Profile

The Russian journalist and Cambridge-educated historian Vladimir Kara-Murza has been a long-time opponent of President Putin's regime. A dual national who also holds a British passport, he was instrumental in getting the Magnitsky Act passed in now over 30 countries, in a campaign led by financier Bill Browder. The legislation enables governments to sanction Russians engaged in corruption or human...

Physicist Dr Nicola Fox, who grew up in Hertfordshire, is the new head of science at the US space agency NASA. Only the second woman to hold the post, Dr Fox is a world-renowned expert on the Sun, who'd previously overseen one of the most important missions to study its scientific mysteries. In her new role, Nicola Fox will be responsible for hundreds of NASA projects, including returning humans t...

Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's district attorney, is making history and headlines by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump. It's the first time a former American President has been indicted. The first African-American to hold the office of New York District Attorney, Alvin Bragg is the single child of middle class parents. He was born and brought up in Harlem, although he attended an elite priv...

Newly-elected leader of the SNP, Humza Yousaf, has become First Minister of Scotland at the age of just 37. The Glaswegian showed community spirit from a young age, fundraising for charity and broadcasting for community station Radio Ramadan, before a political awakening that led to a speedy rise up the ranks of his party and into office. Humza Yousaf has taken on some difficult government briefs,...

Baroness Louise Casey has this week delivered an excoriating review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police. It’s just the latest of a series of tough reports issued by Casey during a career tackling deep-rooted social issues, including homelessness and anti-social behaviour. Casey is now a cross-bench peer and go-to troubleshooter for governments of all str...

Shadow chancellor and former economist Rachel Reeves, who was a national chess champion aged 14.

Scottish screenwriter Lesley Paterson’s debut film, All Quiet on the Western Front, has won seven BAFTAs and has nine Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay. It took her and co-writer Ian Stokell sixteen years to get their script to screen, with Netflix and German director, Edward Berger. On the way, Paterson competed in extreme off-road triathlons, winning five world titles and putt...

Born in Jamaica to parents who were both doctors, Professor Dame Angela McLean was fascinated by science from a young age. After studying maths at university, her PhD thesis involved pioneering work on measles. She’s also done ground-breaking research into HIV/AIDS. During the coronavirus pandemic, Dame Angela played a key role drawing up advice for the government. Mark Coles speaks to friends, fa...

Born in London, to Jamaican parents who came to Britain as part of the 1950s Windrush generation, Shirley J. Thompson fell in love with music from a very young age – and it has remained her life’s passion. She’s created music for film, TV, orchestras and opera. Mark Coles talks to family and friends to find out what influences her work. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Sally Abrahams and Georgia C...

Irish actor Barry Keoghan spent most of his childhood in foster homes, losing his mother to addiction issues when he was just 12-years-old. He found his passion for acting after answering a casting notice for a short indie film in his local shop window. Keoghan was so determined to succeed that he’s often made his own audition tapes to send to studios. Praised by directors for his natural talent,...

Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, spent his gap year serving with the Royal Fusiliers. Now he finds himself in the line of fire from striking health workers, in a long-running dispute over pay. His job is to somehow find a solution to the row, without adding to the Treasury’s headaches. Can this rugby-loving sky-diver rise to the challenge? Adrian Goldberg talks to family and friends to find out wh...

The naturalist, broadcaster, author and campaigner has announced he is taking a three-month sabbatical from his TV work to give himself some ‘brain space’. After rising to prominence in the 1980s as a presenter on the BBC children's TV programme The Really Wild Show, Chris Packham has spent nearly four decades exploring and explaining the natural world on our screens. Along the way he's written bo...

Nan Goldin has been documenting her life through photography since her teens, revealing and intimate portraits exploring issues from sex and drug addition to domestic violence and parenthood. Laura Poitras's film celebrating Nan's work, 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' has been nominated for an Oscar. Mark Coles looks at the life of the acclaimed artist, whose addiction to prescription opioids m...

