A History of Britain in Just a Minute

The story of us - without hesitation, repetition or deviation. 
 
Join national treasure and Just a Minute regular Gyles Brandreth on a hilariously addictive romp through British history. This isn't just another history book - there's a catch! From Stonehenge and Boudicca to Megxit and Brexit, each topic is written in 60-second installments, without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. 
 
A History of Britain in Just a Minute celebrates key moments, people and places from our past: kings and queens, heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters, inventions and events, battles and bonnets, art, science, literature, entertainment, sport, gossip, and more. Some entries are uninterrupted minutes, while others feature challenges for repetition and even, er...hesitation. You'll even find other Just a Minute panellists occasionally grabbing the pen to regale us with their witty takes on history. 
 
You've never heard the history of Britain told quite like this. You'll enjoy every uproarious minute of it.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, performer, former MP and Government Whip, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and probably best known these days as a reporter on BBC1's The One Show and as a regular on Radio 4's Just a Minute. On TV he has featured on Have I Got News For You, QI, Room 101, Countdown, and This is Your Life. As a journalist he writes for the Telegraph and Daily Mail and is a columnist for The Oldie. The founder of the National Scrabble Championships, his books about words and language include four best-sellers, The Joy of Lex, Word Play, Have You Eaten Grandma? and Dancing by the Light of the Moon.

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Panel Game

Whispers: The Complete Series 1-3

Gyles Brandreth presents the quiz show with scandal on its mind 
 
Hosted by the least discreet man in Britain, broadcaster and national treasure Gyles Brandreth, Whispers is the panel game that celebrates all things scurrilous and salacious. Running the gauntlet of gossip are two teams of two guests, who test their wits and wit as they try to tell the difference between fact, fiction and outlandish speculation. 
 
In the opening round, they are challenged to work out whether a given allegation is true, false or a 'whisper' (a rumour that was widely circulated, but never proven). Subsequent rounds include 'Scandal of the Week', in which they must flesh out the bare bones of a celebrity biography by buzzing in with the missing information; and 'Loose Connections', where their task is to pinpoint the sensational or bizarre link between two well-known personalities. At the end of each show, five bonus points are allocated to anyone who can identify a fib told by Gyles earlier in the game. 
 
Team captains Anthony Holden, Stella Duffy and Lucy Moore are joined by panellists including Lynne Truss, Jennie Bond, Julian Fellowes, Richard Herring, Louise Doughty and John O'Farrell to probe the follies and foibles of the famous and infamous. Did Queen Victoria take cannabis? What's the connection between Salman Rushdie and The Beatles? And was Bonaparte really attacked on his wedding night by Josephine's dog? Find out in the quiz that puts naughty before nice and dishes the dirt on the bad boys and girls of history. 
 
Production credits 
Devised and presented by Gyles Brandreth 
Written by Nick Hildred and Hugh Rycroft 
Produced by Elizabeth Freestone and Victoria Lloyd 
 
Series 1 featuring: Anthony Holden, Stella Duffy, Rosie Millard, Jenny Colgan, Lynne Truss, Rowan Pelling, Jennie Bond, Geoffrey Durham 
 
Series 2 featuring: Anthony Holden, Lucy Moore, Geoffrey Durham, Valerie Grove, Lynne Truss, Michèle Brown, Simon Fanshawe, Charles Collingwood 
 
Series 3 featuring: Anthony Holden, Lucy Moore, Penny Junor, Julian Fellowes, Richard Herring, Louise Doughty, Dan Tetsell, John O'Farrell 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 October-10 December 2003 (Series 1), 15 September-20 October 2004 (Series 2), 5 October-9 November 2005 (Series 3) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The complete BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz series

The Personality Test

The comedy panel game where all the questions are about the guest host 
 
Welcome to The Personality Test, the panel show in which a brand new host takes the chair for every episode to present a quiz entirely themed around themselves. Each gets to run the show by their own rules, devising topics and queries based on their life, whims, fancies and past glories. Among the showbiz celebrities in the hot seat are Gyles Brandreth, Jennie Bond, Antony Worrall Thompson, Esther Rantzen, Janet Street-Porter and Edwina Currie, while the rounds include Love It Or Hate It, True or False, That Special Day and Life's a Pitch. 
 
