David Richard Bull (born 9 May 1969) is an English television presenter, author and politician who has served as Deputy Leader of Reform UK since 2021. He was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

from

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

to 2020. Bull studied at

St Mary's Hospital Medical School St Mary's is the youngest of the constituent schools of Imperial College London, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, wit ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and worked as a pre-registration and then senior house officer at St Mary's Hospital, Ealing Hospital and Whittington Hospital. He began a career in broadcasting in 1995 and appeared on '' The Jeremy Vine Show'', '' Watchdog'', ''

The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...

'', ''

Newsround ''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first televi ...

'', ''

Most Haunted Live! ''Most Haunted Live'' is a spin-off of the paranormal reality television series ''Most Haunted'' and was also produced by Antix Productions. The show consists of paranormal investigations broadcast live over a period of one or more nights, usu ...

,'' ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

'', ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'', '' This Morning'' and '' The Wright Stuff.'' As well as appearing on British television, he has presented ''

Sugar Dome ''Sugar Dome'' is an American reality-competition series on the Food Network. The series debuted on November 25, 2012. The series showcases three teams of culinary artists as they compete by creating extravagant food for the ultimate chance to be ...

'' and appeared on ''

The Rachael Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in Broadcast syndication, syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea St ...

'' in the US. In 2006, Bull was nominated as the Conservative candidate for Brighton Pavilion in the following general election. He stood down in 2009 to head up a Conservative policy review on sexual health and was replaced by Charlotte Vere. He joined the Brexit Party, later Reform UK, in 2019 and was elected as one of their

MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for

at that year's European Parliament election. He stood down upon the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU in January 2020. He became Deputy Leader of Reform UK in March 2021.

Early life

David Bull was born in Farnborough, Kent, to Richard and Pauline Bull, and moved to

Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4, ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, at the age of four with his siblings Anthony and Katie. He attended

Fairfield Preparatory School Fairfield Preparatory School is a fee-paying independent mixed Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It is one of four private schools operated by the Loughborough Schools Foundation, along with L ...

, Ipswich Preparatory School and Framlingham College. He studied at

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree, a

Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree (MBBS) and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

honours degree (BSc) in 1993.

Medical career

Bull was a

pre-registration house officer Pre-registration house officer (PRHO), often known as a houseman or house officer, is a former official term for a grade of junior doctor that was, until 2005, the only job open to medical graduates in the United Kingdom who had just passed the ...

at St Mary's Hospital in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

and worked for the NHS in the fields of

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuously learn to care for unsche ...

at Ealing Hospital NHS Trust, and general medicine and emergency medicine at Whittington Hospital in London. He continued to work as a house officer and senior house officer in general medicine, surgery and accident and emergency.About me
DavidBull.com Bull had his licence to practise restored in March 2020, having ceased being registered to practice in 2009, in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

spreading to the United Kingdom.

Media career

In 1995, Bull auditioned to be a guest commentator for ''The Sky Travel Guide'' on

Sky Travel Sky Travel was first launched on 3 October 1994 (and later in 2003 relaunched as Sky Travel Shop) and showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies, and documentaries, with Sky Travel Shop being the adverts for travel ag ...

. Of the auditioning process Bull recalled, "I had to read autocue, I had to interview someone, and I had to handle a live show...you can't beat that sort of experience." Bull was awarded the position on Sky Travel, giving advice for the holiday health feature to those travelling abroad, and beginning his career as a television commentator and presenter. Bull joined the long-running ''

'' as a presenter and producer of segments regarding children's health. Whilst on ''Newsround'', Bull became a regular on popular kids shows on Saturday mornings for

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

, ''The Weather Show'', ''Saturday Aardvark'', ''K Club'' and ''Bitesize Debate'' specials. He also hosted, in his role as a doctor, ''Why Me?'' and ''Call the Doctor''. Bull then became the sole presenter of ''Tell Me About It!'' for New Zealand's C4 TV station. Aimed at young people, the five-instalment programme tackled issues including eating disorders, parental divorces and teen drug use and alcoholism. In 1998, Bull published his first book, ''Cool and Celibate?: Sex and No Sex'', arguing the benefits of

abstinence Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc. ...

