BBC doctor Chatterjee wins book deal after six-way auction

Penguin Life has acquired The Power of Balance by Dr Rangan Chatterjee, resident BBC doctor and star of "Doctor in the House", after a six-way publisher auction.

The Power of Balance: The Revolutionary Four Step Plan for a Longer and Healthier Life will be Dr Chatterjee’s first book, publishing in trade paperback on 4th January 2018 (£16.99). Venetia Butterfield, publishing director of Penguin Life, Viking and Portfolio, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Will Francis at Janklow & Nesbit in a two-book deal at auction.

In The Power of Balance, Dr Chatterjee gives readers a framework for taking control of their health. He divides health into four pillars - diet, rest, sleep and movement - and advises that by making small, easily achievable changes in each, you can find and maintain good health and avoid illness. The key is balance, according to Dr Chatterjee, and tips from the book include an electronic 'sabbath' once a week, aiming for 12 hours every day without food and exposing yourself to sunlight first thing each morning. It also includes personal anecdotes and case histories "to help empower people to regain control of their health".

Butterfield said the book could change the way we think about health and nutrition, praising it "inspiring, practical, and full of easy-to-follow intelligent information".

Dr Chatterjee added: "I’m thrilled to be publishing my first book with Penguin Life and I really do believe that this has the power to change people's lives. We have over-complicated health - I aim to simplify it."

News of Dr Chatterjee's book arrives shortly ahead of a second BBC 1 four part series of "Doctor in the House", in which he finds the root cause of people's problems by taking a "360 degree" approach to health. The second series airs on 15th May over four weeks.