HIS first lecture was an in-depth look at armpits but Professor Ian Philp was not put off joining the medical profession.
Following in his father's footsteps to become a doctor, Prof Philp has since gone on to star in two top television programmes as the resident medical expert.
On Monday, he took up his new role as chief medical officer for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust – the organisation that runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital – replacing Dr Yvette Oade, who left the trust in May.
"My dad was a doctor and my first memory of medicine was of him in his surgery at Christmas, carving the turkey for the patients while I handed it out," he said.
"I followed him into medicine.
"My first lecture was on the anatomy of the armpit and I thought it wasn't for me.
"But then I came across geriatrics and I loved it."
Prof Philp specialises in the health and wellbeing of older people and worked for the Department of Health for eight years as the national clinical director for older people from 2000 to 2008.
He has also been the health adviser to the World Health Organisation and numerous governments across the globe on the care of older people.
He co-presented the BBC1 programmes How To Live Longer, which helped people change their lifestyle, and The Young Ones, a series in which six celebrities took part in an experiment exploring the prevention of ageing.
"There were celebrities in their 80s who had disappeared from public life," said Prof Philp.
"We created rooms for them like the 1970s and took them back to that decade.
"Liz Smith, who was in Coronation Street and the Royle Family, had been in a wheelchair but we had her walking confidently up and down by the end of it.
"Dickie Bird was on the show and, afterwards, he went on the radio and said it had literally saved his life."
Similarly, on How To Live Longer, Prof Philp showed people how they could turn back the clock and extend their life expectancy.
He said: "On that programme, we showed the average amount you could change was by ten years, by reprogramming your life over a six-week period.
"That is the difference in life expectancy between deprived areas in Hull and the national best.
"It is about finding the thing that is right for the individual.
"It was a wonderful programme that teaches you a lot about the power of individual human beings.
"It isn't about 'You can't have this' but 'What will make you happy?'"
Prof Philp has already set out his plans for Hull and the East Riding and says his work will focus on three key areas – inspirational doctors, partnerships and older people.
"I want to help our doctors be the best they can be," he said.
"The partnership working will largely be centred around the wider impact on health services and working with the local clinical commissioning groups.
"With older people, I'm bringing to Hull an international programme I lead that allows us to identify older people's needs and threats to their health and independence."
Prof Philp said the scheme has already been rolled out to 41 countries, including Singapore and Tanzania.
Work has also already been done in the UK and it could start in East Yorkshire in mid-2014.
Prof Philp said: "Two thirds of the problems older people face in relation to their health they don't mention to their GP.
"I've created a practical tool called Easy Care to identify their needs and ask them what they need help with.
"In places where we have already done the programme, the top three threats people faced were pain, loneliness and concerns about losing memory.
"If you know someone's needs, you can give them what they need and also plan to develop services.
"You can do a lot of prevention work that will help people live more independently and therefore reduce the costs of long-term care, which is where you spend most of the money for older people."
Prof Philp, who is living in Beverley and attends the leisure centre in the morning before heading into work in Hull, says good health is about finding the thing that interests that particular person.
He said: "There is a right way for everyone to get exercise of some form.
"I'm a morning person, so I love going to the leisure centre in the morning – I keep doing it because it makes me happy.
"And if you aren't doing any physical activity, even ten minutes of exercise a week adds a year to your life expectancy."
Prof Philp's most recent role was as medical director of South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, but says he always wanted to make Yorkshire his home. He said: "In Warwickshire, I did an exercise class and half the people there never spoke to you.
"Here, everyone speaks to you, it is totally different.
"Everyone is very friendly – Yorkshire is always a place I've wanted to settle in."
10
