Profile

Emily Buchanan profiles the Archbishop of Canterbury and examines his long struggle to stop the Anglican Church from fragmenting. Rowan Williams was tipped at an early age for high office and he is rated as possibly the most intellectually talented Archbishop of Canterbury for a thousand years. Yet after all the high hopes at his appointment, many are disappointed at what they see as a lack of key leadership qualities. Dragged into seemingly endless rows about gay clergy and women bishops, Williams has had to endure a great deal of abuse from some members of the world's 77 million strong Anglican Communion. His period of office has even been described as a crucifixion. Is he misrepresented by Britain's tabloid press or does he actively court controversy? His opposition to the Iraq war, his call for reparations for the slave trade and his candid predictions that last summer's riots could easily be repeated have raised eyebrows among parts of the political establishment. In 2008, he provoked an outcry after saying the application of Sharia law in England under certain circumstances was unavoidable.A former Religious Affairs Correspondent, Emily Buchanan speaks to those who know him well including the Bishop of London, his school friend John Walters, his biographer Rupert Shortt, and the satirist Ian Hislop. She discovers how Rowan Williams' warm and sympathetic character, with the ability to see all sides of a question, is both his great strength and his weakness. Producer: Lucy Ash.

Profile this week looks at the physicist Peter Higgs who in the 1960s predicted the existence of the so-called "God Particle" which scientists think they glimpsed at CERN this week. The Higgs boson - which has so excited the scientific community this week - is a subatomic particle which gives mass to all matter and the quest to find it has been described as the holy grail of physics.Peter Higgs made his prediction in the mid-1960s when he was a relatively young scientist, adding a crucial element to the Standard Model of the universe. At the time the significance of his work was not widely recognised or understood, and one leading scientific journal even turned down one of his early papers setting out his groundbreaking theory.Higgs, now in his 80s, is very much a theoretical scientist. Colleagues say he has never excelled at practical experiments, and to this day he doesn't get on with computers.What kind of man is he? Samira Ahmed talks to those who know the scientist, and asks what makes him tick.Producers: Ben Crighton and Arlene Gregorius.

Samira Ahmed profiles Newt Gingrich, the American former Speaker of the House who is now a leading contender for the Republican nomination to run against Barack Obama in next year's US presidential election. Earlier this year he was largely written off as a presidential contender when many of his staff left his campaign. But now he has made a dramatic comeback.In the 1990s he was one of the Republicans who led the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton for perjury over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Yet at the same time Mr Gingrich was engaged in his own extra-marital affair with the woman who became his third wife.Samira Ahmed talks to people who have known and worked with Newt Gingrich throughout his career. She hears of similarities between Gingrich and Clinton: both had difficult relationships with their step-fathers, dominating mothers, and both wanted to be transformational figures. But Gingrich appears to lack Clinton's personal charm.Gingrich is both attacked and admired as an ideological politician, although some say he is driven by pragmatism and has an acute sense of what will play well with his supporters.With a controversial past - he was fined $300,000 for ethics breaches in Congress - how has he turned things round? Who is the real Newt Gingrich, and would he make a good president? Producers: Ben Crighton and Arlene Gregorius.

Profile this week takes a look at the Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour who has surprised many by announcing he is to quit music for a career in politics. The son of a car mechanic, N'Dour went on to become one of the most influential recording artists in the world. With presidential elections taking place in Senegal next February, Edward Stourton asks if N'Dour has what it takes to succeed on the political stage.Producers: Ben Crighton and Hannah Barnes.

With Parliamentary elections due next week, Chris Bowlby charts the career of 76 year old Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the key figure in Egypt's new political crisis.A young military officer at the time of Suez, Tantawi went on to fight against the Israelis in the wars of 1967 and 1973. Rising through the military ranks, he was appointed Defence Minister by President Hosni Mubarak in 1991. Known as a courteous but inscrutable figure, Tantawi came to be viewed as the loyal heir apparent to President Mubarak. But when the democracy demonstrators of Tahrir Square demanded the President's resignation earlier this year, it was his right hand man Mohamed Tantawi who told the longstanding premier that his time was up. Nine months later the demonstrators are back, frustrated by the slow pace of political change. And this time they are demanding Tantawi's resignation.Producer: Kate O'Hara

Meryl Streep is famous for achieving both critical and box office success throughout her long career. With more academy award nominations than any other actor in history, her face is recognisable worldwide. The young Meryl Streep tasted early success in landmark films such as 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Kramer vs Kramer'. Going on to star in the harrowing 'Sophie's Choice', she picked up the Academy Award for Best Actress and garnered critical acclaim for her mastery of a Polish accent.The box office hit 'The Devil Wears Prada,' where she played a ruthless magazine editor cemented her position as one of Hollywood's most bankable female stars. The 2008 hit musical 'Mamma Mia!' allowed her to indulge her first love of singing and once again demonstrated her remarkable versatility. Now as she takes on the role of another famous woman, former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, Andy Denwood charts her extraordinary career.Reporter - Andy Denwood Producer - Gail Champion.

The Labour MP Tom Watson compared James Murdoch with "a Mafia boss" while questioning him about phone hacking this week. He has led the charge in Parliament against News International, and has been forensically campaigning on phone hacking for years. While many of his Labour colleagues regard him as a hero for his role in taking on the Murdoch empire, Watson wasn't always so popular. A close ally of Gordon Brown, he called for Tony Blair to resign in 2006, although he denied Brown conspired with him to bring down the Prime Minister.Edward Stourton profiles the pioneer blogger and populist campaigner, who is unafraid to take on powerful figures in and out of politics.Producer Bill Law.

The new President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi now finds himself at the centre of the European financial crisis. The appointment of an Italian to this key role, from a country no stranger to inflation and which is itself at risk of defaulting may have raised some eyebrows, but Draghi was once dubbed 'Super Mario' for his combination of financial and diplomatic intelligence. Lesley Curwen profiles the urbane economist and charts his path to the top of European banking.Reporter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Gail Champion.

Profile this week takes a look at the firebrand of Italian politics, Umberto Bossi. The controversial leader of the Northern League party, who takes a strident line on immigration and crime, is currently at the centre of the Euro crisis. Critics accuse Umberto Bossi of holding up Italy's economic reform which is vital for the survival of the Euro. Geeta Guru-Murthy discovers how this former electrician and singer has become such an infamous politician who could have a dramatic effect on Europe.Producers: Emma Rippon and Anna Meisel.

Liam Gallagher, John Leckie and John Robb talk about Stone Roses' Ian Brown after the legendary band announced this week that they are reforming. Brown formed the band with school friend John Squire but the rift between the two saw the break-up after just two albums and left a generation of music fans hanging. Brown went on to have a solo career but now he and his former bandmates have made amends. He and the band made a huge mark on music and influenced many who met him including bands such as Oasis and in their early days, Radiohead. Producer: Wesley Stephenson.