Jessen studied medicine as an undergraduate at University College London, graduating in 2001. He holds a MSc degree in sexual health, and has a particular interest in HIV and malaria, which were the focus of his work for two years in Kenya and Uganda. As well as his television career, Jessen is a doctor with Doctorcall at 121 Harley Street, central London. An advocate for HIV education and testing, in 2015, he was named National HIV Testing Week Ambassador.
Television
From 2007 to 2015, Jessen co-presented Embarrassing Bodies alongside Pixie McKenna and Dawn Harper. The show has had a number of spin-off series including Embarrassing Teenage Bodies, Embarrassing Bodies: Kids and Embarrassing Fat Bodies. Another spin off was set in Australia in 2013 called Embarrassing Bodies Down Under, which Jessen co-hosted with Brad McKay, Ginni Mansberg, and Sam Hay. He presented Channel 4's Supersize vs Superskinny series from 2008 until 2014. In 2012, Jessen appeared as the health and fitness expert in Hotel GB. He was the winner of popular culinary show 'Ready, Steady, Cook' and has appeared as a celebrity contestant on 'The Weakest Link'. He was also the winner of the BBC show Antiques Master. He was Jack Osbourne's doctor during the filming of Finding God, and also featured in Harley Street, a documentary. Other television appearances include 'Sex in Court' and 'The Wright Stuff’ In 2012 and 2014, he co-presented the Stand Up to Cancer telethon alongside Davina McCall and Alan Carr. In 2014, he produced and starred in a documentary series for television called Undercover Doctor: Cure Me I’m Gay. In the series, Jessen investigates therapies purported to be "cures" for homosexuality. In an appearance on Loose Women, Jessen performed a live HIV test on a woman and drew criticism for not wearing protective gloves. Jessen defended his actions and called for more understanding on how HIV spreads. In 2018, he co-started and produced a documentary series for television called Dr Christian: 12 hours to cure your Street in which he travels across the UK in a mobile clinic to treat individuals in their hometowns. Visiting a range of areas, Dr Christian will be racing against the clock as he attempts to do as many house calls and appointments as he can within a 12-hour shift. His Co-star was Sara Katyat
Writing
He is the author of Dr Christian's Guide to Growing Up, a book aimed at children and adolescents dealing with question about puberty and sexuality. He has also written the books Can I Just Ask?, Dr Christian's Guide to Dealing with the Tricky Stuff and Dr Christian's Guide to You.
Controversies
In August 2018, a BBC Panorama documentary investigation revealed Jessen's involvement in a private online pharmacy, UK Meds. Such sites are believed to allow people to purchase potentially dangerous prescriptions with ease and cannot be regulated by the Care Quality Commission due to a loophole allowing them to issue prescriptions via third party doctors in Romania. The owner of the pharmacy, Mason Soiza, has previously faced accusations of running escort agencies and WordPress plugin scams. In 2015, The Daily Star obtained a series of private messages shared by Jessen in a sexually-explicit chat on a gay dating app, in which Jessen claimed he was in possession of class B drug mephedrone, the 'date-rape' drug GHB and cannabis and he appeared to boast about drug use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jessen sparked criticism for comments, saying that Italian Covid-19 countermeasures were an "excuse for a long siesta". He also commented on the severity of the pandemic, regarding it only as a case of bad cold and scaremongering by the media.
Personal life
Jessen's father is from Germany. Jessen is gay; his partner Rogerio Barreto, is Brazilian. The couple live near the River Thames in South London. Jessen is an atheist and a humanist. He is a patron of Humanists UK, a charity which advocates for secularism, equalities, and human rights. He has an interest in antique Bronzes; in 2010, he won a celebrity edition of the quiz showAntiques Master with this as his specialist subject. He is also knowledgeable about and collects anything from the European Empire period 1800–1820, reflecting his fascination with the mindset of Napoleon. He has stated that he has muscle dysmorphia. Jessen endorsed Boris Johnson during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
