Lives Less Ordinary

Rowena Chiu was kept silent for 20 years by former film boss Harvey Weinstein. Rowena thought that speaking up about her alleged sexual assault by Weinstein would end up with him in court. But instead she was pressured into signing an NDA so severe that she could tell no one, at times even fearing for her safety. Keeping this secret sent Rowena to a very dark place. But decades later the #MeToo movement set her free.This episode contains references to suicide.The news archive is from NBC and ABCPresenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Rebecca Vincent

Rowena Chiu on surviving the Hollywood sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.Rowena was just 24 when she became an assistant to Weinstein at his film company. She knew he was a difficult boss, but nothing prepared her for what happened one night in Venice in 1998. She says he told her he ‘liked Chinese girls’, and sexually assaulted her in his hotel room. It was the start of a story she never wanted to be part of.The news archive is from CBS.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Rebecca Vincent

Raised by addicts, Dr Katriona O'Sullivan defied the odds to become a university lecturer. Her parents were addicted to heroin, she was neglected and not fed. But for the care she received from two influential teachers and the occasional stroke of luck, life may have gone in a very different direction.Katriona's written a book about her life called Poor.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Edgar Maddicott

Martial arts kept him out of jail, but drag artistry made him whole.Diego Garijo was bullied for his femininity as a child, so as he grew up he toughened up his image. He was in trouble with the law, until he found his focus as a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter. But when Diego’s career came to a brutal halt, creating a drag persona, Lola, gave him a new lease of life.Presenter: Andrea Kennedy Producer: Louise Morris Sound design: Joel Cox Editor: Munazza Khan

Wheeler Parker is Emmett Till's cousin and the last surviving witness to his abduction.Emmett's brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 sparked a wave of protest in America. The 14-year-old African American was lynched for whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, who recently died aged 88. Reverend Wheeler Parker was Emmett's cousin and was in the next room to him when he was kidnapped. The horrific events of that night have shaped Wheeler's life. We spoke to him before the news of Donham's death. Wheeler has written a book alongside lawyer and journalist Christopher Benson called: A Few Days Full of Trouble. We spoke to them before the death of Carolyn Bryant Donham. This programme contains some distressing scenes.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Deiniol Buxton and Troy Holmes Editor: Munazza Khan

Joseph Mbilinyi pioneered Swahili rap and then turned to politics, but ended up in jail.In the 1990s he'd become one of Tanzania's biggest stars under the stage name Sugu. He'd released albums, toured the country and abroad, and helped create a new genre called Bongo Flava. He's known for hard-hitting, often political, lyrics. In 2010 he took that message to parliament when he was elected as an opposition MP. But he ended up being jailed after speaking out against the president of the time.Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Rob Wilson Editor: Munazza Khan

Brothers Manni and Reuben Coe, and the text that prompted a lockdown rescue mission.Manni was living in Spain when he received this troubling text from his younger brother Reuben. Reuben has Down's syndrome, and had become isolated and non-verbal while living in a care home in the UK during the Covid pandemic. Manni decided to stage a rescue — a 'bro-nap' — and together they embarked on a loving journey of brotherhood and recovery. Manni and Reuben have written a book called Brother. Do. You. Love. Me.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: May Cameron

Tricks from a hit TV show held the key to Jaivet Ealom’s audacious dash for freedom. As a student in his native Myanmar, Jaivet Ealom became obsessed with the hit US TV show Prison Break. He watched it on a loop, but never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d be in a similar position to its main character. When he found himself locked up in Australia's notorious Manus Regional Processing Centre with no end in sight, could he outdo fiction and find a way out?Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Edgar Maddicott

ANC spy Sue Dobson infiltrated the South African government. Then her cover was blown. After training, Sue had got a job within the government's propaganda unit, and she was feeding back good intelligence to her ANC handlers. Then she got a phone call. The security services were after her, and she was a long way from safety. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Deiniol Buxton Sound design: Joel Cox

Sue Dobson was a white South African who risked her life as an ANC secret agentSue was a student when she was first recruited as a spy for the African National Congress liberation movement in the 1980s, and she knew that if she was caught she'd face prison, torture or death. Sue's mission would require her to infiltrate the pro-apartheid media establishment, but first she needed to learn spycraft and weapons handling. Her training would take place in Soviet Russia. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Harry Graham Editor: Deiniol Buxton Sound design: Joel Cox