Alexander Gerald van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken (born 18 August 1978) is a British doctor and TV presenter. He is best known for presenting the CBBC children's series ''

Operation Ouch! ''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 medical experiments. The first series of ''Operation Ouch!'' aired on CBBC in Octo ...

'' with his identical twin brother Chris, and the Channel 4 show ''How to Lose Weight Well''. Van Tulleken has presented many documentaries, including an episode of ''Horizon'' discussing male

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

and a BBC programme on the European migrant crisis. He can often be seen offering up his own body for science experimentation in diet show ''How to Lose Weight Well'', as well as in '' BBC Horizon'' episodes "Sugar vs Fat" and "Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?" As of July 2023, he was appearing regularly on the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

weekday programme ''

Morning Live ''Morning Live'' is a magazine programme that airs on weekday mornings between 9:30 am and 10:45 am on BBC One. History ''Morning Live'' first broadcast on 26 October 2020 as a 40-part series to connect with viewers' real-life concerns and to o ...

'', providing a variety of medical advice. Van Tulleken is also a member of the "Made of stronger stuff" podcast on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

Ancestry

He is descended from (1762–1851), a Dutch rear-admiral who was later raised to the nobility with the title of

Jonkheer (female equivalent: ; in the masculine only; ''jonkvrouw'' is used in the feminine, even in French; ) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used ...

(equivalent of a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

). As his descendant, this gives van Tulleken this title as well. In June 2023, Xand, along with his brother Chris, were the subject of the BBC genealogy programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', in which they learned that Jan van Hoogenhouck Tulleken's father, Ambrosius Tulleken, was a wealthy

slave-trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, a ...

who had a plantation in

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

The Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

Early life and education

He went to both Hill House preparatory school, and then

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The s ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

day school for boys in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, London, with his twin Chris. He then went to

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. There he studied medicine, specialising in

tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

Personal life

Van Tulleken is married to doctor Dolly Theis, a visiting researcher at MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge and former Conservative Party candidate for

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

in the 2017 general election. He has one son from a previous relationship and has a son with his wife Dolly, born April 2024.

Television career

The van Tulleken twins often appear on shows together, but also both have individual appearances on various programmes.

With Chris van Tulleken

* Presenters of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''Medicine Men go Wild'' (2008). * Presenters of

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

's ''

(2012-2021). * Presenters of

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's '' Trust Me, I'm A Doctor'' (2013) alongside

Michael Mosley Michael Hugh Mosley (22 March 1957 – 5 June 2024) was a British television and radio journalist, producer, presenter and writer who worked for the BBC from 1985 until his death. He presented television programmes on biology and medicine and ...

. * Presenters of both ''What's The Right Diet for You? A

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

Special'' (2015), and also ''Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?'' (2015), testing the effects of sporadic alcohol consumption compared to regular alcohol consumption. * Appeared on Series 5 of ''

Hacker Time ''Hacker Time'' is a British children's sketch comedy talk show, broadcast by CBBC, starring Hacker T. Dog. In each episode, Hacker interviews a celebrity, and plays games and the show also includes recurring segments, such as sketches. Six ...

''. * Presented a documentary series called ''The Twinstitute''. * Presented ''Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me'' (2020). The show explores how Xand was left with an irregular heartbeat after catching COVID. * Assisted Chris on the first of the 2024

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including yo ...

References

External links

* 1978 births Living people Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford English people of Dutch descent People educated at King's College School, London British television presenters Jonkheers of the Netherlands 21st-century British medical doctors {{UK-tv-bio-stub