He’s best known as a perky children’s television presenter but, at 48, Dr Xand van Tulleken is feeling his age. “My knees are creaky. I’m tired. My hangovers are worse,” he says, explaining he spent most of last night with his youngest child Daphne, not yet one, awake and screaming.
We’re meeting on Zoom to discuss his new book, Make Me Well: A Quest to Understand the Confusing World of Wellness, a scrupulously researched, engaging and amusing read despite the shocking weight of the revelations. Supplements? Snake oil. Blood tests? Don’t bother. Wearable tech? You may as well consult the stars.
Best known as the presenter of CBBC’s Operation Ouch! and Radio 4’s What’s Up Docs? with his twin brother Chris, van Tulleken says he has a vested interest in feeling better. He has battled weight gain, health scares and incredibly stressful working environments. “I’m the perfect customer for the wellness industry. I want to feel young and healthy for my children.”
He married Dolly, who works in food policy, in 2023 and they are now parents to Rex, two, and months-old Daphne. He also has a 17-year-old son, Julian, who mostly lives in Canada with his mother and stepfather.
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Harry’s first public appearances confirmed since UK return
The Duke of Sussex’s first “public engagements” since his return to the UK have been announced.
Prince Harry is said to be in contact with his father despite the briefing war that erupted in the past few days – they are pictured here in 2019 in London (Photo: Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/Getty Images)
Harry’s return tour
Prince Harry has announced his first “public engagements” since returning to the UK with his wife, Meghan, and the couple’s children in August, starting with a run of charity events this month which includes the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards.
William and Kate made a rare public appearance with Harry and Meghan following Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022. The gulf between the former ‘Fab Four’ has never looked wider (Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/AFP)
It’s odds on there’s another blow-up coming between the Sussexes and King Charles (Photo: Tom Maddick/SWNS)
His other scheduled appearances include launching the Invictus education programme INSPIRE and taking part in one of his favourite annual occasions, the WellChild Awards.
Where will Harry appear?
Caption: BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – JULY 10: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex plays in a wheelchair rugby exhibition match during the Invictus 1 Year To Go event at the National Exhibition Centre on July 10, 2026 in Birmingham, England. Birmingham will host the Invictus Games in July 2027, the first time the Games have returned to the UK since the inaugural games in London 2014, and will feature twelve adaptive sports. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Photographer: Max Mumby/Indigo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Invictus Spirit Awards
The Spirit Awards will see Harry give out awards on behalf of his Invictus charity.
INSPIRE launch
Where Harry will play pickleball with school pupils and participate in an assembly.
(Photo: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Invictus Games Foundation)
Unlike Meghan and Harry, Mako and Komuro have kept a low profile since moving to the US (Photo: Andrew Esiebo/Getty Images for The Archewell Foundation)
WellChild awards
Harry has been a patron of the children’s charity since 2007 and regularly attends the ceremony.
‘Private citizens’ row
Full details of Harry’s appearances, including the specific dates, have yet to be published.
The events were described by his team only as the duke’s “September public engagements”.
It comes amid a rumoured row over the Sussexes’ labelling in a letter from the King as “private citizens.”
The couple, set to stay non-working royals, are reported to prefer the term “public figures” instead.
3 min read
How do the Sussexes feel about their return?
They are happy to be back.
A source close to the couple told People magazine: “There is a lot to do. They have just moved halfway across the world, and it’s been really busy getting the kids settled.”
Caption: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 17: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex greet members of the public at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia on April 17, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on a four-day visit to Australia, with engagements across Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Photographer: Cameron Spencer
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They added: “Their focus has been on that, and will remain on that, for the time being. They are happy to be back.”
