Profile

This week Comedy Central announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah is to take over from Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show.It was a surprise to many that a relative unknown was set to take on one of America's leading talk shows, but Noah's star has been rising fast in recent years.Already a well-known face on British TV and radio, thanks to his award-winning Edinburgh Fringe show back in 2012, the 31-year-old has certainly shown the confidence to take on one of TV's biggest jobs - critics might call it arrogance.Young, good looking, mixed race - Noah is said to be an ad-man's dream, and it's said Comedy Central will be looking to cash in on his global appeal. However, his reputation has already been slightly tarnished as the media began to dig into his Twitter feed and found some distasteful jokes.Noah said he shouldn't be judged on gags which didn't land, and his new bosses backed him up - but whether those same execs will be quite as forgiving once he takes the hotseat is yet to be seen.Trevor Noah says he is a fan of rollercoaster rides. He loves them so much, he often builds his comedy tours around cities that have the biggest rides. His fantasy is a chair that spins while doing a 360 degree loop and a backwards somersault.Stepping into Jon Stewart's shoes just might provide his scariest ride yet.Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith.

On Thursday evening seven party leaders will meet in an ITV studio for the much-anticipated general election debate. Some of them are - it's fair to say - rather less well known than others. Many viewers - in England, at least - will not know all that much about Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru leader. So, on Profile this week, Mark Coles has been finding out what makes her tick.Producer: Gemma Newby.

Italy's famous couture couple Dolce & Gabbana have fallen out with Elton John over off-colour comments they made about IVF babies and gay families. But they have no shortage of fans. Becky Milligan profiles the characters behind one of the world's greatest - and most valuable - fashion empires.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou.

Mark Coles profiles the DUP's leader at Westminster, Nigel Dodds, one of a number of possible post-election kingmakers. Dodds, furious to find his party excluded from the leaders' debates, is now being watched carefully to see which - if any - other parties he might support in coalition. Nigel Dodds is conservative and religious. He is opposed to gay marriage and abortion and believes Britain would be better off outside of the EU. But does that really tell us where he might put his support?Producer: Smita Patel.

Iraqi army and militia forces are fighting to take back Tikrit from the so-called Islamic State. Pulling the strings on the Iraqi side is an Iranian: Major-General Qassem Suleimani, the 'shadow commander' who has been described as the single most powerful operative in the Middle East. As the leader of the foreign branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - the Quds Force - Suleimani has emerged as Iran's leading foreign strategist. He has been arming and training Bashar al-Assad's military in Syria and leading the Shia militias fighting ISIS on the frontline in Iraq - where the US blames him for countless attacks on American soldiers. He has the ear of the supreme leader and has been influencing politics from Yemen to Bahrain. Mark Coles tells his extraordinary story.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Richard Knight.

After a rocky campaign launch, the Green leader Natalie Bennett has been in the headlines this week. Mark Coles hears how she moved from journalism in provincial Australia to British politics, and has combined a love of cricket with feminist campaigning. How is she likely to fare amid the intense scrutiny of the coming election?Producer: Chris Bowlby.

The casually-dressed Greek finance minster Yanis Varoufakis has, in challenging the eurozone, become - almost overnight - one of the most important politicians in Europe. In this edition of Profile Mark Coles hears how Varoufakis grew up under the Greek colonels but was shaped by life in Thatcherite Britain before embarking on his unusually restless international career in economics. Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

Mark Coles profiles the former HSBC boss and trade minister Lord Green after an uncomfortable week in which revelations about HSBC's Swiss arm aiding tax evasion dominated the headlines.Once lauded as Britain's ethical banker, the ordained Church of England minister now finds himself under fire from the press and politicians. Producers: Keith Moore and James Melley.

Chris Bowlby profiles the veteran Labour MP and co-author of this week's report on hunger, Frank Field, who is one of the most unusual politicians in Britain.Variously described as "independent-minded" and a "free thinker" Field has been in Parliament for more than 30 years, representing Birkenhead, which contains some of the most deprived wards in the country.He had to fight off a hard left challenge from Militant at the beginning of his career and he has long been a campaigner against poverty. His radical views on welfare haven't always endeared him to his Labour colleagues but he is famous for the friends he has made across the political divide.Most remarkably, perhaps, he was one of those who told Margaret Thatcher, shortly before she resigned, that it was time for her to go. We'll hear from friends, both Labour and Conservative, who speak warmly of a man of dogged determination and great personal integrity. But we'll also hear from critics who say he's not a natural team player who was failed in his brief period as a member of Tony Blair's first government.Producer: Tim Mansel.

The presidential election in Afghanistan was drawn-out and controversial. The man who emerged as the winner is a United States-trained anthropologist who is described by friends as one of the world's leading intellectuals. Ashraf Ghani was born in Afghanistan, studied in Lebanon and the United States, and worked for years for the World Bank. As finance minister of Afghanistan he fell out with President Karzai and most of his colleagues - the same friends who point to his intellectual capacity and moral integrity also acknowledge his ferocious temper. Humility is another word that's often mentioned - it is said that he is never happier than when sitting cross-legged drinking tea with tribal elders in the Afghan provinces. But can he turn his intellectual vision into political reality at this vital moment of transition in Afghanistan?Presenter: Becky Milligan Producer: Tim Mansel.