.
Gyles Brandreth's forebears include George R Sims (the highest-paid journalist of his day, who wrote the ballad Christmas Day in the Workhouse) and Jeremiah Brandreth (the last man in England to be beheaded for treason). His great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, promoted 'Brandreth's Pills' (a medicine that cured everything!) and was a pioneer of modern advertising and a New York state senator. Today, Gyles Brandreth has family living in New York, Maryland, South Carolina and California. He has been London correspondent for "Up to the Minute" on CBS News and his books published in the United States include the New York Times best-seller, The Joy of Lex and, most recently, Philip & Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage.
TELEVISION
The One Show - Reporter - BBC 1
Have I Got News for You - Guest presenter - BBC 1
Public Opinion - Series presenter - BBC 1
Sunday AM - Newspaper reviewer - BBC 1
This is Your Life Subject BBC 1
Room101 - Guest - BBC 2
QI - Guest - BBC 2
Celebrity Mastermind - Guest - BBC 2
That Mitchell & Webb Look - Guest - BBC 2
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Countdown - Guest - Channel 4
Richard & Judy - Guest - Channel 4
This Morning - Guest - ITV
Philip & Elizabeth - Series presenter - Channel 5
Up to the Minute - Regular presenter - CBS News
Frost Over The World - Guest - Al-Jazeerah
RADIO
Living with the Enemy (sitcom) - Co-Star / Writer - BBC Radio 4
Sound Advice - Series presenter - BBC Radio 4
Whispers - Series presenter - BBC Radio 4
Just a Minute - Regular guest - Guest - BBC 2
Just a Minute - Regular guest - BBC Radio 4
The Brandreth Rules - Series presenter - BBC Radio 4
Pick of the Week - Guest presenter - BBC Radio 4
With Great Pleasure - Guest presenter - BBC Radio 4
The Personality Test - The Brandreth Rules - Series presenter - BBC Radio 4
Pick of the Week - Guest presenter - BBC Radio 4
With Great Pleasure - Guest presenter - BBC Radio 4
The Personality Test - Guest presenter - BBC Radio 4
THEATRE
Malvolio in Twelfth Night - The Musical, Edinburgh: August 2005;
ZIPP! 100 Musicals in 100 Minutes (Edinburgh Festival Most Popular Show Award);
Duchess Theatre, 2003; UK Tour, 2004;
Also: Wit's End, one-man show and An Evening with Gyles Brandreth
AFTER-DINNER SPEAKER & AWARDS HOST
'Probably the best speaker I have heard' Daily Express
'Brandreth is brilliant' Daily Mail
'Gyles Brandreth has a serious talent for making people laugh' Daily Mirror
'Not merely, like all the best after-dinner speakers, does he know how to spin a yarn – unlike
most politicians, he has a touching access to the secrets of the human heart' The TimesBOOKS
The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries:
- Book 1: Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders (UK) / Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance (USA) ('Genius', Express; 'Fabulous', Scotsman; 'Highly Entertaining', Dubliner; 'A wow of a history mystery ...a first class stunner', Booklist)
- Book 2: Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death (UK) /Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder (USA) ('Hugely Enjoyable', Daily Mail, 'Devilish Ingenuity', Express, 'A cast of historical characters to die for', Sunday Times)
- Book 3: Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile (UK & USA)
- Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair ('Book of the Year: Riveting, gossipy & touching' Beryl Bainbridge, Mail on Sunday; 'Could this be the best book ever written about the royal family? A masterpiece' Sunday Express)
- Philip & Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage (The Sunday Times best-seller. 'A joy . . . Thoughtful, sympathetic, wholly original, often hilarious, occasionally profound' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday)
- Brief Encounters: Meetings with Remarkable People ('His interviews are quite superb. Nobody does it better.' Michael Parkinson, BBC Radio 2)
- Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries ('By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark's.' The Times
