Alistair Appleton
Born (1970-02-12) 12 February 1970
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, psychotherapist, meditation teacher
Websitewww.alistairappleton.com

Alistair Appleton (born 12 February 1970)[1] is a British broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.[2]

Early life and education

Born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to Peter and Sally (née Cooper) Appleton, the younger of two sons, Alistair was brought up in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, where as a boy he sang in the church choir at St Faith's.[3] He earned ten O-levels and three A-levels at St John's College, Portsmouth.[1] In 1988, he went to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature.[1]

Career

On graduating with an upper second class degree, Appleton left the UK for Poland,[1] where he took to writing poetry and helped to edit a children's anthology, as well as teaching at the University of Gdansk.[1] He later taught English in eastern Germany and worked as a translator and journalist for Deutsche Welle television. Appleton broke into television with Deutsche Welle, and eventually became the frontman of the channel's youth current-affairs show Heat.[1]

In 1999, Appleton returned to the UK, where he secured roles on Sky's Hot TV (2000), Five's House Doctor (2000–03), BBC Two's Rhona (2000), the Travel Channel's Travel On (2001), BBC One's Garden Invaders (2001), Cash in the Attic (2002–05), BBC Food's Stately Suppers (2005) and had an appearance as himself on the 2006 Doctor Who episode Army of Ghosts. He has also hosted several television specials, including The Proms.[4]

Appleton also did some acting, including a role in Footballers' Wives, during 2002. In 2005 he completed The Man Who Drank the Universe, a short documentary on the entheogen ayahuasca, an ancient plant brew from the Amazon.[5]

In early January 2007, Appleton appeared in BBC America promotions for the fourth series of Cash in the Attic, even though he did not appear in that series. Since 2007, he has been one of the presenters for Escape to the Country on BBC television. He has also hosted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's late night concert series The Night Shift at London's South Bank.

In January 2016, he appeared on BBC One's Celebrity Mastermind, where he came joint second with 21 points, with a specialist subject of 20th-century European classical music.[6]

Appleton is also a psychotherapist and teaches meditation[1] in retreats and classes across the UK – notably, on the Holy Island in western Scotland. He has a therapy practice in Brighton, where he lives; he practices as a fully accredited member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, the therapy governing body, and works mostly one-to-one.[1][2]

Since 2000, Appleton has pursued a serious interest in meditation and has trained mainly in the Buddhist tradition. Since 2004, he has also drawn inspiration from outside the Buddhist world, working with ayahuasca at the Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center in Brazil. He is currently studying with the contemporary Vajrayana teacher, Reggie Ray. In 2014, he completed an MA in Advanced psychotherapy at the Minster Centre in London and he now practises as a psychotherapist in Brighton.[7] Appleton founded Mindsprings in 2005 "to explore the therapeutic uses and benefits of meditation" and operates retreats and courses about therapeutic meditation.[8]

Personal life

Appleton is gay,[9] and came out at university.[9] In an article in Gay Times, however, he admits he only fully accepted his sexuality when he lived in Poland and Germany. As of August 2021, Appleton resided with his husband Daniel in a 1930s French sea captain's cottage in the port of Newhaven, East Sussex.[2][10]

In 2000 he converted to Buddhism.[11] He later became a proponent of Ashtanga, the decision made after an unhappy period in his 30s. Appleton also considered becoming a monk while in Thailand, but a friend convinced him not to take that step.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Autobiography". Alistair Appleton. 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Alistair Appleton - Broadcaster. Psychotherapist. Meditation Teacher".
  3. ↑ Pitcher, Words: Claire (24 October 2012). "Alistair Appleton on escaping to the country and being a proper Hampshire Hog". hampshire-life.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Alistair Appleton". IMCDB. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  5. ↑ blueberrycreatives.co.uk
  6. ↑ "Episode 9, 2015/2016, Celebrity Mastermind – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Alistair Appleton". mind-springs.org. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Keynote Speaker - Alistair Appleton". NAHT. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Coming Out". Alistair Appleton. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Escape to the Country: Meet Alistair Appleton's husband Daniel". HELLO!. 10 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Alistair Appleton Interview – Cash in the Attic". BBC America. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  12. ↑ "Escape to the Country star Alistair Appleton opens up about unhappy past". Hello!. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
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