Alistair Appleton

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

Biography

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. He earned ten O-levels and three A-levels at St John's College, Portsmouth. In 1988 he went to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature.

On graduating with an upper second class degree, Appleton left the UK for Poland, where he took to writing poetry and helped to edit a children's anthology, as well as teaching at the University of Gdansk. 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''.

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''.

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.

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. From 2007 to 2022 he was one of the presenters for ''Escape to the Country'' on BBC television. He has also been host of 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.

Appleton is a psychotherapist and teaches meditation 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.

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. Appleton founded Mindsprings in 2005 "to explore the therapeutic uses and benefits of meditation" and operates retreats and courses about therapeutic meditation.

Personal life

Appleton is gay, and came out at university. 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.

In 2000 he converted to Buddhism. He later became a proponent of Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), 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.

References

External links

Official Website of Alistair Appleton
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, Alistair
1970 births
Living people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Converts to Buddhism
English Buddhists
English television presenters
LGBT Buddhists
English LGBT writers
People from Royal Tunbridge Wells
British gay writers
21st-century LGBT people