Available to book
Chris van Tulleken
Food and Nutrition
Transform health perspectives with Dr. Chris van Tulleken, speaker, infectious diseases expert and bestselling author. Chris works with organisations to address food industry challenges, antibiotic resistance and public health education, delivering BAFTA-winning insights and New York Times bestselling expertise.
Broadcaster
Professional
Author
Doctor
Dr. Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at UCLH, one of the BBC's leading science presenters, and a New York Times bestselling author. In 2023, Chris published "Ultra Processed People," an exposé on the food industry, which became an international bestseller. In the summer of 2021, Chris and Xand launched their first podcast, "A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand," which reached the top spot across a variety of podcast charts. The audio series follows Chris sending Xand on a journey to explore his relationship with ultra-processed food. Xand meets the world's leading experts on food, weight, taste, and addiction while going on a UPF binge in a bid to see if he can learn to hate it.
Series 2 was launched in 2022 and focused on whether people can change and how they do it. In 2019, Chris, alongside his twin brother Xand, put competing health theories to the test with the help of 30 other pairs of identical twins in 'Twinsitute' for BBC Two. The pair also hosted 'Planet Child,' a 'landmark perspective on global childhood development,' for ITV. Chris' concerns about antibiotic resistance and over-reliance on prescription drugs led him to create a campaigning series for BBC One in 2017 called 'The Dr Who Gave up Drugs,' which generated a huge volume of letters and emails, striking a chord with the nation. In 2018, he turned the focus of the topic to children with the second series, which received rave reviews.
Following the success of 'The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs,' Chris investigated the impact ultra-processed foods have on our children in 'What Are We Feeding Our Kids?' for BBC One. Another highlight of 2017 was Chris' BBC1 film "The Truth About...HIV," a program supported by HRH Prince Harry and Sir Elton John. "Operation Ouch," Chris and Xand's double BAFTA & Broadcast award-winning series for CBBC, continues to delight audiences around the world, with Series 12 being filmed in 2023. Throughout the series, the twins create fun and often disgusting experiments to help kids learn how the human body works. Chris and Xand's programs are often shaped by their readiness and ability to self-experiment and test out theories on one another (as clones, they are the ideal test and control). Whether changing their diets, exposing themselves to environmental extremes of heat, cold, sleeplessness, or pain (sticking spikes through their faces and sticking cameras down their noses), Chris learns and informs his audience by becoming a patient himself. Chris and Xand grew up in London and trained in medicine at Oxford University, specializing in infectious disease and tropical medicine.
Chris brings a unique blend of medical expertise, engaging storytelling, and firsthand experience in self-experimentation that can inspire and educate your team on the importance of health, innovation, and change. His international bestseller status and leading role in popular science communication demonstrate his ability to connect with and captivate audiences of all backgrounds. Booking Chris as a speaker offers your business the opportunity to explore cutting-edge health and wellness insights, fostering a more informed, resilient, and motivated team.
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frequently asked questions
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Email chris.van.tulleken@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Dr Chris's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Chris van Tulleken uses self-experimentation as a primary communication device, drawing on his twin brother Xand as a paired test-and-control subject to demonstrate health theories in real time.
Dr Chris van Tulleken specialises in ultra-processed food and its effects on health, antibiotic resistance and over-reliance on prescription drugs, and childhood health and nutrition. His book Ultra Processed People became a New York Times bestseller in 2023, and his BBC series Operation Ouch has won double BAFTA and Broadcast awards.
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