Great Lives

She was known as 'the grand old lady of Indian cinema' who starred in many Bollywood films famous in India, but not at first in Britain. We got to know her best in her later years when Zohra Sehgal starred in the TV series – 'The Jewel in The Crown' and films such as 'Bend it like Beckham'. When interviewed aged 101 and asked what she had enjoyed most in her life she said 'Sex, sex and more sex '.Nominating this week's Great Life is actress and playwright Sudha Bhuchar who along with the expert witness, Film Historian Lalit Mohan Joshi, tell the presenter Matthew Parris, how Sehgal broke boundaries to become the first Indian actor to have an international career. The producer is Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

To his followers Lenny Bruce was a genius and a free speech hero. To his detractors he was labelled sick and dirty. Bruce shocked his audiences intentionally. In his uncompromisingly frank humour he took on organized religion, government, jingoism, capitalism, the death penalty, war, and sexual mores.But he was eventually destroyed by the battle he fought with the US justice system.The comedian, Ray Peacock nominates Lenny Bruce as his great life as he regards him as a pioneer in stand-up. Along with expert Dr Oliver Double and presenter Matthew Parris they uncover a controversial life.To illustrate the life of Lenny Bruce this programme does play some audio which some listeners may find offensive.The producer is Perminder Khatkar.

Nancy Dell'Olio champions Lucrezia Borgia, a Renaissance woman who was much maligned.Lucrezia Borgia was the Pope's daughter and, over the centuries, her name has been a byword for poison, incest and intrigue. Novels, television series, plays and an opera have been written about her. But was she just a victim of malicious gossip that vastly exaggerated her actual misdeeds?Nancy Dell'Olio explains why she identifies with Lucrezia Borgia and with the help of historian Sarah Dunant attempts to debunk some of the myths.Produced by Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Anthony Horowitz regards Alfred Hitchcock as a genius who changed the language of cinema and made some of the most memorable films of the 20th century.However, the film director is also seen as a troubled man who was at times abusive towards some of his leading ladies.The expert witness is Nathalie Morris; Senior Curator at the BFI, National Archive.Presenter: Matthew ParrisProducer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016.

Former director of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, tells Matthew Parris why she regards Abraham Lincoln as a great life. But will her hero stand up to intensive scrutiny and merit the description of having led a great life? The expert is Dr Tony Hutchison, from the American Studies Department at the University of Nottingham. The producer is Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Musician and performer Nitin Sawhney champions the life of Jeff Buckley who he regards as a genius singer, songwriter. The expert is Steve Abbott who was a friend of Buckley's and released his debut record. Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Biographical series in which guests select someone who has inspired their lives.Comedian Susan Calman chooses the Scottish actress Molly Weir.Molly began her long career on BBC radio before moving into TV and becoming one of the first Scottish female voices on national media in the 1950s.She memorably mopped floors for many years in a long-running series of TV commercials. Presented by Matthew Parris. Producers: Maggie Ayre & Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2016.

In this episode, you might not know the name of the Great Life but you have probably walked past his work. At London's Hyde Park Corner - the 'Royal Artillery Memorial' stands – a huge stone monument. Charles Sargeant Jagger was arguably the first British sculptor to try to capture the horror of war. A full-sized gun – a 9.2 howitzer protrudes from the top; four masculine soldiers surround the base – one a corpse. Martin Jennings also a British sculptor, nominates Jagger as his Great Life. Along with the expert, art historian Ann Compton, they tell Matthew Parris how the First World War shaped and made Jagger. The producer is Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Matthew Parris's guest this week is the epidemiologst Precious Lunga, who nominates for Great Life status that of the Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Muta Maathai. In the course of her life, Professor Maathai made a huge contribution to re-establishing environmental integrity to Kenya by working with the women who lived there. She founded the Green Belt Movement and became a politician. In 2004 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The expert witness is Maggie Baxter from the Green Belt Movement. Producer Christine HallFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Alvin Hall is the friendly face of financial reality, lecturing, writing and broadcasting on the subject of managing money. But he is also passionately interested in fine art, music and literature, and his nomination for a Great Life is that of writer and Civil Rights activist, James Baldwin.Baldwin was born in 1924 in Harlem and his achievements in overcoming a difficult start in life were prodigious. For much of his life he lived outside the United States, returning in the late 1950s to support the nascent Civil Rights movement, though the Movement itself had some problems with his homosexuality. Throughout his life he continued to write about the experiences of being black in 20th century America and is now widely regarded as the pre-eminent African-American writer of the century. Dr Douglas Field of the University of Manchester, who has written several books on James Baldwin, discusses Baldwin's life and achievements with Alvin and with Matthew Parris.Presented by Matthew Parris. Producer: Christine HallFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2015.