News
Comedian Susan Calman chooses the life of actress Molly Weir. Read more
now playing
Susan Calman on Molly Weir
Comedian Susan Calman chooses the life of actress Molly Weir.
Nitin Sawhney on Jeff Buckley
Nitin Sawhney champions the life of American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley
Eliza Manningham-Buller chooses Abraham Lincoln
Eliza Manningham-Buller on why she regards Abraham Lincoln as a great life.
Alfred Hitchcock
Anthony Horowitz champions the life of Alfred Hitchcock.
Nancy Dell'Olio chooses the life of Lucrezia Borgia
Nancy Dell'Olio champions the much maligned Lucrezia Borgia.
Ray Peacock chooses the life of Lenny Bruce
Comedian Ray Peacock nominates the controversial life of Lenny Bruce.
Sudha Bhuchar chooses the life of Zohra Sehgal
Playwright and actress Sudha Bhuchar nominates the life of actor Zohra Sehgal.
Graeme Lamb on Christine Granville
Lt-Gen Sir Graeme Lamb champions wartime spy Christine Granville. Matthew Parris chairs
Richard the Lionheart
Timmy Mallett chooses Richard the Lionheart. With Helen Castor and Matthew Parris.
Charles Moore on Gordon Hamilton-Fairley
Cancer pioneer Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, killed by an IRA bomb when he was just 45.
George Fox
George Fox, founder of the Quakers, nominated by Ann Limb
Frank Turner on Joseph Grimaldi
Frank Turner chooses Joseph Grimaldi who changed the face of Clowning forever.
Hilary Devey on Gracie Fields
The life of Dame Gracie Fields is championed by Hilary Devey. From 2016.
Alex Salmond on Thomas Muir
Alex Salmond chooses Thomas Muir, whom he describes as the father of Scottish democracy.
Sara Pascoe on Virginia Woolf
Sara Pascoe champions Virginia Woolf, author of 'Mrs Dalloway' and 'A Room of One's Own'.
Dag Hammarskjold
Matthew Parris on the life and death of Dag Hammarskjold
Tony Hawks on Marshall Rosenberg
The life of the creator of nonviolent communication Marshall Rosenber, with Matthew Parris
Maureen Lipman on Dame Cicely Saunders
Maureen Lipman champions the life of hospice campaigner Dame Cicely Saunders.
Eliza Carthy on Caroline Norton
Eliza Carthy chooses Caroline Norton who campaigned for women in the 19th-century.
AA Gill on Arthur Neville Chamberlain
AA Gill nominates Arthur Neville Chamberlain as his great life.
Cyrus Todiwala on Dadabhai Naoroji
Cyrus Todiwala picks Dadabhai Naoroji who in 1892 became Britain's first Asian MP.
Cary Grant
Lucy Porter, the comedian and writer, champions Cary Grant as her Great Life
Sir Ben Kingsley on Elie Wiesel
Sir Ben Kingsley champions the life of holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel as his great life.
Orlando Murrin on Dinu Lipatti
Matthew Parris invites Orlando Murrin to discuss the life of Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti
Ruth Holdaway on Helen Rollason
Ruth Holdaway picks the sports broadcaster Helen Rollason as her great life.
Suzannah Lipscomb on CS Lewis
CS Lewis, author of the Narnia Chronicles, chosen by historian Suzannah Lipscomb.
Akram Khan on Srinivasa Ramanujan
One of the UK's leading choreographers nominates the Indian mathematician Ramanujan.
Len Goodman on Lionel Bart
Len Goodman champions Lionel Bart, the man who created the musical Oliver, as his hero.
Chris Patten on Pope John XXIII
Chris Patten nominates Pope John XXIII. With Professor Eamon Duffy and Matthew Parris.
Gary Kemp on EW Godwin
Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet chooses architect-designer, Edward William Godwin.
Germaine Greer on Dame Elizabeth Frink
Germaine Greer nominates sculptor Dame Elizabeth Frink. Presented by Matthew Parris.
