Profile

One of the less likely political partnerships of recent years has been that of the Conservative Foreign Secretary William Hague and the Hollywood actor and director Angelina Jolie. They joined forces three years ago to campaign against rape as a weapon of war, and jointly hosted an international conference in London last summer. This week Mark Coles profiles the woman who brought them together; a refugee from Bosnia who has just taken her seat in the House of Lords. She is Arminka Helic, for ten years a special adviser to William Hague. Hague himself tells us how in 2011 Helic brought Jolie's film "In The Land of Blood and Honey" to him, a film that portrays the tactical use of mass rape against civilians. Helic told him it was a film he needed to watch. Producers: Tim Mansel and Hannah Moor.

Grace Mugabe has been an almost silent figure at her husband, Robert Mugabe's side for almost two decades. Now she is starting to flex her own political muscles, which some are interpreting as a bid for the Presidency. But does she have the skill and the support to secure the top job and a Mugabe dynasty? In December she will head Zanu-PF's Women's League which will make her one of the most powerful people in Zimbabwe's governing party. Jo Fidgen questions how much 'soft' power she already has over her husband and whether she makes a credible political leader?

An insight into man of the moment, Benedict Cumberbatch. Code-breaker, physicist, Victorian sleuth. Overnight he became an object of obsession with a Cumber-cult following of adoring fans, spawning internet memes and slash fiction fantasies. What is it about Benedict Cumberbatch that makes the world go weak at the knees?

This week, with Republicans celebrating mid term election victories, Rand Paul - a Tea Party supporting ophthalmologist from Kentucky with only three years' experience in the Senate is fast emerging as one of the frontrunners to try to wrest the US Presidency back from the Democrats in 2016. Rand is part of a political dynasty although hardly from the Republican Party establishment. His father Ron - also a physician turned politician - ran as a Libertarian for the US Presidency twice on a platform championing free markets, small government and a ferocious determination to keep the state out of individuals lives. Rand shares many of his father's ideas but his challenge now is making them palatable to a majority of the Republican party and a majority of people in the country. Many ask if he could pose a serious threat to Hilary Clinton by greatly expanding the Republicans' appeal and reaching out to African Americans and young voters. Some praise Rand Paul for his unconventional yet pragmatic approach - TIME magazine recently called him "the most interesting man in US politics." But some see him as a wolf in sheep's clothing and a dangerous isolationist. In this edition of Mark Coles asks who exactly is Rand Paul - the man who eschews small talk but embraces loud shirts and turtle neck sweaters?

Film director Christopher Nolan's latest $160m blockbuster Interstellar opens next week. Mark Coles examines the more humble beginnings of his film making career at University College London and asks how he has achieved the enviable knack of delivering huge box office takings and keeping the critics happy.Producer: Ben Carter.

Migration Watch UK's founder Sir Andrew Green is to become a member of the House of Lords. Presenter Jo Fidgen talks to Sir Andrew's old friends and colleagues in an attempt to find out what motivated this former ambassador to Syria and Saudi Arabia become one of the UK's most influential voices on immigration.Producer: Laura Gray.

Writer Richard Flanagan is the 2014 winner of the Man Booker Prize. His novel "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" is a story set among prisoners of war, forced by the Japanese to work on the Thai-Burma "death" railway. Presenter Becky Milligan looks into Flanagan's life in his native Tasmania where he is a prominent environmental campaigner and a regular at the local pub. She talks to Flanagan's close friends and relatives including his brother Martin Flanagan, leading film actress Kerry Fox and publisher Nikki Christer.Producer: Smita Patel.

Douglas Carswell has become UKIP's first elected MP in Westminster. A free-thinking Eurosceptic Conservative, Carswell was never shy to criticise "our supine, spineless Parliament". Nonetheless his surprise defection in the summer shocked his friends and supporters. Ed Stourton asks what made him leave now and whether there's more to Douglas Carswell than jam-making and politics.

In January 2014 Benefits Street aired for the first time on Channel 4. The reality TV series, which documented the lives of residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, was controversial right from the start. Ofcom and Channel 4 received hundreds of complaints.One straight-talking resident - Deirdre Kelly, also known as 'White Dee' - became the standout star of the show. Many of the headlines were negative and the mother-of-two found herself vilified, accused of being a scrounger and worse.But she received a warmer welcome on Celebrity Big Brother this summer and more recently this week at the Conservative Party Conference where she spoke at a fringe event hosted by a think-tank.So how did an ordinary woman from Birmingham, who has spent the last several years living off benefits, become so famous - and, potentially, influential? Mark Coles travels to Birmingham to find out.Presenter Mark Coles Producer Ben Crighton.

Ricky Tomlinson is a top TV actor with starring roles including Brookside and The Royle Family. But he has a controversial trade union past, and was once imprisoned for picketing during a strike. A new play about him has just opened. Mary Ann Sieghart discovers a powerful mix of politics and personal drama in his life and career.Producer: Ben Crighton.