Great Lives

Actor Sir Ben Kingsley tells Matthew Parris why he regards Elie Wiesel as his great life. A writer, a Nobel laureate, a holocaust survivor, Elie had to endure the worst horrors of mankind and survive the darkest of crimes. In the Holocaust he lost his mother, his father and his youngest sister. He once said: “To forget the dead would be to akin to killing them again a second time”.Sir Ben Kingsley regards Wiesel as was one the great voices of the holocaust and says he should never be forgotten. This was a promise he made to Wiesel.To help tell Elie’s story, the expert witness is Robert Eaglestone, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought and an expert in Holocaust Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2016.

Comedian and writer Lucy Porter champions Cary Grant as her Great Life finding that, despite his troubled relationships with women off screen, his on screen charm and generosity towards his female co-stars redeems him. With Grant's biographer, Geoffrey Wansell, who discusses the troubled screen icon's humble beginnings in Bristol and the following glamour and wealth of Los Angeles.Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Maggie AyreFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2016.

Chef Cyrus Todiwala chooses Dadabhai Naoroji, the 'Grand Old Man of India' who in 1892 became Britain's first Asian MP for Finsbury Central. He later returned to India and petitioned for the country to be self-governing. Gandhi, who was Dadabhai's mentee, would later refer to him as the Father of the Nation. Matthew Parris presents and Zerbanoo Gifford is the expert.Producer: Toby FieldFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.

The writer and critic AA Gill nominates Neville Chamberlain as his great life. But his choice is someone who is regarded as one of the worst Prime Ministers Britain has ever had. Chamberlain is someone entrenched in popular legend, as the man who failed to stand up to Hitler. So will AA Gill’s choice stand up to the scrutiny and will he be able to convince presenter Matthew Parris that this was a great life? To help tell the story of Arthur Neville Chamberlain they are joined by Stuart Ball, Professor of Modern British History at the University of Leicester.Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.

Eliza Carthy chooses the life of 19th-century poet and campaigner Caroline Norton to discuss with Matthew Parris. Following separation from her controlling husband, Norton fought to gain access to her three children. She campaigned for 30 years resulting in changes to English Law that gave women a separate legal identity for the first time.Eliza first discovered Caroline Norton when she was researching broadside ballads and came across Norton's verse ' Love not! love not! ye hopeless sons of clay'. It stood out, becoming the inspiration for her track 'Fade and Fall' and sparking an interest in Norton and her extraordinary life. The expert is Dr Diane Atkinson, author of 'The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton'.Producer: Toby FieldFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.

Actress and writer Maureen Lipman chooses the end-of-life care campaigner, Dame Cicely Saunders. Dame Cicely Saunders was known as ‘the woman who changed the face of death’. At almost 6 foot tall, she could be intimidating, tiresome and relentless as she devoted her life to ensuring that terminally ill people could die with dignity and without pain. Championing the life of Cicely Saunders as her great life is the actress and writer Maureen Lipman. The expert witness is, Professor David Clark, from the University of Glasgow. Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Perminder Khatkar. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.

Marshall Rosenberg was the stern-faced creator of nonviolent communication, a man who spent his life finding ways to eradicate hate. Often armed only with his trademark giraffe and jackal puppets, Rosenberg toured the world teaching a new way of speaking. Language was key, but to discover the meaning of the puppets you'll have to tune in. Championing Marshall Rosenberg is comedian and author, Tony Hawks.A sceptical Matthew Parris presents while David Baker of the London School of Life fills in the biographical gaps.Produced at BBC Bristol by Miles Warde First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.

Sometime around midnight of September 17 1961, a plane approached an airstrip near Ndola in what was then northern Rhodesia. The plane was a DC6, and on board the second ever secretary general of the United Nations, an aristocratic Swede called Dag Hammarskjold. He was on his way to try and mediate a war in the Congo, but the plane crashed and Hammarskjold was killed. Was it an accident? The debate continues to this day.Joining Matthew Parris to discuss the life and death of Hammarskjold are the journalist Georgina Godwin and the academic Susan Williams, author of Who Killed Hammarskjold? A dramatic and detailed discussion focuses on the events surrounding his death.Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.

Comedian Sara Pascoe champions the life of Virginia Woolf, author of 'Mrs Dalloway' and 'A Room of One's Own', describing her as a sensible feminist. Sara explains why she thinks if she were alive today, Woolf would be a comedian, and how through her diaries and letters she's discovered the witty, manic and egotistical Virginia. Presenter Matthew Parris confesses to struggling with her work.Professor Alexandra Harris is the expert. Producer: Toby FieldFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.

