Gyles Brandreth has every intention of making it to 100. In fact, he’s contractually obliged to. The 78-year-old author and broadcaster has co-written a new book, The Seven Secrets of the 100-Year Life, with the physiotherapist Finola Burrell, but when the contract arrived, he discovered a tricky clause: he had to live to his 99th year or repay his advance.
“I've signed up. I'm committed to this,” he says, speaking on hello!’s Second Act Unpacked podcast. “So that's the plan.”
The idea for the book came about after Gyles experienced a string of alarming falls in his seventies, eventually breaking his arm. His wake-up call came when he stumbled on a trip to Ireland and a passer-by mistook him for the former US president Joe Biden, 83 – much to the dismay of his wife, Michele Brown. “She said: ‘You’re Joe Biden; you’re in trouble,’” he recalls.
So Gyles found Finola, who got him working on his strength and balance, and it sparked the idea of writing a book together about not just longevity, but living well. “I realised that many of the older people I admire have got their marbles,” he says. “They're full of life.”
Gyles says that the seven secrets are surprisingly simple: keep moving, keep breathing, eat and drink well, sleep, stay connected, have a sense of purpose and maintain a positive attitude.
As the king of jolly jumpers – it came as news to him that he has unwittingly been “dopamine dressing” all his life – sustaining that sunny attitude comes naturally to him. Exercise, on the other hand, can be a challenge.
But Finola has made it less daunting for Gyles with what she calls “exercise snacks”: just five minutes of simple movement. Accountability helps – Gyles texts Finola a thumbs-up emoji to show that he's sticking to it – and it’s paying off: he boasts that he can hold a plank for a minute.
But the star of This Morning isn’t about to become a wellness influencer: he’s sceptical about cold-water plunges and mouth-taping. He does, however, subscribe to the theory of “eating the rainbow”, or making sure that he has a colourful variety of food on his plate.
One of Gyles’s most interesting findings is that accepting change is one of the keys to a happy life. “I find that as I get older, I don’t like all the changes,” he says. “I do not wish to learn another password. But change is inevitable. And this is fundamental stuff: one of the things you have to do in order to be happy is accept change. Happy people live seven to ten years longer than unhappy people.”
One of the tough things about getting older is grieving for loved ones who might not make it to 100 themselves, and Gyles recently lost a friend: Jeffrey Archer. In fact, the pair appeared on stage in conversation less than 24 hours before the novelist and former politician’s death on 5 October.
“He gets up and does some work in the morning and has his post-lunch snooze, and then doesn’t wake up,” Gyles says. “I began to think about it as the days went past and thought: ‘Well, he was 86. We’ve all got to go. Maybe to go in your sleep isn’t a bad thing?’ But, since then, I’ve stopped taking a nap after lunch.”
Still, Gyles is hoping that his youthful attitude will help. “I feel about 14,” he says. “I haven’t grown up. You have to live in the day. You can’t change the past, and brooding about the future does no good. So seize the moment. Enjoy today.”
The final piece of advice from one of the most cheerful men on TV? “Smile,” he says – with a big grin, of course.
Listen to the full interview on the new episode of Second Act Unpacked, out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and YouTube