Dr Xand Van Tulleken

Xand van Tulleken has a diploma in Tropical Medicine, a Diploma in International Humanitarian Assistance and a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is a registered Doctor with the General Medical Council of the UK (without a licence to practice). Xand is a contributing editor to the first edition of the Oxford Handbook of Humanitarian Medicine and has worked for Doctors of the World, Merlin and the World Health Organization in humanitarian crises around the world.

Xand has presented numerous shows for the BBC and Channel 4 including: Operation Ouch, Blow Your Mind, Horizon, Secret Life of Twins, and Medicine Men Gone Wild. 

He has also contributed medical analysis on CNN, BBC 1 and 2, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America, Channel 4, MSNBC, and Fox 5 New York among others.

He moved in with the White family for a weekend in Doctor in Your House, which was on Channel 4 UK on 17 November 2015.

He is currently looking into the range of weight-loss diets out there on Channel 4 in How to Lose Weight Well which is possibly even less dignified than anything he did on Operation Ouch involving, as it does, one green coffee enema and one bout of incontinence.

Also, one time Jon Stewart referred to him as Dr. Affleck on The Daily Show. And then he said catching Ebola off him would be “worth it.”

He is a superb corporate host and after dinner speaker, providing a tailored personalised speech to suit the client.

Tom Bower

Tom Bower is a former reporter for the BBC’s Panorama and a noted author of highly critical unauthorised biographies. His subjects have included Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Gordon Brown, Simon Cowell and Richard Branson.

In 2003 he won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for Broken Dreams, an investigation into corruption in English football.

Simon Callow

Simon’s first role in the theatre was working for Sir Laurence Olivier ” in the box office of the National Theatre. This offer of work came by return of post following a fan letter to Olivier. It was while watching actors rehearse that Simon realised that acting was something he wanted to do.

His films include the Merchant Ivory production A Room with a View (1985) playing the part of the Reverend Beebe.  He memorably played Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and the dour Master of the Revels in Shakespeare in Love (1998).

On television he starred in several series of the Channel 4 sitcom Chance in a Million, as the eccentric Tom Chance, and appeared with Saeed Jaffrey in 1994 British television series Little Napoleons.  In 2004, Simon appeared in a Comic Relief episode of Little Britain.
An acclaimed author, he has written biographies of Charles Laughton, Orson Welles and agent Peggy Ramsay.
In 1988, Simon directed the West End premiere of Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine, starring Pauline Collins. In 1992, he directed the play Shades by Sharman MacDonald and the musical My Fair Lady. These were followed by a stage version of the classic French film Les Enfants du Paradis for the RSC in 1995.
His prolific stage career has included many other memorable performances (e.g., the solo play, The Mystery of Charles Dickens, 2000), in both actor and director roles.
He has become renowned for a series of one-man shows, which have toured the UK and internationally. These include The Importance of Being Oscar, The Mystery of Charles Dickens, There Reigns Love, a performance of Shakespeare’s sonnets, Dr Marigold & Mr Chops by Charles Dickens, Being Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate, The Man Jesus by Matthew Hurt, and Inside Wagner’s Head.
He was made a CBE in 1999.
Simon is a most entertaining after dinner speaker.

Anton Du Beke

Witty, charismatic and a natural entertainer, Anton’s skills in front of an audience extend far beyond his dancing: he is now widely known for his quick wit, repartee and inimitable sartorial style. Coined ‘the ultimate gentleman’, Anton defines modern-day dapper: classically stylish and always impeccably turned-out – much like his hero Fred Astaire whom Anton upholds as his style icon.

It’s no wonder that Anton’s mischievous charm caught the attention of television producers. His distinct likability and showbiz flair brought him invitations to present non-dance programmes on primetime television including the BBC’s ‘Step up to the Plate’ with Loyd Grossman O.B.E, and cult Saturday night hit show ‘Hole in the Wall’ in which he appeared in over twenty-one episodes, firstly as a team captain in series one, then returning to host the show himself in series two.

A born showman, and relaxed in front of the camera, Anton excels at light entertainment – a genre he suits very well. From an expanding diversity of television credits, his charm, manner, wit… and comic timing are growing his popularity and appealing to generations young to old. And now through social media channels too, he’s attracting an ever-widening fanbase.

Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo attended Harrow County grammar school and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history.

He worked for the Conservative Party and for government ministers between 1976 and 1983. He entered the House of Commons in 1984. He was a minister for eleven years and had three positions in the Cabinet, including Secretary of State for Defence.

He lost his seat at the 1997 election, and began to develop a career in the media. He returned to the Commons between 2000 and 2005, was shadow Chancellor, and contested the leadership of the party in 2001, unsuccessfully.

Since leaving politics, he has devoted himself to writing and broadcasting. He is a regular on both BBC 1’s sardonic political “This Week” programme and Radio 4’s “The Moral Maze”. He has made radio and television documentaries on a wide range of subjects, including eight series of “Great British Railway Journeys”, five series on the continent of Europe, and two in the United States, for BBC2. In 2008 he chaired the judges of the Man Booker prize, and chaired the Art Fund prize for museums and galleries in 2011.

Tom Binns

Tom Binns is the star and co-writer of the BBC 1 Friday Night Comedy Series Hospital People.

