

Profile
BBC Radio 4
An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 4, 2022 • 14min
David Murdoch
British curling is looking forward to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics - and all eyes are on head coach David Murdoch, the man in charge of bringing home some medals.All three teams - mixed, male and female - have qualified and hopes are high this former World Champion and Olympic silver medallist can inspire the teams to victory.Mark Coles finds out what makes the Lockerbie-born sports nerd tick.Producers: Diane Richardson and Lucy Proctor
Editor: Penny Murphy

Dec 25, 2021 • 14min
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders’s 2021 album Promises has been called a spiritual album for the dark ages. Mark Coles hears how Sanders helped invent a new style of music, after his birth in the southern United States, and time spent sleeping rough in New York City.Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Ben Crighton and Chris Flynn

Dec 18, 2021 • 14min
Patrick Vallance
The pandemic has thrust the Government Chief Scientific Adviser into the middle of the clash between politics and science. He’s faced criticism from MPs, the press, and the public. Edward Stourton finds out about the man behind the pedestal, Sir Patrick Vallance. From fixing caravans on his parents’ site in Cornwall to breakfast with an mentor and a stint in industry with GlaxoSmithKline, who is the man advising our leaders on the pandemic?
Presenter: Edward Stourton
Researcher: Drew Miller Hyndman
Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon

Dec 11, 2021 • 13min
Éric Zemmour
He’s twice been convicted of hate speech, believes foreign names should be banned, and has been accused of being a Holocaust denier. Mark Coles looks at the life and career of the journalist turned politician who hopes to be the next leader of France.Presenter: Mark Coles
Producer: Chris Flynn

Dec 4, 2021 • 15min
Lubaina Himid
After becoming the first Black woman – and the oldest person – ever to win the Turner Prize, British artist Lubaina Himid is now enjoying a retrospective at London's Tate Modern.She’s become recognised as one of the most powerful political voices in British contemporary art, creating works about black identity, as well as championing the work of young black British female artists. Mark Coles speaks to those who know her. Presenter: Mark Coles
Producer: Chris Flynn

Nov 27, 2021 • 14min
Peppa Pig
The idea for the four year old pigchild was dreamt up in a London pub by three out of work mates in the 90s. She’s now the inspiration for theme parks across the world, and they are worth millions.
After the prime minister declared his love for her in front of the UK’s leading business people, Mark Coles explores how Peppa Pig has become one the most recognisable characters on television.Producers: Ben Crighton and Chris Flynn

Nov 20, 2021 • 14min
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Boris Johnson says he "crashed the car" in his handling of the case of the party's former MP Owen Paterson. But if the prime minister was at the wheel, Jacob Rees-Mogg was the backseat driver.
The Leader of the House of Commons has described himself as a man of the people. Others have referred to him as the honourable member for the 18th century.
Mark Coles asks what now drives the man who as a monocle wearing child was chauffeured in a Bentley.Presenter: Mark Coles
Producer: Ben Crighton

Nov 13, 2021 • 13min
Kamlesh Patel
He came to Britain as a toddler - one of several thousand Indian immigrants from Kenya.Raised in poverty in 1960s Bradford, Kamlesh Patel was targeted by skinheads – and sought solace playing cricket in a field with other south Asian friends.Almost 50 years later - now a peer - Lord Patel is tasked with trying to repair the reputation of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, which has been accused of systemic racism. As MPs begin their own investigation, Mark Coles follows Kamlesh Patel's remarkable journey from schoolboy cricketer and one time ambulance driver to social worker, academic, the House of Lords and now chair of the club he always dreamed of playing for. Presenter: Mark Coles
Producer: Ben Crighton

Nov 6, 2021 • 14min
Feargal Sharkey
He shot to fame as a teenage punk star from Derry, enjoyed hits as a solo artist and later worked behind the scenes for years in the music industry. But now Feargal Sharkey is enjoying a belated second burst of fame as a leading voice in the campaign against river and waterway pollution.
His life-long love of fly fishing has led to a deep knowledge of the chalk streams of Southern England, and now Sharkey finds himself being quoted with approval in parliament by MP’s and peers.
Adrian Goldberg talks to those who know him well, and hears about cigarette smuggling, stag dos – and a decidedly PRIVATE private life.
Presenter: Adrian Goldberg
Producer: Ben Crighton

Oct 30, 2021 • 14min
Amanda Staveley
Mark Coles finds out how Amanda Staveley went from a long-jumping Yorkshire schoolgirl to one of the most prominent women in football via horse racing, the Middle East, and a former employee she made dress up in a gorilla suit.With her extensive Middle Eastern contacts book, Amanda Staveley isn’t afraid of putting her, or other people’s, money where her mouth is. Although she doesn’t always get what she wants.Producers: Ben Crighton and Chris Flynn