Caption: (FILES) This handout image released by Disney on September 24, 2025, shows Jimmy Kimmel during the taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” at the Capitan Entertainment Centre on September 23, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Sinclair, one of the companies that began boycotting comedian Jimmy Kimmel after US government pressure said on September 26, 2025 that it would start broadcasting his show again. Disney-owned ABC took the late-night host off the air when Sinclair and another firm said they would no longer show his programme on the dozens of stations they own, purportedly over remarks the comedian made in the wake of the murder of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. (Photo by Randy Holmes / ABC / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / ABC/ DISNEY / RANDY HOLMES” – HANDOUT – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / TABLOIDS OUT; NO BOOK PUBLISHING WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL. NO ARCHIVE. NO RESALE. / GETTYOUT / —-IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE—– (Photo by RANDY HOLMES/ABC/AFP via Getty Images)
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US POLITICS
Why Jimmy Kimmel interview won’t air on TV amid ‘threats’
TV host Jimmy Kimmel says his interview with a key Democratic Senate candidate will not air on television.
Here’s why.
What happened?
On Wednesday, Kimmel said his interview with James Talarico (left), a Senate candidate in Texas in November’s crucial midterm elections, will not air on television due to what he called “threats” from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
TV host Jimmy Kimmel has had his show suspended over remarks made about the Charlie Kirk assassination (Photo: VALERIE MACON / AFP)
Caption: Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico looks on as during a news conference at UTA, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Photographer: LM Otero
Provider: AP Photo/LM Otero
Source: AP
Speaking on his ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he claimed the US broadcast regulator and licensor, under Donald Trump’s presidency, had threatened him “based on simple traditional editorial decisions”.
Why would Trump stop the interview?
Caption: President Donald Trump speaks during the RNC Midterm Convention, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Photographer: Jacquelyn Martin
Provider: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Presidential opposition
Talarico will face Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the midterms.
A chance at Senate control
Winning the Texas race in November could help the Democrats win back control of the US Senate.
Caption: WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 12: The U.S. Capitol building is seen at sunset on August 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Photographer: Kevin Carter
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images North America
ABC said it decided to bring the show back on air ‘after spending the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy’, pictured (Photo: Chris Delmas/AFP)
Resort to YouTube
Kimmel, who has interviewed many other political candidates, including Trump himself, posted the interview on YouTube instead.
‘Threats’ from above
Now that he’s President, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don’t like
tv host jimmy kimmel
Show host Jimmy Kimmel (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Blake)
White House response
Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting – as he often does – to create a false narrative about this administration’s policies
A White House spokesperson said: “[FCC] Chairman [Brendan] Carr [a Trump appointee, pictured below] has not threatened [Kimmel] regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate.”
The i Paper contacted the FCC for comment.
Caption: WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 21: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. This is Carr’s first time appearing before Congress as the Chairman of the FCC. (Photo by John McDonnell/Getty Images)
Photographer: John McDonnell
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Long-running feud
In September, Kimmel was temporarily pulled off air over comments about Charlie Kirk.
That came hours after Carr threatened to act against ABC and its parent company Disney.
More recently, the FCC ordered an early review of Disney’s television broadcast licences.
ABC responded by suing the FCC, arguing it was being unfairly targeted over its editorial content.
4 min read
Watch the Talarico interview here:
Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ at auction – for how much?
The famous “revenge dress” worn by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is expected to go under the hammer.
Here’s what we know.
Caption: WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – JUNE 17: Diana, Princess Of Wales, Making An Anti-landmines Speech At The Red Cross Headquarters In Washington. (Photo by TIM GRAHAM/Getty Images)
Photographer: Tim Graham
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Source: Tim Graham Photo Library
The history of the dress
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 1015 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10
File photo dated 29/06/1994 of Diana arriving at the Serpentine Gallery wearing a dress designed by Christina Stambolian dress. The famous “revenge dress” worn worn by Diana during a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London, on the same night her then-husband the Prince of Wales publicly admitted his infidelity on national television, is expected to sell for up to ?220,000 when it goes under the hammer later this year. Issue date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. See PA story SALE Diana. Photo credit should read: Martin Keene/PA Wire
Photographer: Martin Keene
Provider: Martin Keene/PA Wire
Source: PA
‘Revenge dress’
The dress hit headlines in 1994, when Diana wore it the same night Prince Charles publicly admitted his infidelity.
Fashion statement
Designed by Christina Stambolian, it was worn by Diana during a Vanity Fair event in London.