in teenagers. Bull followed this with ''What Every Girl Should Know: An A to Z of Health-From Allergies to Zits!'' in 1999. Bull joined the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's '' Watchdog'' in 1999. While on ''Watchdog'', he also appeared on ''Holiday'', ''Let's Get Healthy'', ''The Really Useful Show'', ''Daily Live'' and '' This Morning''. He then hosted ''Watchdog Healthcheck'', a weekly, half-hour health programme running from 2001 to 2002. He also presented the science and technology-centred ''

'', before presenting ''

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken seri ...

'' on Living TV. Bull appeared on Live TV's highest rated series, ''

'' from October 2002 to October 2005, hosting three-hour instalments that featured paranormal investigations broadcast live with interactive sections involving the audience. Bull also participated in a ghost hunt at Choughs Hotel where he claimed to have seen an apparition, though he admitted it could have been an optical illusion. Bull made his American television debut in 2010 as a contributor on the daytime talk show ''

''. In 2012, Bull started hosting for Food Network's series ''

'' which is broadcast in the US, Canada, Asia and the UK. He has also co-presented ''Coast vs Country'' on Channel 4. In 2013, Bull appeared in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film ''Cavemen''.

Political career

In December 2006, Bull was selected to represent the Parliamentary seat of Brighton Pavilion at the 2010

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, after being placed on the party's A-List earlier that year. He withdrew his candidacy in June 2009 and was replaced by Charlotte Vere. Denying rumours that he quit after falling out with party leadership, Bull cited the increased workload accompanying his recent appointment to head up a Conservative policy review on sexual health with Shadow Health Minister

Anne Milton Anne Frances Milton (''née'' Turner; born 3 November 1955) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford from 2005 to 2019. Elected as ...

. In April 2019, Bull was announced as a Brexit Party candidate in the upcoming European Parliament election. He was duly returned as an MEP for the

constituency in the election held on 23 May. Later, in August of that year, Bull was adopted as the Brexit Party's prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Dan Poulter, a Conservative. History The county constituency was formed for the 1997 general election, largely from east ...

then subsequently

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

in the 2019 general election. Bull was among the UK MEPs who stood down following the UK's withdrawal from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

on 31 January 2020. On 11 March 2021, Bull was made deputy leader of Reform UK, the successor to the Brexit Party. In March 2021, Bull was announced as the Reform UK candidate for the

City and East City and East is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. Created in 2000 it was represented by John Biggs until 2016. Since the 2016 assembly elections the constituency has been represented by Unmesh Desai, of the Labour Party. Bo ...

constituency in the

2021 London Assembly election The 2021 London Assembly election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the members of the London Assembly, alongside the 2021 London mayoral election. The mayoral and Assembly elections were originally to be held on 7 May 2020, but on 13 March 2020 ...

. He came fifth.

Business and charitable work

In 2000, Bull founded a creative branding company, Incredibull. He sold his interest in the business in 2017. Bull is a supporter of The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, The British Red Cross, Cancer Research and The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and has worked with young people in schools on behalf of the organisation.

Personal life

Bull is openly gay. In 2007 he appeared at the

Brighton Pride Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The ...

Parade for which he designed and wore a t-shirt with the slogan "I've come out... I'm a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

", saying it was acceptable to be gay and a Conservative.

Electoral history

2019 general election

2019 European elections

References

External links

davidbull.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull , David 1969 births 20th-century English medical doctors 21st-century LGBT people Alumni of Imperial College London Brexit Party MEPs Brexit Party parliamentary candidates British television personalities Conservative Party (UK) politicians Gay politicians English businesspeople English male non-fiction writers English non-fiction writers English political commentators English political journalists English television journalists Living people LGBT broadcasters from the United Kingdom LGBT conservatism LGBT MEPs for the United Kingdom LGBT politicians from England LGBT writers from England Medical journalists MEPs for England 2019–2020 People educated at Ipswich School People educated at Framlingham College People from Framlingham Medical doctors from Suffolk Politicians from Brighton and Hove