Rangan Chatterjee: the doctor and wellness expert on bringing tour to his Scottish 'second home'

My husband is a big fan of his Feel Better, Live More wellness podcasts and recently listened to one on not complaining.

It’s been beneficial to him, but I have reaped the benefits of a less grumbly partner too.

Thus, we’ll both definitely be in the audience of the Scottish leg of Chatterjee’s Thrive Tour, which is coming to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on March 28 and the Edinburgh Playhouse on March 29.

They describe it as a ‘fun and immersive’ show that will offer digestible advice on how to improve your life for the better, using the host’s science-based tips.

Wilmslow-based Chatterjee, 47, who starred in BBC One’s Doctor in the House and is the author of six books, including the recent bestseller Make Change That Lasts, is especially excited about bringing his tour to the Scottish capital, as he studied medicine here.

“Edinburgh was like my second home in the UK. I love it. I lived there for eight years and was at uni there for six years and worked there for two years,” he says. “I thought I was going to stay and some of my best mates still live there. I only left really because my dad was sick, so I left in 2003 to come back to the North West of England to help my mum and my brother look after my dad, who had lupus.”

Chatterjee will be performing, just along the road from his old flat.

“For six years I lived opposite the Playhouse on Union Street,” says the doctor, who was also in a band, back in his Edinburgh days. “I would pass the theatre every day, so it's gonna be quite surreal. And the last time I was in the Playhouse was in 1996 when I went to watch Bruce Springsteen play. It’s quite fitting that I finish the tour there.”

It’s a decent-sized venue.

That’s indicative of the rise in self help and lifestyle medicine.

There are obviously plenty of people who are seeking help, whether that’s with negative behaviour patterns, to reduce worry, stress and anxiety, or to boost their happiness.

“I think it's a reflection of the fact that we're struggling. There's a lot of research coming out at the moment saying that in the western world, there is a crisis of meaning and purpose. And I found that really interesting, because I actually agree,” he says. “Despite all of this knowledge that's out there, because there’s this uncomfortable truth I think we have to wrestle with, which is that our physical and mental health is getting worse.”

Chatterjee says that this is down to various issues, including sedentary lifestyles, insomnia and chronic stress, with 88 per cent of the UK workforce experiencing some degree of burnout in the last two years.

“Quite frankly, that’s a damning indictment of modern society,” he says.

As far as work goes, after 23 years, Chatterjee left his original job as a GP, almost a year ago.

He couldn’t do everything, and his success in the lifestyle field keeps growing.

“I have to choose, and we have now almost two million people listening and watching my podcast episodes each week, so I can make a lot more impact,” he says.

As part of his busy schedule, he’s also chosen to spread the word in an academic setting.

“I was invited to be a professor of Health Education and Communication at University of Chester, which I accepted, and I also teach a course to doctors called Prescribing Lifestyle Medicine, which is the the only Royal College of General Practitioners accredited lifestyle medicine course that I created in 2018,” he says. “We’ve taught four to five thousand doctors now, including cardiologists, endocrinologists, GPs, and psychiatrists. I train them all in lifestyle medicine, which is something we don’t learn about at medical school.”

At the Thrive show, he’s sharing a ‘three part model for thriving’, as well as a personalised ‘blueprint’. That will be individual, which is part of his whole ethos.

“I've always believed in personalised medicine, and I think one of the reasons there’s so much confusion over health is because there’s this cultural belief that there’s one approach that works for everyone,” he says.

After chatting to him, I can understand why people, including my husband, are fans of Chatterjee.

On Amazon, someone left a recent review that described reading his latest book as feeling like ‘having an inspiring friend over for coffee’.

Indeed, he’s very sensible, as are his podcast guests, like neuroscientist Dr Wendy Suzuki, physician Dr Gabor Mate and fellow health and wellness expert Mel Robbins, who all seem to offer balanced perspectives without resorting to clickbait soundbites.

Also, Chatterjee is good at asking the right questions to get clarity for the listener.

It’s in contrast to, say, entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, who came under fire back in December 2024 after a BBC investigation found that he was amplifying harmful health misinformation on his The Diary of a CEO podcast.

I mention this to Chatterjee, and he’s very diplomatic.

However, he does seem quite careful about his interviewees, who usually come to his house to record the podcasts.

“I choose and book every guest that comes on my show. A lot of the big banger podcasts have got booking and research teams, I have none of that. I hand pick and research them, which I believe is one of the secrets to my show’s success,” he says. “Over seven years, it's become the biggest health podcast in Europe. We've had over 250 million downloads now and I think one of the reasons is because I’m so invested in every conversation.”

For more information on the podcast, books or tour, see www.drchatterjee.com