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 1015 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10
Undated handout photo issued by Sotheby’s of the label on the Diana, Princess of Wales’s ‘revenge dress’, which is due to sold by the auction house later this year. Designed by Christina Stambolian, the dress quickly became a fashion statement after it was worn by Diana during a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1994, on the same night her then-husband the Prince of Wales publicly admitted his infidelity on national television. Issue date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s
Provider: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
Source: PA
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 1015 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10
Undated handout photo issued by Sotheby’s of Diana, Princess of Wales’s ‘revenge dress’, which is due to sold by the auction house later this year. Designed by Christina Stambolian, the dress quickly became a fashion statement after it was worn by Diana during a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1994, on the same night her then-husband the Prince of Wales publicly admitted his infidelity on national television. Issue date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s
Provider: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
Source: PA
Breaking tradition
It broke traditional expectations of royal dress with its colour, plunging neckline and above-the-knee hemline.
How much?
The dress is expected to sell for up to £220,000 when it goes up for auction later this year.
Diana, wearing ‘the revenge dress’, attends a charity dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, London in 1994 (Photo: Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)
Those struggling to get on the housing ladder could consider buying a home through an auction (Photo: Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images)
It will also be on display in London next month ahead of the sale, placing it back in the spotlight 30 years after it first turned the nation’s heads.
More detail on the sale
It marks the dress’s first sale since June 1997 when Diana sold 79 of her dresses to raise funds to benefit cancer and Aids charities.
The dress will be sold alongside a copy of the original catalogue, numbered and signed by Diana and designer Stambolian.
Some of the sale’s proceeds will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
A moment for the dress
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 1015 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10
Undated handout photo issued by Sotheby’s of Diana, Princess of Wales’s ‘revenge dress’, which is due to sold by the auction house later this year. Designed by Christina Stambolian, the dress quickly became a fashion statement after it was worn by Diana during a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1994, on the same night her then-husband the Prince of Wales publicly admitted his infidelity on national television. Issue date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s
Provider: Campbell Addy/Sotheby’s/PA Wire
Source: PA
‘Revenge dress’ tour
The “revenge dress” will embark on a global tour ahead of its live sale, also stopping in Hong Kong, Geneva and New York.
The British public, meanwhile, can view the iconic dress at Sotheby’s auction house, London, from 18-24 September.
The dress will be up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York on 9 December and is estimated to sell for between $150,000 and 300,000 US dollars (£110,000 to £220,000).
2 min read
2 min read
Oasis confirm tour date announcement with drone show
Oasis have confirmed the date of an upcoming tour announcement during a drone light show in Manchester.
Caption: A drone light show over the Joie Stadium football ground at the Etihad Campus in Manchester, revealing the time and date of the forthcoming Oasis tour announcement. Picture date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Photographer: Peter Byrne
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Source: PA
Copyright: PA Media
Interview
5 min read
Drone show announcement
The legendary Britpop group revealed the date of their upcoming tour announcement with a display over the Joie Stadium in Manchester on Thursday night.
Caption: A drone light show over the Joie Stadium football ground at the Etihad Campus in Manchester, revealing the time and date of the forthcoming Oasis tour announcement. Picture date: Thursday September 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Photographer: Peter Byrne
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Source: PA
Copyright: PA Media
Caption: UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 01: MAINE ROAD Photo of OASIS and Noel GALLAGHER, Noel Gallagher performing on stage, Union Jack Epiphone guitar (Photo by Patrick Ford/Redferns)
Photographer: Patrick Ford
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The display saw the band’s logo illuminate before being replaced with the date 14/09/26 and the time 4pm BST.
Here’s what else we know…
Where will the venues be?
Caption: Oasis fans holding a union jack flag in the audience at Wembley Stadium, London, 21st July 2000. (Photo by Patrick Ford/Redferns)
Photographer: Patrick Ford
Provider: Redferns via Getty Images
Source: Redferns
Rumours
The band have been dropping hints about tour venues on social media recently.
Last year’s tour
Last year’s reunion tour, which saw the band play together for the first time since 2009, kicked off in Cardiff Stadium.
