Gyles Brandreth
Encyclopedia
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) is a British writer, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

 and former Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 and junior minister.

Early life

He was born in Germany where his father, Charles Brandreth, was serving as a legal officer with the Allied Control Commission
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...

. After having moved to London with his parents at the age of three, Brandreth was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle is a large French primary and secondary school situated in South Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London...

, Bedales School
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...

, where he met his friend Simon Cadell
Simon Cadell
Simon John Cadell was an English actor.Born in London, he was the grandson of the Scottish character actor Jean Cadell, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner. He was educated at Bedales School at Petersfield where his close friends included Gyles...

, and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...

. He rose to the Presidency of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...

 in 1970, also editing the University magazine, Isis. He was described in a contemporaneous publication as "Oxford's Lord High Everything Else". With regards to role playing, Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...

 has suggested that Brandreth "set out to make himself into a Ken Tynan. Wore a cloak." He went on to become a theatre producer, politician, journalist, author and publisher as well as, later, turning TV presenter.

Television

Brandreth has appeared on Countdown
Countdown (game show)
Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...

 and TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...

. He was known for his collection of jumper
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...

s, of which some were sold in a charity auction in 1993.

In 2006, he appeared on the television series That Mitchell and Webb Look
That Mitchell and Webb Look
That Mitchell and Webb Look is a British television sketch show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Shown on BBC Two since 2006, its first two series were directed by David Kerr, who also directed Mitchell and Webb's previous television sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Situation, whereas...

, satirising his appearances in Countdowns Dictionary Corner on the fictional game show Numberwang. In 2007, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

 audio play "I.D."

In 2008, he appeared as the guest celebrity in 'Dictionary Corner' on Countdown. This was to commemorate Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....

's final appearance on the show, plus the final for that round, reflecting his appearance in the first final of Countdown.

In July to August 2009, he hosted the game show Knowitalls
Knowitalls
Knowitalls was a British quiz show hosted by Gyles Brandreth. It was first shown on BBC Two in 2009.Filming took place between 15 and 21 June 2009. It was first broadcast on July 27, 2009. The show's strapline is that it's "the quiz without questions"...

 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

. In April 2010, he appeared on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

's Vote Now Show. He also makes a cameo appearance in Channel 4 Sit-Com The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...

 in the episode 'The Final Countdown'.

He has appeared in 2 episodes of the BBC's panel show QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...

.

He is a regular contributor to the week-nightly BBC1 show The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...

.

Radio

Brandreth has presented programmes on London's LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...

 radio at various times since 1973, such as Star Quality.

He regularly appears on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

's comedy panel game Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....

.

He has appeared on several episodes of Radio 4's political programme The Westminster Hour
The Westminster Hour
The Westminster Hour is a British weekly radio magazine on BBC Radio 4 focusing on topical political events in the United Kingdom. Despite the title referring to the Palace of Westminster, home of the Houses of Parliament, the programme focuses on politics in the devolved nations as...

, 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
Whispers (radio series)
Whispers was a British radio panel game which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over three series from 2003 to 2005. The show was hosted by Gyles Brandreth, a former Conservative Party MP, and featured regular team captains Anthony Holden, Stella Duffy and Lucy Moore.The format of the quiz involved the...

.

In 2006, Brandreth appeared in the Radio 4 comedy programme Living with the Enemy
Living with the Enemy
Living with the Enemy is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by and starring Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth. It made its debut on 14 November 2006....

 which he co-wrote with comedian Nick Revell
Nick Revell
Nick Revell is a British stand-up comedian and writer for radio and television. Born John Revell, he studied at Lincoln College, Oxford, and subsequently taught English at Westminster School....

, 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-grandfather, the inventor of a medicine called 'Brandreth's Pills'.

Writing

Since the 1970s Brandreth has written various books about Scrabble, words, puzzles and jokes, for adults and children.

He wrote an authorised biography of John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...

, the actor, as well as lipogram
Lipogram
A lipogram is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided — usually a common vowel, and frequently "E", the most common letter in the English language.Writing a lipogram is a trivial task...

mic reworks of Shakespeare. One of his books, All Wrong on the Night, is a compilation of anecdotes about theatrical performances going wrong due to missed cues, faulty props or mangled dialogue. The book's title parodies a phrase often heard when a play is in rehearsal prior to its opening performance: anyone who misses a cue or commits any other error during rehearsal typically assures his colleagues that it will be "all right on the night" (of the opening).