Is John Sergeant a fan of Julia Roberts? Would Greg Dyke give Radio 4 just a minute, or leave it on a desert island? And does Claire Rayner have a penchant for jelly babies? Having spent a week swotting up on their host, the contestants must tackle these questions and more, as they do their best to amuse, entertain, charm, flatter - and occasionally, flirt outrageously - in a bid to chalk up the points and win the game. Battling it out are regular panellists and comedy heavyweights Alan Carr, Sue Perkins, Robert Ince, Lucy Porter, Will Smith and Carrie Quinlan. 
 
Intriguing and challenging, riotous and revealing, this unique panel show shines a fascinating spotlight on the interests and enthusiasms of your favourite personalities - and keeps you laughing along the way. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Richard Turner, Simon Littlefield and Kieron Quirke 
Devised and produced by Aled Evans 
 
Series 1 presented by: John Sergeant, Greg Dyke, Gyles Brandreth and Jennie Bond 
With Sue Perkins, Alan Carr, Lucy Porter, Will Smith, Robin Ince and Natalie Haynes 
 
Series 2 presented by: Roy Hattersley, Rick Wakeman, Adam Hart-Davis, Antony Worrall Thompson, Claire Rayner and Esther Rantzen 
With Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Mark Dolan and Will Smith 
 
Series 3 presented by: Janet Street-Porter, Lorraine Kelly, Andrew Neill, Edwina Currie, Toyah Willcox and Eve Pollard 
With Sue Perkins, Will Smith, Nick Doody, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Carrie Quinlan and Dan Tetsell 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July-2 August 2006 (Series 1), 7 December 2006-11 January 2007 (Series 2), 5 July-9 August 2007 (Series 3) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The Complete BBC Radio comedy

Living with the Enemy

Sitcom written by and starring Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth who play an alternative comedian-turned-holistic therapist and a Tory MP turned media figure.

All six episodes of the BBC radio comedy about two chalk-and-cheese flatmates 
 
Nick Reynolds is a lefty alternative comedian-turned-holistic therapist. Living on the floor below him is Gyles Brandon, an ex-Tory MP turned media darling. Poles apart, they’d never choose each other as friends, but when Nick accidentally floods Gyles’ apartment, they become reluctant flat-sharers. 
 
Joined by Gyles’ goddaughter Sophie Okuyu, the spoilt daughter of a corrupt African politician, the housemates get into various scrapes, including plotting to seek revenge on Gyles’ ex-wife, trying to curry favour (and make some money) at a swanky Mayfair art gallery, and going on a celebratory night out which swiftly turns to disaster... 
 
Written by and starring Gyles Brandreth as Gyles and Nick Revell as Nick, this Odd Couple story was inspired by a chance meeting between the pair at the Edinburgh Festival, where they hit it off despite being political opposites. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Black Mirror) plays Sophie, and guest stars include Prunella Scales, Timothy West, Martin Jarvis and Neil Pearson. 
 
Cast 
Gyles Brandon – Gyles Brandreth 
Nick Reynolds – Nick Revell 
Sophie Okuyu – Gugu Mbatha-Raw 
George Carstairs – Martin Jarvis 
Taxi driver/Goon – Nathan Caton 
Mr Longstaff/ Richard Dowdeswell/Piers/Brian/Barry – Martin Hyder 
Shop assistant – Alys Torrance 
Mrs Woodman – Prunella Scales 
Mr Woodman – Timothy West 
Charles Danbury – Nickolas Grace 
Jana – Maria McErlane 
Immigration officer/Asif – Dan Mersh 
Olga – Barunka O'Shaughnessy 
Rick – Neil Pearson 
 
Written by Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth 
Produced by Ed Morrish 
BA: Pamela Norris 
Studio Managers: Alick Hale-Monro &amp; Gary Newman 
Archive BA: Kevin Gordon 
Theme music composed and performed by Ben Walker

Gyles Brandreth

The English Language in Just A Minute

As fans of Just a Minute know, the key to the game is knowing your way around the English language: how it works, how it’s evolved, and how words connect, often in surprising ways. When it comes to the English language (and Just a Minute), Gyles Brandreth has seen it all – and now he’s ready to put you through your linguistic paces, to become a Just a Minute expert yourself. 
 
In this wildly entertaining A to Z of verbal acrobatics, Gyles takes you on a whirlwind tour of our mother tongue – from the origins of words and correct grammar and punctuation, to similes, euphemisms and record breaking tongue twisters (try getting your mouth around floccinaucinihilipification!). An idiosyncratic blend of history, word play, anecdote, and hyperbole, all in 60-second instalments, this is Gyles Brandreth at his word-perfect, Just-a-Minute best. You’ll never mix your metaphors again...

Gyles Brandreth

Books by Gyles Brandreth

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