Hilary Robert Jones (born 19 June 1953) is an English general practitioner, presenter and writer on medical issues, known for his media appearances, most often on television. He has written for ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'' and ''

The Sun on Sunday ''The Sun'' is a British Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper, published by the News UK#News Group Newspapers Ltd, News Group Newspapers division of News UK, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It was found ...

'' magazines.

Medical career

Jones was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He attended

Latymer Upper School (Slowly Therefore Surely) , established = , closed = , sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , head_label = H ...

before qualifying as a medical doctor at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

in 1976. He then held various positions, including being the only medical officer on

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

in 1978. Returning to the UK, he became a junior doctor at Basingstoke Hospital, and from 1982, became a full-time Principal General Practitioner in the Basingstoke area. Jones became a GP Trainer in 1987 and as of 2010 still practised part-time as a

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS) general practitioner.

Media career

Television

Jones became the

TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...

doctor from May 1989 and has featured regularly on

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

since 1993, where he was the ''health and medical advisor.'' In 2010, GMTV was replaced by '' Daybreak'' and ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

'', where Jones continued to work as Health Editor. In 2014, ''Daybreak'' was replaced by '' Good Morning Britain'', with Jones transferring to the show. As part of this role, he reports on emerging medical news stories as well as informing the public about various medical problems such as weight issues, contraception, surgery and cancer.Daybreak Press Pack
ITV.com, 31 August 2010 Jones has been appearing on the programme throughout each morning during the coronavirus pandemic. Jones also co-presented ''The Health Show'' with

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

and presented weekly social action programme ''Loud & Clear'' for three years for

Meridian Television ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

. He appeared as a panellist on the 2002 docucomedy series '' Dave Gorman's Important Astrology Experiment''. Jones participated in the fifth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

'', partnered with

Alexandra Schauman Professional skaters from the British television show '' Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competi ...

, but was voted off on Valentine's Day (Week 6) after Danny Young was saved by the judges in the skate off. In 2013, Jones appeared on The Chase Celebrity Special (series 3, episode 3). He and the other members of the team, including Charlotte Jackson, defeated "The Chaser",

Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...

, and won £100,000 for charity.

Radio

Jones has had a regular guest slot on Steve Wright's

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

programme since 2000 discussing medical matters.

Online

Jones previously worked as a medical adviser for online clinic HealthExpress where he featured in a number of health advice videos and hosted live ‘Twitter Clinics.’ As part of these Twitter clinics, Jones offered tailor-made information on various health-related questions posed by the public. He is also actively involved in brand radio sessions, exhibitions and events. Jones is an ambassador for the Careline Service TeleCare24, and contributes articles on health matters such as

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

on their Careline Blog. Jones featured in a supportive film for WaterAid’s social media channels.

Writing

Jones wrote a weekly column for the ''

'' dealing with medical problems and health issues until the newspaper closed in July 2011 owing to its shameful conduct in public affairs. He also answered readers' health questions in the newspaper's ''Sunday'' Magazine, and did the same in

Rosemary Conley Rosemary Jean Neil Conley CBE, DL (''née'' Weston, 19 December 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women 2002'', Europa, , p. 113 is an English businesswoman, author and broadcaster on exercise and health. Conley authored a low-fat diet and ...

's Diet and Fitness magazine. He edits and contributes to his own magazine ''Family Healthcare with Dr Hilary Jones.'' Jones has also written a number of health-related books. His first novel ''A Day In Your Life'', published in August 2009, reached number six in the top ten hardback non-fiction bestseller list. His WWI novel, Frontline, was published in September 2021. A full list of Jones' written works can be found below: * ''I'm Too Busy to be Stressed: How to Recognise and Relieve the Symptoms of Stress'' (1997) *''Total Wellbeing: The Whole Treatment for the Whole You - An Integrated Approach to Health'' (Co authored with Brenda Davies, 1999) *''Doctor, What's the Alternative? All You Need to Know About Complementary Therapies'' (1999) *''A Change for the Better: How to Survive and Thrive During the Menopause'' (2000) *''What’s Up Doc?'' (2010) *''A Day in Your Life: 24 Hours Inside the Human Body'' (2013) *''Frontline'' (2021)

Charity work

Jones is a patron of The Meningitis Research Foundation, The Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action.

Spokesperson work

Jones has been a spokesperson for the School and Nursery Milk Alliance since 2016.

Paid directorships

In 2019, Jones joined London-based

nutraceutical A nutraceutical or bioceutical is a pharmaceutical alternative which claims physiological benefits. In the US, "nutraceuticals" are largely unregulated, as they exist in the same category as dietary supplements and food additives by the FDA, unde ...

company MedTate as a non-executive director to support pharmacies across the United Kingdom.

Honours and awards

Jones was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to broadcasting, public health information and charity.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Hilary 1953 births 20th-century English medical doctors English television presenters GMTV presenters and reporters ITV Breakfast presenters and reporters Living people People from Hammersmith People from Basingstoke Writers from London Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English medical doctors Tristanian medical doctors