Gyles Brandreth
| Gyles Brandreth | |
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Brandreth at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013
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Member of Parliament for City of Chester |
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In office 31 April 1992 – 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Christine Russell |
| Majority | 1,101 (2.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 March 1948 Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| 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) is an English writer, broadcaster, actor, and former Conservative Member of Parliament.
Brandreth was born in Wuppertal, 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 (as it is called today), Bedales School, where he met his friend Simon Cadell, and New College, Oxford.
He was President of the Oxford Union in 1970 and edited 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." He became a theatre producer, politician, journalist, author and publisher as well as, later, turning TV presenter.
In the 1970s he hosted the ITV children's show Puzzle Party.
Brandreth has appeared on Countdown more than 300 times in Dictionary Corner, making more appearances than any other guest, including Carol Vorderman's final episode in 2008. He also appeared on 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 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 as himself in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd in the episode "The Final Countdown".
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