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Gyles Brandreth recalls Princess Diana wearing his jumper and promises more epic knitwear on podcast tour

Gyles Brandreth and Susie Dent are taking Something Rhymes With Purple on tour (Picture: Tilted)

Gyles Brandreth has revealed fans of his Something Rhymes With Purple podcast are set for a treat on tour – as he’s already planning his wardrobe.

The actor and writer, 73, is famous for his collection of incredible knitwear which he creates through his own fashion label, and he’s cooking up something special for the tour. 

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘I design them myself, and I first got them in the 1980s and I made them with a man called George Hostler. 

‘He was the head of design at Leicester Polytechnic and we were friends, and one of our first jumpers said “I’m a luxury” on the front, and then on the back it says “Few can afford.” We sold these in a shop in Kensington Church Street and one of the first customers was Diana, Princess of Wales.’

Recalling a sweet moment with Princess Diana, Gyles revealed: ‘When I met her once, she said “Oh, it’s you! I’m wearing you.” So that was rather nice!’

Gyles revealed that he’s been planning which of the jumpers from Gyles & George will make it on tour: ‘I’ve got one with a big heart on it, I’m thinking of wearing that one because I love words. 

Gyles has a vast selection of incredible knitwear – and this one will spark a discussion about the phrase ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’ during the tour (Picture: David Hartley/Rex/Shutterstock)

‘That’s one of the other things we explore on the show. You know the phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve”? I don’t know the origin of it, and I was thinking I’ve got this heart on my jumper, what’s the origin of the phrase wearing your heart on your sleeve?’

During the Something Rhymes With Purple podcast tour, fans will get the chance to submit their own words and phrases to Gyles and Susie Dent to be discussed on stage. 

The show is so-called as something does in fact rhyme with purple – the word hurple, which means to walk with a limp.

Gyles has been friends with Susie, Countdown’s lexicographer, for over 25 years and the podcast came about from their shared love of the English language and its many nuances. 

He explains: ‘I’ve always loved words and language and Susie knows more about words than anybody else in the world.

Princess Diana was a fan of Gyles’s knitwear range (Picture: Bettmann Archive)

‘Following the success of the podcast, somebody suggested doing a live version so we said we’d try one in Islington and we were completely overwhelmed by it. 

‘It was an overwhelming experience. It was different from any show either of us has ever done before. We’ve done lots of shows over the years. I don’t know what it was but the Purple People turned up. We walked out onto the stage and we were overwhelmed with the wonderful response. 

‘The community we have built up call themselves the Purple People, we didn’t call them that. They call themselves the Purple People, and this is not exaggeration, I now have people coming up to me in the street to talk about it. 

‘There’s Purple People all over the country so we wanted to meet them. I don’t know whether we’re going to be dressed in purple, whether the stage is going to be set in purple. We’ve got a Producer Director, he’s got very bright ideas and I think he’s wanting to fill the stage with purple things. So it’s going to be a purple experience. 

More: Diana, Princess Of Wales

‘The joy of it is, obviously, after lockdown in the last couple of years, it’s going to be wonderful to be back on the road as it were and going to some amazing places.’

Tickets for Tilted’s Something Rhymes with Purple LIVE are available now. For more information, head to www.tiltedco.com.

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