Caption: SOMERSET, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 23: Liam Gallagher of Oasis performs on stage at the Glastonbury Festival on June 23th, 1995 in Somerset, England. (Photo by Pete Still/Redferns)
Photographer: Pete Still
Provider: Redferns
Source: Redferns
Caption: British rock group, Oasis, performing at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, 10th August 1996. (Photo by Brian Rasic/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Photographer: Brian Rasic
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Hulton Archive
Other hints
The band have also hinted at the Etihad Stadium, Celtic Park and Knebworth, where they played in 1996.
INTERVIEW
‘I spent 16 years on the road with Oasis – I only saw them fight once’
The final Oasis image in Jill Furmanovsky’s Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere – her hefty, new book covering her 16-plus years, three-decades-spanning gig as the band’s court photographer – doesn’t actually feature Oasis.
US POLITICS
Trump’s five weirdest 9/11 claims – and what they reveal
Caption: WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 08: U.S. President Donald Trump departs after speaking during a “Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on September 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump welcomed 9/11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900-pound, 21-foot steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center’s South Tower. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
Photographer: Finn Gomez
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images North America
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
US President Donald Trump yet again made some outlandish claims during a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Trump’s latest speech
Speaking at The Ellipse near the White House on Tuesday, Trump claimed to have been carried away from Ground Zero on 9/11 by firefighters in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Many of Donald Trump’s (pictured during a Steel Across America event at the White House) 9/11 claims are not supported by evidence (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/AFP)
Caption: *** BESTPIX *** WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 08: U.S. President Donald Trump departs after speaking during a “Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on September 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump welcomed 9/11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900-pound, 21-foot steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center’s South Tower. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photographer: Andrew Harnik
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images North America
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
What did Trump say?
Two firemen, big, strong guys – and I’m not the smallest guy in the world – they grabbed me under the arm, said, ‘Got to get out of here!’ And they literally lifted me up
The US President claimed to have been rescued by two firemen during the attacks – an unverified story he has told at least once before while campaigning for the presidency in 2016.
United Airlines flight 175 approaches the south tower of the World Trade Centre as smoke billows from the north tower in Manhattan, New York, on 11 September, 2001 (Photo: Seth McAllister/AFP)
Trump’s other 9/11 claims
1Trump pledged $10,000 to first responders – Investigations by the New York City Comptroller’s Office found no record.
2He ‘provided hundreds of workers‘ to help – Sources from the fire department and Trump’s construction business have rejected this claim.
3Trump ‘saw people jumping from towers’ – Trump’s alleged view from Trump Tower would make this almost impossible.
4Thousands ‘celebrated fall of Twin Towers‘ – This was rejected by Jersey City’s mayor as “shameful” and local police chiefs said there was no evidence.
Watch: Trump’s 9/11 claims
President Donald Trump has taken to social media in order to prove he was at 9/11, even though he wasn’t. On Tuesday, Trump claimed he was rescued by firefighters while speaking at an event honouring 9/11 first responders on the 25th anniversary saying: “They grabbed me under the arm and said, ‘we gotta get out of here’ and they literally lifted me up.” The internet were kick to call out the US President, but this is not the first time he has spoken about 9/11. The i Paper’s Alex Lancaster-Lennox explains the potential reason behind Trump’s claims.
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What do Trump’s claims reveal?
Nobel Prize-winning psychiatrist Dr Henry David Abraham told The i Paper: “In essence, Trump’s unverifiable claims of his involvement with the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks could be explainable by a differential diagnosis of narcissism, hypomania and more likely than not, the clinical sign of confabulation.”
4 min read
Analysis
4 min read
politics
Why the assisted dying bill is back in Parliament
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 2025/09/12: A protester holds a ‘Let us choose’ placard during the demonstration. Campaigners from the group Dignity In Dying and supporters of the Assisted Dying Bill gathered in Parliament Square as the bill was debated in the House of Lords. The bill would allow eligible terminally ill people to end their lives. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A law which proposes legalising assisted dying will be read by MPs again on Friday.
