What Did Gyles Brandreth Do Inside Canterbury Cathedral? | Would I Lie To You? 

Another lie is that Menuhin's Stradivarius was the oldest in use. Nowhere close: Menuhin's was made in 1733. At the time of the 1970 ceremony in Canterbury, David Oistrakh played a Stradivarius made in 1671, a full 62 years older.

With a person like Gyles, whose quantum of stories can only be surpassed by his own eagerness to share them, it’s always going to be true.

Bob Mortimer and Gyles Brandreth have lived more exciting stories than anyone else I know 😂😂😂

The only part of the story I find hard to believe is that Strad wouldn't smash to pieces on the impact Gyles described. Many of those violins already have a multitude of cracks and repairs and would surely split or end up with a broken neck. I also don't buy that all the strings had "broken" just from an absent bridge. Every other detail fits with the score of Brandreth's life, but I would bet he overplayed the fall and condition of the instrument.

Some serious gems from Lee here.

Fact check: THIS WAS A LIE. Brandreth has repeated this lie several times over the last few years, but here are the facts: 1) All reports about Menuhin's violin being dropped down stairs and badly damaged come solely from Brandreth and the BBC, and these all relatively recent, considering that this was meant to have happened in 1970 2) There are multiple websites that provide extensive accounts about Menuhin's two Stradivarius violins, and none mention that either was badly damaged in 1970 3) You can read the archived New York Times account of the 1970 ceremony at Canterbury when Menuhin performed and it fails to mention the wrecked violin 4) Dropping a violin and having it fall down a flight of stone stairs is likely to destroy the violin beyond repair, but the strings would not snap as Brandreth claims 5) Menuhin had two Stradivarius violins, one from 1713, one from 1733. David Oistrakh had a Strad from 1671 that he played in 1970, so the claim that this was the oldest Strad in use was another demonstrable lie 6) Menuhin was Jewish on both sides by birth; his first name means Jew in Hebrew. While he had an interest in Indian pacifistic religions, he was not a Buddhist. Brandreth lied about that too. 7) My comments about this being a demonstrable lie are repeatedly deleted from this page. I am trying again without links to the websites that prove this to be a lie.

Lee&Giles Awesome Comedic pairing 😅😂❤

...and that's why he had to cancel his appearance on the Morecombe & Wise show.

Gyles Brandreth is one of those people who you really want to dislike , but can’t quite commit to doing so! He’s actually a great storyteller and a fiendishly clever guy , who can talk , entertainingly so, for hours on end. I’m a big fan ! 👍

It was obviously true because when its not true they don't make the lie prompt as vague as that

Who paid for the repairs?

😂😂😂😂😂😂

augh why is there a notification ping at 2:00

filly jumpscare

No way. Who on earth would ask if they could hold a pricelessly valuable object just because they want to? And who on earth would say yeah sure here you go? That whole scenario was absurd.

There was no such person as "Thomas _Ah_ Beckett" He was just called Thomas Beckett. #TheMoreYouKnow 🎶

Sorry but I don't believe a word of it - the violin case was padlocked to Mr Menuhin's arm? Hah hah! Total fabrication. But then Mr Brandreth has made a career out of anecodotalising his rather privileged life

What rhymes with "no, you CAN'T"?

Rookie mistake. How would Gyles Brandreth know the violin landed on the exact spot where the murder was committed 800 years ago? He was there!! Obviously!

I hate guests like Filly who just say the other contestants are funny and add nothing else. It's so cringeworthy.

Why would Rob think we needed to be told who Yehudi Menuhin was? Does he think people are so enthralled by talentless social media celebrities that we are unaware of the world beyond an iPhone screen? Not knowing who Menuhin was is like not knowing Sarah Bernhardt, Pavarotti, Caruso, Melba, Picasso, Jimmy Stewart, Louis Armstrong, Cole Porter, Van Gogh, or any of the other great talents that transcend time and cultures. Yehudi Menuhin bought the Soil (pronounced swal) Stradivarius in 1950, and played it for decades. Of all the Stradivarius violins, it is considered the finest, with the most perfect tones. Dropping that violin was not like dropping just any of the other 700 Stradivarius violins. This one is the crown jewels of Stradvarius violins. Just to be able to hold it is a great honor. To drop it is beyond terrible. It is the mark of Menuhin's Zen, that he did shove the violin bow up Brandreth's fundament, and strangle the man.