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.

Eamonn Holmes

 

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.

Declan Curry

Journalist, speaker and conference chair Declan Curry was one of the BBC’s most recognisable business presenters and is an accomplished after dinner and keynote speaker, conference facilitator and awards host.

Declan previously presented BBC’s Working Lunch and was the front man for the BBCs Breakfast Business News for many years. He was also the Business Presenter on BBC News 24 since the channel’s launch in 1997.

Previously he presented Show Me The Money on BBC News, and a weekly programme on business and work – On The Money on BBC Radio 5 Live and a weekend show Your Money, providing essential news and information on personal finance.

His broadcasts on Breakfast covered a wide range of stories about business, work and money, he extracted news and views from chief executives, trade union leaders, stock market watchers, private investors and individual workers.

He formerly broadcast for the BBC’s international news channel, BBC World, and he reported as the business commentator in the United States for ABC News for nearly a decade.

Also, formerly the presenter of BBC Radio 5 Live’s early morning business programme, Wake up to Money. He produced and reported for a range of programmes, including Radio 4’s personal finance flagship Moneybox, Radio 5 Live’s Financial World Tonight, and World Service Radio’s World Business Report. In the past, he has worked for the London-based commercial news station LBC, and writes for a wide range of newspapers, magazines and industry publications in the UK, the Irish Republic and the United States.

His previous speaking engagements include the Global Economic Symposium, which has become an annual event for Declan, National Business Awards conference, Retail Week Conference and the Engineering Employers Federation annual awards.

A consummate professional, Declan has brought his vast experience in the media to the speaking circuit. He can facilitate conferences, host awards ceremonies and act as an entertaining after-dinner speaker. Able to tailor his speech to any audience, Declan’s charm and knowledge makes him a sought-after 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.

Andrew Pierce

Andrew is a former Assistant Editor of both The Daily Telegraph and  The Times newspapers,  and an ex-Political Editor of the latter.

He is a columnist and Consultant Editor for the Daily Mail, which he joined in 2009.

He knows everyone in the Westminster village and his ability to ferret out scandal and gossip means that he has a reputation for breaking stories that the great and the good might prefer kept quiet.

Andrew is also a seasoned broadcaster, appearing on Question Time, The Daily Politics, Sky News and LBC radio, where he has a weekly Sunday morning slot. Andrew has enough  Westminster gossip and can’t wait to divulge as much of it as he can!

Andrew can be seen as a regular guest on Good Morning Britain for the daily political debates.

Alastair Campbell

Alastair Campbell is a writer, communicator and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy. Still active in Labour politics, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, charitable fundraising, politics and campaigns.

Alastair is a highly sought after speaker not only in Britain, but worldwide. Drawing on his ten years of experience alongside Tony Blair, and his considerable understanding of the modern media, Alastair specialises in strategy, making change, dealing with the media, and crisis management – often simultaneously.

Dozens of testimonials from a wide variety of businesses, organisations and conference organisers have paid tribute to his skills as an engaging and innovative speaker able to apply his insights and experience to the work of others with wit and passion. He liaises directly with event organisers in advance, so as to tailor his presentations to their specific needs.

Often controversial, and always prepared to speak his mind, Alastair is willing, indeed keen, to make a question and answer session part of his presentations. Alastair is an engaging speaker and is equally at home delivering a major, bespoke conference keynote or an anecdotal after dinner speech.

Sir Christopher Meyer

Sir Christopher Meyer spent 37 years in the British Diplomatic Service. His career culminated as Ambassador to the United States during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies between 1997 and 2003. His five and a half years in Washington, which made him the longest-serving British Ambassador to the USA since the Second World War, coincided with 9/11, the wars in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, and the preparation for war in Iraq.

Previously he had been Ambassador to Germany and had postings to the former Soviet Union, Spain and the European Union in Brussels. He was also Press Secretary to Prime Minister Sir John Major, Press Secretary to Foreign Secretary, the late Lord Howe, and speech writer to three Foreign Secretaries, James Callaghan, Anthony Crosland and David Owen.

After his retirement from the Diplomatic Service in 2003, Sir Christopher chaired the Press Complaints Commission for six years until March 2009.

In 2005 he published DC Confidential, a memoir of his time in the Diplomatic Service. A further book, Getting Our Way: 500 Years of Adventure and Intrigue: the Inside Story of British Diplomacy, was published in 2009 and accompanied a three-part TV series for BBC4. In 2012 he presented and co-wrote a six-part TV documentary series for Sky Atlantic, Networks of Power. In early 2016 he appeared in and helped research Inside The War Room: World War 3 for BBC2.

In 2013 he published as an Amazon Kindle Single a personal memoir, Only Child.

Sir Christopher is an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge University, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

He is a non-executive director of the Arbuthnot Banking Group and is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Pagefield, a public relations company. He is on the Advisory Board of British-American Business inc and is a Freeman of the City of London and member of the Worshipful Company of Stationers.

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.