Quotes from Gyles Brandreth

Gerard Bellotti was not a prepossessing sight, nor did he have the appearance of a natural roller-skater: he was grotesquely corpulent.

To many today Oscar is a gay icon who can do no wrong, but, in truth, he was human, multifaceted and no saint. Part of the tragedy of Oscar Wilde is that it is now almost impossible to view him except through the prism of his downfall.

But language is power. Words do make a difference. They can reinforce stereotypes, cause offense, undermine, hurt, and humiliate. You don't have to wrap everything you say in cotton wool, but you should choose your words carefully. Good communication is about courtesy and kindness as well as clarity and getting your message across.

I own a lot of novelty knitwear and I think some of it's quite fun.

Princess Anne is like her father. From her, you'll never hear a complaint of any kind about her upbringing.

Among the upper classes, especially three or four generations ago, men and women had separate bedrooms. That's just the way it was.

There are people who have rabbit stew still, it's quite a dish!

It's called 'Odd Boy Out' because as I was writing it I realized I was a bit of an oddity as a child.

It's good to stretch your mind.

I told Prince Philip that, having met them both, I was struck, not by the differences between him and Charles, but by their similarities.

I know I'm hated. Or rather, that people struggle with dislike for me.

I am interested in the Oscar Wilde we don't know.

Now I'm just loving the world of Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle so much. I really wouldn't want to go back into the world of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling - where would the fun and adventure be in that?

Not only did I cross-dress at 10, playing Rosalind in 'As You Like It,' I also found myself in a cross-dressed part at 60, when I played Lady Bracknell in 'The Importance of Being Earnest.'

It is exhausting to be giving one's all in the theatre, my first duty is to my paying public, of course!

I've learnt that you've got to accept the audience you've got.

We did marry in secret and it was several years before we even told our parents that we were married.

Gazing at the typewriter in moments of desperation I console myself with three thoughts. Alcohol at six, dinner at eight, and to be immortal you've got to be dead.