News
Veteran black and British entertainer Kenny Lynch. Read more
now playing
Black and British pioneer Kenny Lynch
Veteran black and British entertainer Kenny Lynch.
KT Tunstall on Ivor Cutler
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall nominates Scottish humorist Ivor Cutler
Jonathan Dimbleby on Harry Hopkins
President Roosevelt's right hand man in World War Two, Harry Hopkins.
Arlo Parks on Elliott Smith
Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks nominates the young life of singer Elliott Smith.
Ben Miller on William Hazlitt
Actor and comedian Ben Miller nominates essayist William Hazlitt.
Rosie Millard on Edward III
Rosie tells Matthew Parris that Edward III was a cultural hero who deserves greater fame.
The Surprise Lives
A runaway rollercoaster of Great Lives.
Hans Christian Andersen
Author of The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes, he was 'a very strange orchid'
Yehudi Menuhin
Violinist Tasmin Little on her hero, Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
Althea Gibson
The first black tennis player to win Wimbledon is the choice of Professor Devi Sridhar.
Frantz Fanon
The anti-colonial writer and psychiatrist from Martinique is the choice of Lindsay Johns
Josiah Wedgwood, master potter
Tristram Hunt on Josiah Wedgwood, vase maker general to the universe!
Peggy Seeger on her husband Ewan MacColl
Peggy Seeger picks her partner of 30 years, Ewan MacColl, folk singer and labour activist.
Dorothy Byrne on Catherine of Siena
The president of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge champions the life of the Italian saint
Yanis Varoufakis on Hypatia
The life and brutal death of a gifted mathematician and philosopher from the ancient world
Ruth Rogers on James Baldwin
Ruth Rogers chooses the life of writer James Baldwin.
JRR Tolkien, creator of The Hobbit
Niall Ferguson chooses JRR Tolkien, creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Rory Sutherland on Johnny Ramone
The advertising guru Rory Sutherland on the founder of the New York punk band, the Ramones
Jeanne Baret, first woman to sail round the globe
Nina Sosanya picks Jeanne Baret, first woman round the globe.
Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan
The muslim princess who became a WW2 Special Agent
William Lever, Lord Leverhulme, founder of Unilever
The mighty soap manufacturer, William Lever, chosen by the boss of Iceland
Lady Hale on Lady Rhondda
Lady Hale on Lady Rhondda.
Roma Agrawal on Mrinalini Sarabhai
The engineer and author Roma Agrawal on Indian classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai.
Spike Milligan
Comedian and poet Henry Normal picks his comedy hero - Spike Milligan.
Brian Cox on Lindsay Anderson
Tom Hopkinson, editor of Picture Post
Donald Macintyre on Tom Hopkinson, editor of Picture Post and Drum.
Janet Ellis on Puffin editor Kaye Webb
Blue Peter's Janet Ellis champions a children's publishing sensation.
Lolita Chakrabarti on actor Ira Aldridge
Lolita Chakrabarti on actor Ira Aldridge.
Gil Scott-Heron
Joe Swift on Gil Scott-Heron
Mr Manchester Tony Wilson nominated by Terry Christian
Terry Christian from The Word on Tony Wilson of Factory Records and The Hacienda.
Rob Newman on Franklin D Roosevelt
Comedian Rob Newman nominates one of his heroes, President Franklin D Roosevelt.
