Gyles Brandreth

Gyles Brandreth
Member of Parliament for City of Chester
In office 9 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Peter Morrison
Succeeded by	Christine Russell
Majority	1,101 (2.1%)
Personal details
Born	8 March 1948 (1948-03-08) (age 63)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Michèle Brown
Relations	Jeremiah Brandreth George Robert Sims Benjamin Brandreth
Children	3
Alma mater	New College, Oxford

Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948, Germany) is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament 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. After having moved to London with his parents at the age of three, Brandreth was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, Bedales School, where he met his friend Simon Cadell, and New College, Oxford. He rose to the Presidency of the Oxford Union in 1970, also editing the University magazine, Isis. He was described in a contemporaneous publication as "Oxford's Lord High Everything Else".^[1] With regards to role playing, Christopher Hitchens has suggested that Brandreth "set out to make himself into a Ken Tynan. Wore a cloak."^[2] 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 and TV-am. He was known for his collection of jumpers, of which some were sold in a charity auction in 1993.

In 2006, he appeared on the television series That Mitchell and Webb Look, satirising his appearances in Countdown's Dictionary Corner on the fictional game show Numberwang. In 2007, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio play "I.D."

In 2008, he appeared as the guest celebrity in 'Dictionary Corner' on Countdown. This was to commemorate Carol Vorderman'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 on BBC Two. In April 2010, he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Vote Now Show. He also makes a cameo appearance in Channel 4 Sit-Com The IT Crowd in the episode 'The Final Countdown'.

He has appeared in 2 episodes of the BBC's panel show QI.

He is a regular contributor to the week-nightly BBC1 show The One Show.

Radio

Brandreth has presented programmes on London's LBC radio at various times since 1973, such as Star Quality.

He regularly 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-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, the actor, as well as lipogrammic 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. Brandreth is also the creator of a stage show called Zipp! which enjoyed success at the Edinburgh Festival and had a short run in London's West End.

In September 2004, Brandreth's book on the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, 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 and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

He has also written five works of historical fiction, placing Oscar Wilde at the centre of murder mysteries, in which Wilde works with both Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Politics

Brandreth was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), representing the City of Chester, from 1992 to 1997. In 1995, he was appointed to a junior ministerial position in John Major's government as a Lord of the Treasury, with his role being essentially that of a whip.^[3][4]

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 radio as Brandreth on Office and The Brandreth Rules in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He has stated an opposition to the British honours system, and said he will never accept one himself.

Other activities

He is a former European Monopoly champion,^[5] and President of the Association of British Scrabble Players^[6], having organised the first British National Scrabble 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 museum, formerly located in Stratford-upon-Avon, and now relocated to Wimbledon, London.

Personal life

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

He has at various times claimed Jeremiah Brandreth, 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)
• 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)

References

1. ^ Cherwell Guide 1972
2. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7778346/An-audience-with-Christopher-Hitchens.html
3. ^ "The Brandreth Rules". BBC News. 10 January 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_westminster_hour/2317053.stm. 
4. ^ http://www.jla.co.uk/conference-speakers/gyles-brandreth
5. ^ Mount, Harry (7 April 2003). "Portrait of a driver: Gyles Brandreth". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2721641/Portrait-of-a-driver-Gyles-Brandreth.html. Retrieved 21 January 2009. 
6. ^ http://www.absp.org.uk/absp/gyles.shtml

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Gyles Brandreth
• Gyles Brandreth at the Internet Movie Database
• Listen to The Brandreth Rules
• Gyles Brandreth's official website
• The Teddy Bear Museum

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Peter Morrison	Member of Parliament for the City of Chester 1992–1997	Succeeded by Christine Russell

Persondata
Name	Brandreth, Gyles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	8 March 1948
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death