The Van Tulleken brothers have jointly presented several television and radio programmes, The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs[5], The Truth About...HIV[6], the children's series Operation Ouch![7], and the radio podcast 'A Thorough Examination'. Investigating dietary causes for disease, he authored the Sunday Timesbest selling book 'Ultra-Processed People'[8].
Early life and education
Chris van Tulleken was born to Anthony van Tulleken, an industrial designer, and his wife Kit, a publisher[9]. His younger brother is the film director[10][11] Jonathan van Tulleken[12][13]. He was educated at Hill House preparatory school, then King's College School, an independent day school for boys in Wimbledon, southwest London.
In June 2023, Chris and his brother Xand were the subjects of the BBC genealogy programme Who Do You Think You Are?, in which they learned that they were descended from a wealthy slave-trader who had a plantation in Demerara in The Guianas. They are also of partial Indonesian descent via their Javanese 4x great-grandmother.[17]
He is descended from Dutch Rear-Admiral Jan van Hoogenhouck Tulleken (1762–1851), originally Jan Tulleken, of a family traced back to the 15th century, who changed his name in 1822 and was raised to the nobility in 1842 with the rank of Jonkheer, the lowest tier of nobility.[18] The family name is officially without a hyphen, and in the Netherlands, use of the name "van Tulleken" is considered wrong, as the "van" belongs to the name Hoogenhouck.
In 2024, Chris was the lecturer for the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures[22], entitled The Truth About Food. Xand also appeared in the first lecture, while their father Anthony demonstrated a chocolate-powered engine in the second lecture.[23][24] In 2016 he won the Max Perutz award for his HIVresearch[25].
Van Tulleken was named as an emerging British talent in "The Brit List 2013" by ShortList magazine.[35]
In 2015, the twins presented another Horizon episode, titled Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?, in which they tested the effects of different levels of drinking alcohol, with van Tulleken drinking moderate amounts daily, and twin brother Xand bingeing weekly.[36]
In 2016, alarmed by the steep rise in prescription medicine in Britain and dubious as to its efficacy, van Tulleken was featured in the BBC One television show The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs. In the two-part social experiment, he took over part of a GP surgery and attempted to find practical ways to treat patients and stop patients' prescription pills.[38][39]
In January and February 2019, Chris and Xand presented a documentary series called The Twinstitute, repeated in 2020.[40]
In Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me, after contracting COVID-19, Xand was left with an irregular heartbeat.[41][42]
His television work has produced wide acclaim, and he has won two BAFTAs[43][44]
Writing
In response to his observations about processed food, and expertise in nutrition, Chris published the best seller 'Ultra-Processed People[45]' in 2023.
Personal life
He has two children[46] with his wife Dinah, who gave birth to a second daughter in June 2020.[47] He is a 'high profile supporter' of UNICEF[48].
Until February 2018, van Tulleken was a patron and board member of the medical aid and healthcare charity Doctors of the World UK,[49] which is a member of the international Médecins du Monde network. In 2015, he ran the London Marathon for Doctors of the World, raising over £3,400.[50]
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