He is also an award-winning and critical acclaimed character comedian working the International Comedy Festivals and the UK Stand Up Comedy Circuit.

Widely regarded as THREE of the best headliners working in British Comedy, Tom’s ventriloquist act, alter egos Hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury and psychic Ian D Montfort has won him over 30 five star reviews and many awards nationally and internationally.

Amongst his multiple nominations and awards, Tom has received a Fosters Comedy God, Best International Comedian, Best International Act at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe (twice), Nottingham International Comedy Festival and 3 Sony Gold Awards.

He’s been in BBC Shows Alan Partridge, Lee and Herring, Friday/Saturday Night Armistice and Channel 4 shows IT Crowd Drifters and Eight out of Ten Cats do Countdown and the feature films Going to Mecca and Eaten by Lions.

Debra Stephenson

Debra Stephenson, actress and impressionist. Best known for her roles in Bad Girls, Coronation Street, The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson and ITV’s Newzoids.

Debra’s biggest passion is, in fact, entertaining live audiences. She has in recent times entertained passengers aboard P&O cruise ships and regularly travels up and down the country and abroad to entertain at corporate dinners as well as hosting award ceremonies.

 

Alan Davies

Alan Roger Davies is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actor.  He has played the title role in the BBC mystery drama series Jonathan Creek since 1997,  and has been the only permanent panellist on the BBC panel show QI since 2003,  outlasting hosts Stephen Fry and Sandi Toksvig who took over after Fry’s exit.

Alan is also a talented writer who co-wrote and starred in the radio sitcom, The Alan Davies Show and going on to prove how versatile he is, took on a less comedic role starring as Henry Farm in the drama The Brief.

He has gone on to present documentaries including Alan Davies’ Teenage RevolutionsAlan Davies Apres-SkiThe Dog Rescuers and also co-hosted the Brazilian Banter podcast for ITV with Tom & Dom from Bantams Banter which was a satirical look at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Paul Sinha

A trained medical doctor who is perhaps best known as the Sinnerman on the hugely popular ITV quiz show ‘The Chase’, Paul has been a successful comedian for a number of years. As a club comedian, he has played every major comedy club in the UK, performed in eighteen other countries across the globe, and been three times nominated for Best Club Comedian at the Chortle Awards, winning in 2014.

Paul has taken eight solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, his 2006 show Saint Or Sinha being nominated for whatever the Perrier award was called back then. His 2017 show Shout Out To My Ex had a sellout run and toured nationally, with 2018’s The Two Ages Of Man following suit. On Radio 4, Paul has appeared several times on venerable favourites Just A Minute, The Now Show, and The News Quiz; and has carved out a career in factual comedy — making programmes on cricket, the 2012 Olympics, the Magna Carta, and UK citizenship; and three series of the Rose d’Or-winning Paul Sinha’s History Revision. Alongside Marcus Berkmann, he also plays for the South of England on the long-running Round Britain Quiz. On Radio 5 Live, he is a regular (and twice series champion) on the “feisty” sports panel show Fighting Talk. At the time of writing, Paul is ranked sixth in the UK at quizzing and, in November 2017, recorded his second top-ten finish at the European Quizzing Championships.

Paul is a very experienced corporate performer, equally happy to deliver a cracking after-dinner stand-up performance or host awards. Paul’s extensive quiz experience also means he’s the go to person to write and host a quiz for an organization.

As a qualified doctor and GP, Paul has always been a popular booking for medical and healthcare events but he’s also performed for the retail, legal, sports, financial, education and charity sectors. Paul’s corporate clients include: O2, Credit Suisse, ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board), Health Service Journal, Citigroup, Legal & General, Sainsbury’s, Norton Rose, Retail Week, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Insurance Institute, Digital Media Awards, BMI Healthcare, Institute of Actuaries and Morrisons amongst many others.

Ian Moore

Comedian Ian Moore occupies a unique position in British comedy.

TV/Radio regular, best-selling author and headliner at London’s world famous Comedy Store, Ian lives in rural France and commutes back to the UK every week for work. At least, that’s how things have been.

What with ‘events’, that fragile way of life looks rockier by the day and has made Ian an unwitting, but witty, expert in UK and European visa, travel, trade agreements and UK-EU bickering. His sharp, entertaining punditry can be seen regularly on Dave’s satirical TV show Unspun, Channel 5’s topical Comedy Big Mouths, and TRT World’s weekly dissection of the news, Nexus.

Ian is also a regular on BBC 5Live’s Fighting Talk and BT Sport’s The Football’s On, and a sometime co-host and regular guest on TalkSport’s The Warm Up.

As a much sought after comedian, compère and corporate awards host Ian has performed at corporate events ranging from twelve Harley Davidson executives in a hotel suite to hosting a live Q&A in front of 3,500 people at a packed-out Hammersmith Apollo. Following a sell-out run alongside Catherine Tate, Ian was selected to appear at
the pinnacle of all comedy festivals – Montreal’s Just for Laughs. Alongside the likes of Jimmy Carr and Lee Mack, Ian performed in the sellout Britcom showcase and the Worldcom show at the festival’s finale.

The author of best-selling books, ‘A la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France’, and the follow up, ‘C’est Modnifique!: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France’, Ian is also a columnist for Living France.

Ian Moore also makes a mean chutney.