Here’s why.
What is the assisted dying bill?
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, also known as the assisted dying bill, is a proposed law that would give terminally ill, mentally competent adults in England and Wales the option to control the manner and timing of their death.
Caption: Pro-assisted dying campaigners outside the Houses of Parliament, London, ahead of Assisted Dying Bill being debated in the House of Lords for the first time. Picture date: Friday September 12, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Photographer: Aaron Chown
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Copyright: PA
Activists from the group Dignity in Dying, campaign outside Parliament in March (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)
It would allow adults with less than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to safeguards.
Why is it back in Parliament?
Since the murders of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, concerns for the safety of house members has climbed higher on the political agenda (Photo: Getty Images)
Decision stalled
The law was supported by MPs, but stalled in the House of Lords in May after peers tabled more than 1,200 amendments.
Why is it back?
Labour MP Lauren Edwards has reintroduced the bill to Parliament.
Activists from the group Dignity in Dying, campaign outside Parliament in March (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)
Andy Burnham during his second PMQs as leader (Photo: PRU/AFP via Getty Images)
Government neutral
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will not partake in Friday’s vote, so as not to “unduly influence the debate”.
What are opponents saying?
1Archbishop Richard Moth, leader of Catholics in England and Wales, called the bill “wrong in principle” and “deeply flawed”.
2Labour MP Ashley Dalton has said the bill “remains deeply flawed and unsafe”.
3The Royal College of Physicians said it has “significant concerns”.
4The disability rights coalition, Assist Us To Live, wrote an open letter calling to halt the bill.
What will happen next?
The bill must still move through the normal stages, going through the House of Lords and back to the Commons again before a decision is made.
Even if the bill is approved, an implementation period has previously been agreed, meaning it could be four years after the law is passed before the first assisted death would take place.
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 24, 2025: Baroness Grey-Thompson (L) and disabled people who oppose assisted dying demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament as Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill enters the final week of its committee stage in London, United Kingdom on March 24, 2025. (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Photographer: Wiktor Szymanowicz
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Copyright: ? 2025 Wiktor Szymanowicz
Demonstrators have also protested against the assisted dying law for terminally ill people (Photo: REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
Caption: FILE – Banners are held by pro-assisted dying campaigners as they gather outside Parliament in Westminster in London, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Photographer: Kirsty Wigglesworth
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Copyright: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
LIVE UPDATES
Vote to come on Friday
The bill’s return to Parliament has prompted end-of-life charities to restate their call for the Government to “fix” palliative care funding and provision across the country.
Watch more from The i Paper
An activist told a powerful story about his father’s experience with assisted dying in California. He was protesting outside the Houses of Parliament, where MPs just passed a new bill that will allow terminally ill patients to end their own life. Labour’s Kim Leadbeater’s bill was passed by 314 of the 605 MPs that voted, a slim majority of just 23. Leadbeater described the result as one that “so many people need”. #assisteddying #ukpolitics
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Caption: TX DATE:27-03-2026,TX WEEK:12,EMBARGOED UNTIL: 00:00:00,PEOPLE:Monty Don,DESCRIPTION:,COPYRIGHT:BBC Studios,CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios
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news
What next for Monty Don after Gardeners’ World exit
Monty Don is to step down from presenting his weekly BBC show Gardeners’ World at the end of its current series later this year, following more than 20 years at the helm.
Don will see out this season before stepping down
Don, 71, has hosted Gardener’s World since 2003, initially from Berryfields in Buckinghamshire.
He began welcoming audiences to his own garden, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire, in 2011.
Viewers enjoy glimpses of his dogs alongside gardening tips and tricks.
He plans to continune writing and work on other BBC programmes.
Interview
7 min read
‘A deeply rewarding experience’
That connection with millions, not just in Britain but across the world, who share a love of gardens, plants and the natural world is something I have always treasured and which I increasingly believe to be at the heart of a life well lived.
