Remove ads
Alexander Gerald van Hoogenhouck-Tulleken (born 18 August 1978)[1] is a British doctor and TV presenter. He is best known for presenting the CBBC children's series Operation Ouch![2] with his identical twin brother Chris, and the Channel 4 show How to Lose Weight Well.[3]
Xand van Tulleken | |
|---|---|
 van Tulleken in 2015 | |
| Born | Alexander Gerald van Hoogenhouck Tulleken 18 August 1978 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | King's College School, Wimbledon |
| Alma mater | Somerville College, Oxford LSHTM Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
| Television | Operation Ouch! |
| Spouse |
Dolly Theis (m. 2023) |
| Children | 2 |
Van Tulleken has presented many documentaries, including an episode of Horizon discussing male suicide[4] and a BBC programme on the European migrant crisis.[5] 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"[6] and "Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?"[7] As of July 2023, he was appearing regularly on the BBC1 weekday programme Morning Live, providing a variety of medical advice. Van Tulleken is also a member of the "Made of stronger stuff" podcast on BBC Sounds.
Remove ads
He is descended from Jan van Hoogenhouck Tulleken (1762–1851), a Dutch rear-admiral who was later raised to the nobility with the title of Jonkheer (equivalent of a Baronet). As his descendant, this gives van Tulleken this title as well.
In June 2023, van Tulleken, 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 who had a plantation in Demerara in The Guianas.[8]
Remove ads
He went to both Hill House preparatory school, and then King's College School, an independent day school for boys in Wimbledon, London, with his twin Chris. He then went to Somerville College at the University of Oxford.[9] There he studied medicine, specialising in tropical medicine.[10]
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 in the 2017 general election.[11] He has one son from a previous relationship and has a son with his wife Dolly, born April 2024.[12]
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's Medicine Men go Wild (2008).[13]
- Presenters of BBC Two's Trust Me, I'm A Doctor (2013) alongside Michael Mosley.[14]
- Presenters of both What's The Right Diet for You? A Horizon Special (2015),[15] and also Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad? (2015), testing the effects of sporadic alcohol consumption compared to regular alcohol consumption.[16]
- Appeared on Series 5 of Hacker Time.[17]
- Presented a documentary series called The Twinstitute.[18]
- Presented Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me (2020). The show explores how Xand was left with an irregular heartbeat after catching COVID.[19][20]
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads