Lives Less Ordinary

The incredible story of the football icon who changed a boy's life. Craig Bromfield's start in life was difficult: there was often no electricity in his childhood home, and he didn’t even own a coat. He was in and out of the social care system, and would ask for money on the street. This is what 11-year-old Craig was doing with his brother Aaron, one fateful day in 1984, on a windswept seafront in the North East of England when he crossed paths with the era’s most famous football manager, Brian Clough - and his life was changed forever.Brian Clough was manager of Nottingham Forest at the time, but his character transcended sport and regularly delighted UK television audiences. After a few meetings with Craig, Brian’s public persona as an opinionated and uncompromising football boss melted away. Behind the studio lights and the bravado, Brian was a secret softie. He wanted to give Craig a better life, and incredibly, invited him to live with him and his family. Only Craig's early years would come back to haunt him when at 19 he made a decision that put the two men’s friendship on the line.Craig's published a memoir called Be Good, Love Brian: Growing up with Brian Clough.Presenter: Asya Fouks Producers: Elena Angelides and Edgar Maddicott Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Jenny Evans, an actor-turned-investigative journalist and lawyer, shares her harrowing journey after her sexual assault details were leaked to the press. She discusses the trauma of the assault and the betrayal of seeing her police testimony splashed in tabloids. Realizing the pervasive corruption in the police and media, Jenny retrained as a journalist, teaming up with Nick Davies to expose phone-hacking and unethical practices. Her fight for accountability ultimately led to a life-changing civil settlement and inspired her to support other victims through law.

Hayley Williams’ grandpa Rusty nurtured her musical dreams – now, she’s returning the favour.As the lead singer of American rock band Paramore, Hayley Williams has won three Grammy Awards and toured the world. Behind the scenes, her grandad Rusty has been her biggest supporter and musical hero, nurturing her childhood passion and later her career. Rusty is the one who taught Hayley how to play the drums and the piano. He even followed Paramore’s tour bus around the US in his car with Hayley’s grandmother, his childhood sweetheart Sharon. It turns out this very sentimental member of Paramore’ s entourage was so supportive of his granddaughter’s ambitions in part because his own attempt to make it as a musician was cut short. In the 1970s, Rusty sent his demo recordings to a music boss in Nashville who wanted him to mould his soul-inspired songs into the country music genre. Disillusioned, Rusty ended up quitting the music industry, and got a job in a lumber yard and eventually ran a store installing car stereos. He focused on being a father and a provider for his family. For 50 years, his songs lay hidden on a collection of old tapes, gathering dust. That is until Rusty’s long-lost recordings were rediscovered, and the dreams he’d packed away and long forgotten were revived – with the help of his granddaughter. This time around, Rusty gets his big break - and releases his debut album, Grand Man, at the of 79.Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Elena Angelides and Maryam MarufLives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

The award-winning author who used her strict Mennonite upbringing to tell its unspoken stories.Miriam Toews is one of Canada’s most acclaimed novelists, but her journey began far from the literary world. Raised in the conservative Mennonite town of Steinbach, Manitoba, she grew up surrounded by deep faith, strict expectations, and a culture where silence often covered over difficult truths. The town didn't even have a train station to keep it separate from the 'worldy' practices of contemporary society. At home, her devout father Mel’s lifelong battle with mental illness and her mother Elvira’s rebellious streak created a world of tenderness and tension — one Miriam would later transform into funny and powerful fiction.Miriam reflects on how she became a writer: the restless imagination that sparked during childhood, her early escape from the confines of her community, and the personal losses that shaped novels such as A Complicated Kindness, All My Puny Sorrows, and Women Talking. With success also came the cost of telling stories about identity, family, mental health and faith — stories her community never dare speak aloud.This programme contains references to suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.orgPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producers: Laura Thomas and Edgar Maddicott Editor: Munazza Khan Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys — spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars – Russia’s most wanted hackers. Just who are Evil Corp? In season 3 of Cyber Hack, we follow the years’ long trail with investigators as they try to track down the man alleged to be at the centre of it all, hacker Maksim Yakubets. Search for Cyber Hack wherever you get your BBC podcasts. And don’t forget to follow or subscribe, so you never miss an episode.