Alex Salmond chooses Thomas Muir for Great Lives, whom he describes as the Father of Scottish Democracy. "I have devoted myself to the cause of The People. It is a good cause - it shall ultimately prevail - it shall finally triumph." (Thomas Muir)Born in 1765, Thomas Muir trained as a lawyer and spent much of his early years advocating political reform and greater representation. These views brought him to the attention of the authorities who tried and convicted him of "unconscious sedition". Sentenced to fourteen years transportation to Australia, he eventually escaped and embarked on an epic voyage back to Europe during which he was almost killed. Alex Salmond argues that it was his treatment by the state that turned Muir from reformer to radical and then revolutionary, and he believes the democratic reform he sought has still not occurred. He says the word to describe Muir is "thrawn", a Scottish word meaning beyond stubborn, as he came up against unreasonable opposition time and time again and shifted his

A singer, comedian, music hall and film star from Rochdale, Gracie Fields was the nation’s darling. But in the midst of World War II, and at the phenomenal peak of her career, our great life fell in love and married an Italian and had to flee to America. She was disowned by the British public who called her a deserter and she was slated in every newspaper.Championing this week’s Great Life is businesswoman and TV personality Hilary Devey known to viewers of BBC 2's Dragons' Den and Channel 4's The Intern. Helping her to unravel the life of Gracie Fields is Sebastian Lassandro, President of the Dame Gracie Fields Appreciation Society. Presenter Matthew Parris Producer Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.

Frank Turner chooses Joseph Grimaldi, the first celebrity of Pantomime who changed the face of Clowning forever. Matthew Parris presents, and Mattie Faint is the expert. Grimaldi was born into a theatrical family, making his stage debut aged two dressed as a monkey and being flung around the stage on the end of a chain by his tyrannical father. The chain snapped but Grimaldi survived, making the papers and turning Grimaldi into a little celebrity. His performances as 'Clown', combining acrobatics, satire and music, made him a big draw for the crowds, and his role in 'Mother Goose' turned him into a huge star. He developed the make-up we now associate with clowns but behind this iconic look was a man suffering from depression, extreme physical disintegration and a series of personal tragedies. Frank Turner, former punk and now folk singer-songwriter, sees himself primarily as an entertainer and has developed an interest in Pantomime and Music Hall. For him, Grimaldi gave everything to his audiences and

George Fox, born in 1624 in Leicestershire, is best known as the founder of the Quakers. In early life he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and for a while he worked as a shepherd as well. But it was as a preacher travelling widely across the land that he made his name, and also received the most abuse. As he writes: "... the people fell upon me in great rage, struck me down and almost stifled and smothered me. And I was cruelly beaten and bruised by them with their hands, Bibles and sticks."Nominating the dissenting George Fox is Ann Limb, chair of the Scout Association. Also in studio, Jonathan Fryer, editor of George Fox and the Children of the Light.Matthew Parris presents, and the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Gordon Hamilton-Fairley was a brilliant cancer specialist, the father of oncology in the UK. Then in 1975 he was killed by an IRA bomb intended for a politician who lived in his street. Former editor of the Daily Telegraph Charles Moore chooses a man cut down in his prime. Joining him in the studio are three members of the Hamilton-Fairley family; plus the cancer specialist Ray Powles, who provides a compelling picture of how basic treatment for cancer sufferers used to be.Presenter: Matthew Parris Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Richard the Lionheart has been portrayed on screen by Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins and Patrick Stewart, quite a starry list. But what is the reality behind the legend of this famous king? Richard's nominator is Timmy Mallett, a legend of children's TV but also unexpectedly a history graduate. Great historical characters, he says, have great stories attached to them, and Richard's life was not short of adventure, particularly on the Third Crusade. Applying a cool head to Richard's life is the historian and broadcaster Helen Castor. She concedes that much of Timmy's enthusiasm is probably deserved. Presenter Matthew Parris attempts to discover the truth about whether the Lionheart was in fact gay.Producer: Miles Warde.Produced in BBC Bristol and first broadcast on Radio 4 in May 2016.

Lt-Gen Sir Graeme Lamb, former head of British special forces, champions the life of wartime spy Christine Granville, assisted by her biographer Clare Mulley.Christine, born Kristina Skarbek, was a glamorous swashbuckling heroine who skied into occupied Poland to distribute Allied propaganda, and parachuted into southern France to work with the Resistance after D Day. Murdered after the war by a jilted lover, she is little known today - thanks partly to the efforts of a group of men she had been close to, who formed a committee to "protect her reputation" from suggestions of sexual impropriety. Matthew Parris chairs the discussion. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

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.