Monty don, gardeners’ world presenter
Monty together with his dog, Ned (Photo: Toby Melville/REUTERS)
BBC pays tribute
Monty is utterly unique, a wonderfully engaging broadcaster with a soothing, calm presence who has inspired so many with his passion for gardening. We will miss him on the show hugely.
Kate Phillips, BBC’s chief content officer
Adam is best known for his work on ‘Gardeners’ World’ (Photo: BBC Studios)
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
Gratitude
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Caption: Two adult brothers enjoy a warm embrace in a sunny park. They stand beside a decorative fence surrounded by lush greenery, showcasing a strong bond and happiness in the moment.
Photographer: Beatriz Herrera
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: beatrizherreragonzalez@gmail.com
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Journal
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Caucasian mid adult patient writing a diary while recovering in the hospital ward – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
‘One question is how to achieve such a longevity hack when most of us have relationships that unsettle us,’ says Dr Amir Levine (Photo: Oliver Rossi/Getty)
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
Exercise with people you love (Photographer: Morsa Images/Getty/Digital Vision/Abel Mitj? Varela)
Caption: Group of Happy Asian senior women friends shopping and having lunch at restaurant on summer holiday vacation. Healthy elderly woman enjoy outdoor lifestyle meeting and eating food together.
Photographer: CandyRetriever
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
He insists he’s “not anti-wellness,” and “set out to find the stuff that works”. But, spoiler alert: he failed. From vitamins and supplements to wearable tech such as the ZOE programme and household name influencers, he investigated many aspects of the complex wellness industry and found them all lacking.
The book scrutinises supplements – something we spend £50 a head or £3.6bn annually on in the UK – including a collagen supplement called ejiao. It’s one of the best known and most expensive collagen products in China, yet is made from donkey skin, technically a waste product.
As global demand for collagen has soared, so has demand for donkey hides. There are an estimated 50 million donkeys in the world and ejiao production needs over a tenth of these. If you’re feeling sorry for the donkeys, he points out that the gummies in all our high street chemists are made from pigs that have suffered just as much, if not more.
“There are two ways of thinking about collagen for me,” van Tulleken says. “One is to go and look at all the evidence and read the trials. Even the industry paid-for trials don’t actually show much benefit. But if you take away the trials the industry doesn’t fund, the benefit really evaporates.”
Perhaps more unsettling is a look at who profits. “What an amazing stroke of good fortune,” he says, “that the one product some of the biggest companies in the world can’t get rid of, all the hides and hooves and claws and skins and scales and spines and fish heads, turned out to contain a cure for two problems that affect everyone on earth, joint pain and wrinkles.”
Despite the huge number of published trials on the efficacy of collagen, no serious medical organisation recommends it. And van Tulleken points to common industry practice whereby if results aren’t actually falsified, they are cherry-picked, with studies often designed to produce the desired results.
He found much of the research confusing himself, despite his medical background. He trained at Oxford, Harvard and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and is a honorary associate professor at University College London. He worked in acute medicine in the NHS for a decade and has spent time in humanitarian crisis regions in Myanmar, Uganda and Sudan.
‘Women have been catastrophically let down by the medical profession, and been thrown into the arms of the wellness industry, which has sold them stuff which is ineffective’, says Xand van Tulleken, who travelled the world researching his book
He is an optimistic chap: “I wanted to give the people I met the benefit of the doubt. I think most people don’t want to live their lives ripping people off.” But the research that made him the angriest was into menopause supplements.
He makes it clear that as a middle-aged man he’s no expert in this field.
“I had this terrible feeling of, ‘Oh, wow. This is so much more than the men experience.’ Women have been catastrophically let down by the medical profession, and by research, and been thrown into the arms of the wellness industry, which has welcomed them and sold them a load of stuff which is ineffective.”
The industry, he argues, flooded the void left by poor medical research and reporting, after the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative trial, which is now widely accepted to have overstated the link between HRT and breast cancer.
“The Women’s Health Initiative drove women away from HRT and towards the supplement aisle,” he writes. “In the early noughties, 80 per cent of women aged between 40 and 65 reported using non-prescription therapies for menopausal symptoms.”