Trapped underground: my 54-hour cave rescue. For George Linnane, an experienced caver from England, being underground is his happy place, somewhere he can feel calm away from the chaos of daily life. But when he and two friends set out for a routine trip in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system in Wales one Saturday lunchtime in November 2021, they couldn’t know it would turn into a nightmare. After a stone bridge gave way underneath him, George fell ten metres onto solid rock and couldn’t move. He suffered a broken leg, shattered jaw, a punctured lung and spleen and was drifting in and out of consciousness. When news of his predicament got out, 300 extraordinary volunteers from around the UK mobilised and came to his rescue. Thanks to the quick thinking and skill of his friends and the hundreds of fellow cavers who rushed to his aid, George counts himself very lucky to be alive. His remarkable true story became the longest cave rescue in UK history, taking a mammoth 54 hours to bring him back to the surface. Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Edgar Maddicott   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Aged 16, coming out of an audition, budding British actor Dan Whitlam was caught up in a fight with a group of boys in London. He was stabbed twice in the back with a screwdriver. The wound pierced and collapsed his lung. The physical scars healed quickly but the mental ones took a lot longer. For years Dan battled with panic attacks and anxiety. He was plagued with worries that his lung had collapsed again, his father became his chaperone as he was afraid to walk the streets alone.Two years later, Dan met his attacker as part of a restorative justice programme, and while he got the apology he needed the panic attacks and fear continued. What helped him was writing about that day. He told the story of the stabbing through poetry and added to it a new narrative, one that painted his attacker in a kinder light. He wanted to humanise him, make him less of a monster and show that there is more than one side to each of us. Dan has gone on to perform this poem hundreds of times and earned himself a huge following for his work as a spoken word artist and musician. He writes primarily for what he calls a lost generation – young adults who grew up in an age of social media, digital natives who are inundated with options, comparisons and aspirations. He also now writes a lot about love.Dan's poetry collection is called I Don't Want To Settle. He will be on tour in Europe and the US in November.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Andrea KennedyLives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, shares his unique upbringing that sparked a tech revolution. He discusses the decision to make the web free, prioritizing access over wealth and fame. Tim explains his parents’ pioneering work in computing and how their parenting style fostered his curiosity. He reflects on the web's societal impact, the dangers of addictive platforms, and the importance of data sovereignty. Berners-Lee also highlights the crucial balance between online and offline life, reminding us of the value of in-person connections.

Jack Horner inspired a character in Jurassic Park after the dino discovery of a lifetime.Jack has been fascinated by fossils for as long as he can remember. He spent his childhood digging around in the fossil-rich earth of Montana, as his father was involved in the gravel-extraction business. By the age of eight he was rewarded with his first big treasure – a real piece of dinosaur bone. As Jack's fossil collection grew, so did his passion for palaeontology. But he struggled at school, where severe undiagnosed dyslexia led his teachers and parents to write him off as lazy and spoiled. He pushed on regardless and in 1978 made a life-changing find: the world's first baby-dinosaur skeletons, and evidence that dinosaur parents cared for and raised their young like many modern birds. The discovery made front-page headlines around the world, and led to awards and accolades Jack had never thought possible. It also brought him to the attention of author Michael Crichton, who based a lead character in his hit book, Jurassic Park, on Jack. And when the call came from Stephen Spielberg to come and advise on the movie version, his fame as a dinosaur expert hit a whole new level. Jack was then himself inspired by the movie, and supervised one of his students in extracting DNA from a T. rex. It didn't work – but it led to his current 'Dino Chicken' project, where he is discovering how to bring ancient dinosaur features back to life in modern birds so he can finally have a pet dinosaur of his own.Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Anna Lacey and Lucy DaviesLives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

In the chaos of the helicopter evacuation from Saigon in April 1975, Doan Hoàng Curtis' sister was somehow left behind. It would haunt her family for years. Doan was just three years old when her family made it onto one of the last helicopters to leave Saigon as troops from the communist North took over the city and the Vietnam war came to an end. Her father was a major for the South Vietnamese air force and if he'd stayed in Saigon he could have been killed. Leaving Vietnam was an extraordinary moment for the family, but one that would have a deep and lasting impact on them, because somehow, in the turmoil of the evacuation, Doan's 17-year-old half-sister Van was left behind. It would take Van six years and a treacherous journey via Thailand before she could be reunited with her family, who ended up settling in the United States. Doan says the anger and confusion of why her sister was left behind has defined her whole life. Now an award-winning documentary filmmaker living in the US, Doan returned to Vietnam in 2005 with her family - including her sister Van - to make a documentary and confront the past. It's called Oh Saigon: A War in the family.News report of Fall of Saigon came from CBS news.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: June Christie Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice