Chris van Tulleken

Last updated
Jonkheer
Chris van Tulleken
Born
Christoffer van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken

(1978-08-18) 18 August 1978 (age 46)
London, England
Education King's College School, Wimbledon
Alma mater St Peter's College, Oxford
Television Operation Ouch!
Children2

Christoffer Rodolphe van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken (born 18 August 1978), [1] known as Dr. Chris, is a British physician, television presenter, and identical twin brother of Alexander "Xand" van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken. [2] [3] Van Tulleken became well known for his two-part television special for BBC One entitled The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs (2018). [4] [5] He is the author of Ultra-Processed People (2023). The Van Tulleken brothers are best known for presenting the children's series Operation Ouch! (2013). [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Chris van Tulleken was born to Anthony van Tulleken, an industrial designer, and his wife Kit, a publisher. [8] Their younger brother is the film director Jonathan van Tulleken.[ citation needed ]

They are 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. [9] 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.[ citation needed ]

Van Tulleken was educated at Hill House preparatory school, then King's College School, an independent day school for boys in Wimbledon, southwest London, followed by St Peter's College at the University of Oxford.[ citation needed ]

In June 2023, van Tulleken 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. [10]

TV career

Van Tulleken and his twin presented Channel 4's Medicine Men Go Wild, [11] CBBC's Operation Ouch! and BBC Two's Trust Me, I'm A Doctor alongside Michael Mosley. [12] Van Tulleken was the expedition doctor for BBC Two's Operation Iceberg, [13] and has appeared in Top Dogs: Adventures in War, Sea and Ice (BBC 2), [14] Holiday Hit Squad (BBC One), [15] Museum of Life (BBC Two), [16] The Secret Life of Twins (BBC One), [17] as well as Celebrity Mastermind and The Wright Stuff .[ citation needed ] He was also doctor to a team led by Bruce Parry which recreated the 1911 race to the South Pole in the BBC documentary Blizzard: Race to the Pole. [18] The twins presented What's The Right Diet for You? A Horizon Special. [19]

Van Tulleken was named as an emerging British talent in "The Brit List 2013" by ShortList magazine. [20]

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. [21]

He appeared with his twin on Series 5 of Hacker Time . [22]

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. [4] [23]

In January and February 2019, they presented a documentary series called The Twinstitute, repeated in 2020. [24]

In Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me, after contracting COVID-19, Xand was left with an irregular heartbeat. [25] [26]

In 2023, Chris published the book Ultra-Processed People . [27]

In 2024, Chris was the lecturer for the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, 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. [28]

Personal life

Van Tulleken's wife Dinah gave birth to a second daughter in June 2020. [29]

Humanitarian aid

Until February 2018, van Tulleken was a patron and board member of the medical aid and healthcare charity Doctors of the World UK, [30] 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. [31]

Related Research Articles

<i>ChuckleVision</i> BBC television series

ChuckleVision is a British children's comedy television series created by Martin Hughes and the Chuckle Brothers for the BBC. It starred Barry and Paul Elliott as the Chuckle Brothers and occasionally their older brothers, Jimmy, and Brian Elliott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Nance</span> American actor (1943–1996)

Marvin John Nance, known professionally as Jack Nance, was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial debut Eraserhead (1977). He continued to work with Lynch throughout his career, which included a recurring role as Pete Martell on Twin Peaks (1990–1991).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ortis Deley</span> British television presenter (born 1973)

Ortis Deley is a British television presenter, comedian, singer, radio DJ and actor. He is of Ghanaian and Nigerian descent, best known for presenting the Children's BBC Saturday morning flagship series Live & Kicking. As of November 2021, he is a presenter on The Gadget Show. He has also co-presented Police Interceptors in the UK, with Rick Edwards. He appeared on Police Interceptors special edition where he drove around with the Cleveland and Durham specialist operations unit as well as observing the operations of the control centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirsten O'Brien</span> British television presenter and actress

Kirsten Lindsey O'Brien is an English television, radio presenter and actress. She is best known for her work presenting for the BBC, including the popular CBBC art programme SMart from 1999 to 2009, the CBeebies pre-school art spin-off programme SMarteenies in 2002. Since 2024 she has been the presenter of BBC Radio Berkshire's mid-morning programme, and previously, the Breakfast Show.

Trust Me, I'm a Doctor was originally a BBC Two television programme looking at the state of health care in Britain with a combination of factual reporting and satire, presented by Phil Hammond. In 2013, a new BBC Two television series with the same name was launched, presented by a team comprising: medical journalist Michael Mosley, physicians Chris van Tulleken and Saleyha Ahsan and surgeon Gabriel Weston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's College School</span> Private public school in Wimbledon, Greater London,

King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a private public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was established in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and had part of the school's premises in Strand, prior to relocating to Wimbledon in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Médecins du Monde</span> Humanitarian health NGO

Médecins du monde, or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which seeks to provide emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates for an end to health inequities.

Gridlock (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 2007 episode of the Doctor Who TV series

"Gridlock" is the third episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 April 2007. It was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Richard Clark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maverick Television</span> Television and media production company

Maverick Television is a television and media production company.

Christopher David Johnson is a British television presenter and actor. He began presenting on the CBBC Channel in January 2010, and continued until April 2016. His first television appearance was for BBC Three, introducing Family Guy. Chris also makes content on YouTube under the user name OfficialCDJ.

