Speech of the Month, January 2026 - Gyles Brandreth

I appreciate some republicans find it hard to get past Gyles Brandreth’s royal sycophancy, but if you’re not a republican, and even if you are, then you can’t argue that Brandreth is anything less than a broadcaster and raconteur extraordinaire. Why hasn’t the man been knighted for services to entertainment? He’s hardly likely to decline it, is he? 

So when I hunkered down to a bit of Friday night telly – el diablo in hand – I was delighted to see ol’ Gyles was on Would I Lie to You? and, unsurprisingly, he was first to tell a possible porkie. If you missed it, feast your eyes and ears now…

 

Here’s why the audience laps him up and why he's such a safe pair of entertainment hands...

He looks like he wants to communicate

With the twinkly eyes, the mischievous smile and the soft, fluid gestures, Brandreth looks like a man who’s keen to share. Now some of you might be thinking, ‘Yeah, and if I had his wit and command of the English language, I’d be keen to share.’ And that’s a valid comment. However, I’ve worked with plenty of funny people with large vocabs who don’t look like they want to communicate. Instead, they look like they've got to remove a dead rat from behind their grey bin. And that ‘look’ affects how the audience feels about them from the off. Basically, we find it harder to listen to someone who looks uncomfortable because worry and / or pity get in way. 

So do yourself a favour and make an effort to look like you want to communicate, especially when you don’t. Smile, focus on the person who’s speaking, listen, breathe deeply and if your hands are shaking, then press them into your thighs - assuming they're behind a lectern of under a table. 

He involves another character

If you are telling a story, whether to make friends laugh or to explain why someone should buy a product, then it’s always nice to bring in another character who can challenge you or create more complications and, instead of the story feeling like a monologue, you’re able to delve into dialogue. The other character gets to have a voice that’s different from yours. 

Brandreth does this in his story by involving the late Duke of Edinburgh. Of course, this is a good choice because it’s a character that the audience (a BBC1 audience) will know. But if you can pull in the Director of Finance, who’s a bit of a character, into a work story, then listeners will enjoy seeing you morph into them for a few seconds. 

He applies literary devices

From euphemistically renaming a catheter as ‘the appliance’ to employing metaphor, ‘the appliance had slipped its moorings,’ Brandreth injects even more humour. Why does this work? I suppose it works because what we’re visualising is so messy and ridiculous, and that’s a great contrast to the delicacy that ‘the appliance’ and ‘slipped its moorings’ projects.

He makes a surprise move

On panel shows, we expect panellists to sit behind the panel, so when Brandreth gets to his feet to demonstrate, he creates energy and surprise. 

I think we should consider if we need to be stood or seated all the way through a talk. Might it help to create some energy if we’re ‘up and down’ a bit more?

He finetunes his stories

A good story gets better with telling, and a good raconteur will constantly adapt their material. 

During Brandreth’s story, the comedian Jessica Knappett asks, “Did this happen during the Pee section?” And Brandreth responds with, “It will from now on.” And it will. A Youtube search reveals that the ‘having a wee while doing a 12-hour speech’ story is one he’s been telling for at least 10 years. But even a great story can always be improved.   

If you feel you or your staff would benefit from being better storytellers, do get in touch.