After suffering a fall that has left him paralysed, the playwright, screenwriter and author has begun sharing his thoughts with the world from his hospital bed. Born in suburban Bromley to an English mother and a Pakistani father, Hanif Kureishi turned to the arts to escape his everyday surroundings growing up. He became one of the most celebrated writers of his generation. Mark Coles hears from K...

As the threat of teacher strikes looms over schools in England, Mark Coles looks at the life and career of Education secretary and Conservative MP for Chichester, Gillian Keegan. Friends and colleagues reveal how coming of age in Liverpool during the 1980s shaped her political views, leading her to a successful international career in business before entering politics. Presenter: Mark Coles Produc...

Paul Nowak has taken up his post as General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress at a time when workers across multiple sectors are striking for better pay deals to help with the cost-of-living crisis. It's the worst period of industrial unrest since the 1980s. Nowak, who's from Merseyside, has spent his entire adult life fighting for workers' rights. How will the TUC negotiate with a government...

It's hard to remember that the actor who plays straight-talking cop Catherine Cawood in crime drama Happy Valley, set to return on New Year's Day, was once ditzy barmaid Raquel in Coronation Street. From musicals to soaps to hit drama series, Sarah Lancashire has had a long and varied career on her way to becoming one of the Britain's best loved actors. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Lucy Procto...

People across the country will be turning to TV chefs this week to help plan the festivities - and, arguably, nobody does Christmas better than Nigella. Mark Coles takes a look at the life of Nigella Lawson, the daughter of a famous Chancellor of the Exchequer who became the Queen of Christmas cooking. Friends recall their favourite memories, many of them culinary. And journalist Gilly Smith, auth...

As nurses strike and the Health Service faces winter pressures, Mark Coles looks at the life and career of Shadow Health Secretary and Labour MP for Ilford North, Wes Streeting. Friend and colleagues reveal how childhood poverty and a cancer diagnosis have shaped the views and aspirations of the man tipped to be a future leader of the Labour party. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Ben Cooper and D...

Oliver Dowden, the MP for Hertsmere, has worked closely with four Prime Ministers, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and now Rishi Sunak, one of his best friends in parliament. He's made his mark quietly, mainly behind the scenes - but as Culture Secretary during the pandemic, he managed to secure extra funding to support the arts. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, some might argue...

Olena Zelenska delivered a moving speech to MPs and peers recently, describing the terror of air raids, evoking memories of World War II and calling for further military support for her country. The Ukrainian first lady has also addressed the US Congress and appeared on the cover of Vogue but stepping into the limelight has not been easy for the comedy writer, who is more comfortable behind the ca...

Stand-up comic, broadcaster and LGBT rights activist, Joe Lycett, appeared to shred £10,000 of his own hard-earned comedy cash in protest at footballer David Beckham’s refusal to step down as an ambassador for the Qatar World Cup - a country where homosexuality is banned. He didn't really do it - but it's the latest in a series of stunts that have become the comedian's calling card. Friends, relat...

Wales are heading to their first football World Cup since 1958. Their captain is Gareth Bale, who was once the most expensive footballer in the world. Born in Cardiff in 1989, Gareth was first spotted at the age of nine by Southampton. He become their second-youngest player of all time when he broke into the first-team aged 16, and enjoyed two seasons with the south coast club before moving to the...

This week the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced its first ever nationwide strike. Pat Cullen, the RCN's General Secretary and Chief Executive, will lead them into industrial action which is expected to start in December. Born in Northern Ireland, Pat Cullen was inspired by her older sisters to train as a nurse during the Troubles. After roles at Northern Ireland's Department of Health, and...

Since entering Parliament in 2017, the MP for Saffron Walden has rapidly risen through the ranks to a seat at the Cabinet table as Trade Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities. Kemi Badenoch surprised some in Westminster when she reached the fourth round of the Conservative leadership election this summer. Her forthright views on British colonialism and trans issues have won her admirers...