<i>Operation Ouch!</i> TV show

Operation Ouch! is a British comedy children's television series on the human body, showing what happens in A&E, what doctors sometimes have problems with and experiments. The first series of Operation Ouch! aired on CBBC in October 2012 and ABC Australia in 2013. The show is hosted by twin brothers and doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken and in 2019 a new doctor, Ronx İkharia, was introduced. Series 9 first aired on CBBC starting May 2020 for one episode, and then resumed on 13 January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kia Pegg</span> English actress and presenter

Kia May Pegg is an English actress and television presenter. She portrayed Jody Jackson in the British children's drama show Tracy Beaker Returns (2012), as well as the spin-off series The Dumping Ground (2013–2022). Then from 2022 to 2024, Pegg appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as receptionist Scarlett Kiernan, for which she received award nominations at the RTS Midlands Awards, the British Soap Awards and the Inside Soap Awards. She also began occasionally presenting episodes of Saturday Mash-Up! for CBBC in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Tulleken brothers</span> Twin British physicians and TV personalities

Alexander "Xand" van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken and Christoffer "Chris" van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken, known as "Dr. Chris" and "Dr. Xand' are British doctors, television presenters, and identical twin brothers. They are best known for presenting the children's series Operation Ouch!. Chris has become well known for his two-part television special for BBC One entitled The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs. Xand has also presented shows without his brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xand van Tulleken</span> British television presenter

Alexander Gerald van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken is a British doctor and TV presenter. He is best known for presenting the CBBC children's series Operation Ouch! with his identical twin brother Chris, and the Channel 4 show How to Lose Weight Well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Fry</span> British mathematician and broadcaster (born 1984)

Hannah M. Fry is a British mathematician, author and broadcaster. As of 2025 she is the Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and president of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). She previously served as Professor at University College London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Jackson (geologist)</span> UK academic and geologist

Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson is a British geoscientist, science communicator and Director of Sustainable Geoscience at Jacobs Engineering Group. He was previously Professor of Sustainable Geoscience at the University of Manchester, and before that held the Equinor Chair of Basin Analysis at Imperial College, London. He is known for his work in geoscience, especially in the use of 3D seismic data to understand dynamic processes in sedimentary basins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Paul George</span> American convicted drug dealer (b. 1980)

Christopher Paul George, called Chris George is an American drug dealer and convicted felon. Together with his twin brother Jeffrey Frank George and other parties involved, he ran several pill mills in Florida, which contributed to the opioid epidemic in the USA. George was sentenced to 17.5 years imprisonment in 2012 for these and other crimes. The media called him Pill Mill Kingpin, because he was the owner of the largest network of such clinics in Florida between February 2008 and March 2010.

Hannah Shields is an Irish athlete best known for becoming the first woman from Northern Ireland to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2007. She was also the first Irish woman to ski to the North magnetic pole in 2004, racing with Chris van Tulleken as part of the Polar Challenge. Parts of their journey were recorded by the BBC for their 'Challenge' series. She has completed over 50 marathons and ultra-marathons.

References

  1. ↑ "The British Team" (Press release). Blizzard: Race To The Pole. BBC Press Office. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "About Chris". Van Tulleken Brothers. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Chris van Tulleken". Roar Global. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 "The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs". BBC One. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Hogan, Michael (15 September 2016). "The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs was an eye-opening insight into our pill-popping culture". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Operation Ouch!". CBBC. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Operation Ouch! Hardback". The Guardian Bookshop. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Agostino, Josephine (16 January 2020). "24 surprising facts about the Operation Ouch stars". Kidspot. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Nederland's Adelsboek, 95th edition, Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, 2010, pp. 393-404
  10. ↑ "Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 20: 5. Chris and Xand van Tulleken" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Medicine Men Go Wild". Channel 4. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor". BBC Two. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Operation Iceberg". BBC Two. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Top Dogs; Adventures in War, Ice, and Sea". BBC Two. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Holiday Hit Squad". BBC One. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Museum of Life". BBC Two. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Secret Life of Twins". BBC One. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Blizzard: Race to the Pole". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "What's The Right Diet for You? A Horizon Special". Horizon. BBC. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Brit List 2013". ShortList. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  21. ↑ Todd, Sophie (20 May 2015). "Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?". Horizon. Series 51. Episode 11. London. BBC. BBC Two . Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "BBC iPlayer". CBBC Channel Schedule. BBC. 18 April 2016.
  23. ↑ Sheffield, Michael (26 September 2016), "The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs, 15 September 2016", The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs (video documentary), season 1, episode 1, BBC, BBC One , retrieved 18 January 2018– via YouTube
  24. ↑ "What time is The Twinstitute on TV? What's it about and how does it work?". Radio Times. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  25. ↑ Mangan, Lucy (5 August 2020). "Surviving the Virus: My Brother and Me review – a rigorous dispatch from the Covid frontline". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  26. ↑ "BBC viewers sob as doctor recovering from covid has heart restarted". Manchester Evening News . 6 August 2020.
  27. ↑ Gersen, Jacob E. (2023-07-07). "If We Are What We Eat, We Don't Know Who We Are". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  28. ↑ "The 2024 CHRISTMAS LECTURES". Royal Institution. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  29. ↑ Mangan, Lucy (5 August 2020). "Surviving the Virus: My Brother and Me review – a rigorous dispatch from the Covid frontline". The Guardian .
  30. ↑ Doctors of the World UK (21 April 2015). "Van Tulleken brothers running for DOTW in the London Marathon". Doctors of the World. Doctors of the World UK. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  31. ↑ "Dr. Chris & Dr. Xand van Tulleken". run-for-dotw.everydayhero.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.