Within a year of the WHI findings, sales of black cohosh, linked to acute liver injury, had soared and the menopause supplement market began to grow into the huge industry it is today. It is projected to be worth $30 billion globally by 2030.
In an analysis of 201 menopause supplements, the researcher found no consensus as to what ingredients might help symptoms.
Even vitamin D, the one supplement the NHS recommends everyone take daily in autumn and winter, comes under fire. There were hopes it might treat everything from tuberculosis to cancer and cardiovascular disease, but van Tulleken says it hasn’t turned out to be the panacea researchers believed.
It remains vital for bone health, he says – and a few babies born to vitamin D-deficient mothers tragically die every year – but we only need to supplement if severely deficient, which most of us are not.
Supplements are pricey, but even more expensive are devices that claim to deliver essential health data to users, such as the Apple Watch’s atrial fibrillation alert, and personalised health company ZOE, run by professor Tim Spector.
ZOE collects and interprets data from users via stool samples, blood tests and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), then provides personalised diet advice. He spent around £2,500 subscribing to ZOE three times, creating profiles with different ages, sexes and weights. He sent in the same stool samples and bloods and provided simultaneous data from the CGM, but the results varied.
“The answers were different to the point where if you were a couple living together and getting this data, you’d go ‘Oh, we need to eat differently and live differently now.’” He says following the regime made him “fixate on my weight and my diet in a way that I don’t think was very healthy”.
In Make Me Well, van Tulleken compares the way ZOE interprets data to astrology. Is that fair? He considers the question for a few moments. “I think that’s right,” he says. “Maybe I’m being too generous as I think at least with astrology they plot the position of the stars accurately.”
Tim Spector is a reputable figure in his field. The van Tullekens crossed paths with him as part of his ongoing research into twins and they have worked together in television. “I think Tim Spector’s got lots of good advice,” van Tulleken says. “I’ve admired him for many years. But for reasons that I don’t understand, that product is not delivering the things that I think its users imagine it will.”
A spokesperson for ZOE said: “ZOE is a personalised programme, so different profiles produce different outputs. That isn’t a glitch: it’s the product doing exactly what it is built to do. Your ZOE results combine your gut microbiome test results, sequenced from your own stool sample, along with your age, sex, body measurements and other health information collected in our quiz.
“The new ZOE membership no longer requires the use of a CGM so that data wouldn’t have been contributing to Xand van Tulleken’s ZOE experience. Our methods are set out in more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, including a randomised controlled trial of 347 adults published in Nature Medicine, which shows that following ZOE’s personalised programme led to improvements in blood fats, waist circumference, weight and gut microbiome composition compared with generic advice.
“A major landmark paper published in Nature shows how the gut microbiome is linked to diet and improved health markers, such as blood cholesterol levels, inflammation, and body fat distribution. This research is the same microbiome ranking that underpins the ZOE app and Gut Health Test, making it the only current gut microbiome test with clear published standards relevant to human health.”
Van Tulleken also takes on other the so-called experts filling our feeds, from influencers such as “Glucose Goddess” Jessie Inchauspé and MAGA bro doctor and testosterone evangelist Peter Attia.
None of us are immune to wellness marketing. He says there was hardly anything he wasn’t a little persuaded by and was close to giving testosterone a go before an expert diverted him. “He walked me through how it is very much not a miracle cure in terms of side effects, and it is very expensive, and there are lots of other things I could do instead.”
He hopes Make Me Well will save us all a few quid, “but also some confusion and anxiety, which is probably more important than the money”, he says.
The book has led him to approach life differently, he says. Before Rex and Daphne, van Tulleken would retreat to his pottery studio and he’s looking forward to getting back to his clay. He tries to schedule workouts but doesn’t always succeed. Eating well, he says, is not about following a personalised plan based on your stool sample – but home-cooked food around the table with his family.
“Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. In the end, it’s about taking a long hard look at your life and not letting people exploit your vulnerabilities.”
‘Make Me Well: A Quest to Understand the Confusing World of Wellness’ by Xand van Tulleken is published by Cornerstone Press on 10th September (£22)