In the 1980s Brandreth wrote scripts for Dear Ladies, the television programme featuring Hinge and Bracket
Hinge and Bracket
Dr. Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket were the stage personae of the musical performance and female impersonation artists George Logan and Patrick Fyffe...

. Brandreth is also the creator of a stage show called Zipp! which enjoyed success at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...

 and had a short run in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

.

In September 2004, Brandreth's book on the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 and the Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....

, Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage was published. In July 2005, he published another royal book named Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair which is about the three-decade love affair between the newly-married Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

 and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

He has also written five works of historical fiction, placing Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...

 at the centre of murder mysteries, in which Wilde works with both Robert Sherard
Robert Sherard
Robert Harborough Sherard was an English writer and journalist. He was a friend, and the first biographer, of Oscar Wilde, as well as being Wilde's most prolific biographer in the first half of the twentieth century.-Life:...

 and Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

.

Politics

Brandreth was a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP), representing the City of Chester
City of Chester (constituency)
City of Chester is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

, from 1992 to 1997. In 1995, he was appointed to a junior ministerial position in John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

's government
Major Ministry
John Major was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 6½ years from 28 November 1990 to 2 May 1997. He was first appointed Prime Minister having succeeded Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party...

 as a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...

, with his role being essentially that of a whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

.

He later published a book of his diaries from his time as a whip, Breaking the Code. After his parliamentary career, he broadcast some of his reminiscences on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 radio as Brandreth on Office and The Brandreth Rules in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He has stated an opposition to the British honours system
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...

, and said he will never accept one himself.

Other activities

He is a former European Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...

 champion, and President of the Association of British Scrabble Players
Association of British Scrabble Players
The Association of British Scrabble Players oversees competitive Scrabble in the UK. It was formed in 1987 by agreement with J W Spear & Sons, the game's trademark owner, who were subsequently bought out by Mattel in 1993...

, having organised the first British National Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...

 Championship in 1972.

In August 2005, he appeared in a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Edinburgh Festival.

He is an after-dinner speaker, and he held the world record for the longest continuous after-dinner speech, at 12 and a half hours, done as a charity stunt.

With his wife he founded the Teddy Bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...

 museum, formerly located in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...

, and now relocated to Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

, London.

Personal life

Brandreth has been married to Michèle Brown since 1973. They met at Oxford.

He has at various times claimed Jeremiah Brandreth
Jeremiah Brandreth
Jeremiah Brandreth was an out-of-work stocking maker who lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, who was hanged for treason. He was known as "The Nottingham Captain"...

, executed leader of the Pentrich Rising of 1817, as a 'forebear'.

Selected bibliography

  • The Joy of Lex: How to Have Fun with 860,341,500 Words (1980), ISBN 0-688-01397-X
  • The Book of Mistaikes (1982), ISBN 0-7088-2194-4
  • The Scrabble Brand Puzzle Book (1984), ISBN 0-671-50536-X
  • A Guide to Playing the Scrabble Brand Crossword Game (1985), ISBN 0-671-50652-8
  • The Great Book of Optical Illusions (1985), ISBN 0-8069-6258-5
  • The Scrabble Companion (1988), ISBN 0-09-172698-0 (with Darryl Francis
    Darryl Francis
    Darryl Francis is a well-known author of books on Scrabble.He was a co-compiler of Chambers' original Official Scrabble Words publication in 1988 and consultant on all future editions, along with ex ABSP chairman Allan Simmons...

    )
  • World Championship Scrabble (1992), ISBN 0-550-19028-7 (with Darryl Francis)
  • Under the Jumper: Autobiographical Excursions (1993). ISBN 0-86051-894-9
  • Venice Midnight (1999). ISBN 0-7515-2658-4
  • Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries, 1992-97 (1999), ISBN 0-297-64311-8
  • Brief Encounters: Meetings with Remarkable People (2001), ISBN 1-902301-95-1
  • John Gielgud: An Actor's Life (2001), ISBN 0-7509-2690-2
  • The Biggest Kids Joke Book Ever! (2002), ISBN 0-233-05062-0
  • The Joy of Lex: An Amazing and Amusing Z to A and A to Z of Words (2002), ISBN 1-86105-399-1
  • The Word Book (2002), ISBN 1-86105-398-3
  • Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage (2004), ISBN 0-7126-6103-4
  • Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair (2005), ISBN 1-8441-3845-3
  • Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders (2007), ISBN 978-0719569302 (American title: Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance)
  • Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death (2008), (American title: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder)
  • Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile (2009)
  • Oscar Wilde and the Nest of Vipers (2010) (American title: Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders)

Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders (2011)

External links

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