Profile

Mark Coles profiles Noah. As a new Hollywood movie opens starring Russell Crowe, and as part of a celebration of characters on BBC Radio 4, Mark Coles explores the many sides of a figure we keep returning to.

Edward Stourton profiles Matteo Renzi, the new Italian prime minister. He asks if this former boy scout - nicknamed 'demolition man' for his desire to smash the political establishment - can turn around Italy's fortunes. At 39, he is Italy's youngest-ever PM. He wears jeans and a leather jacket and models himself on Tony Blair. Can he live up to his promises?Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Ahead of the budget Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Rupert Harrison. He's the top economic adviser to George Osborne, and the man some call the 'real Chancellor' and 'the most important man you've never heard of'. Those who know him well and have seen his influence grow describe his career and characteristics.Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's motives and aims are at the heart of the Ukraine crisis.In this week's Profile, Mary Ann Sieghart speaks to those who've watched him closely to explore how his life has shaped his view of the world, and Russia's place in it.We hear about his life as KGB agent, his volatile temper, and the role religion now plays in his life and politics.Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

Janet Yellen is President Obama's choice to replace Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve when his term ends later this month, making her the most powerful central banker in the world and, arguably, the most powerful woman in the world. But who is she? Mary Ann Sieghart finds out - discovering, among other things, how Janet Yellen reacted when an earthquake shook her office.Producer: David Edmonds.

After playing Baltimore drug boss Stringer Bell in The Wire, and Detective John Luther on British television, Idris Elba is now appearing in a very different role - Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom. Chris Bowlby profiles the British actor who some think will one day be the first black James Bond.Producer: Smita Patel.

As the drama of street protests in Ukraine continues, Mark Coles profiles 'Dr Ironfist', the world boxing champion turned opposition political leader Vitali Klitschko. He's the son of a Soviet air force officer, one of two top boxers with a PhD (the other is his brother Vladimir) and he's nice to his mum. But can he make it in the murky world of Ukrainian politics?Producers: Chris Bowlby, Laura Gray.

Edward Stourton profiles the Michelle Bachelet, the favourite in this weekend's presidential election in Chile. If Bachelet wins as expected, then it will be her second term as president of a country which elected her to office in 2006. Bachelet took 47 per cent of the vote, almost twice as much as her rival, in the first round but it was not enough to secure an outright victory.Bachelet's family were victims of the coup in Chile under General Pinochet in 1973. Her father, an Air Force general who refused to go along with the actions of his brother officers, died after being tortured. The regime also tortured Bachelet herself - and her mother - before allowing them to go into exile, first to Australia and then to East Germany, where they joined many of their compatriots.Profile talks to a fellow Chilean exile who knew Bachelet when she was a student in the GDR, the speechwriter who helped her to victory seven years ago and a British diplomat who helped to sell Chile some second hand frigates and was impressed

He was one of the poster boys for London 2012 - a contributor to Team GB's medal haul, admired for his perfect mid-flight somersaults and skimpy swimwear.British Olympic diver Tom Daley has lived his life in the public eye since first attracting attention aged ten, when he became Britain's youngest diver to win the national championships.Tom Daley is in the media spotlight more than ever this week after announcing on YouTube that he is dating a man, provoking much discussion not only of the announcement but of the public's reaction to it. Mark Coles tells his story.Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.

With the SNP announcing its plans for an independent Scotland this week, Lesley Curwen profiles Nicola Sturgeon - a figure who may be key to the party's chances of success.She's deputy to Alex Salmond but is central to the party's campaign, and she's playing a major but perhaps under-reported role in negotiating with London too. How did she achieve such a rapid rise to political prominence? And why is she so obsessed with the TV drama Borgen?Presenter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Bill de Blasio, sometime supporter of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, will soon take over as mayor of New York. He's overcome the suicide of his war veteran father, created the most famous multiracial family in the US and now has to persuade Wall Street to fund his radical plans to overcome inequality in the Big Apple. Ed Miliband is said to be watching carefully. Mark Coles profiles a politician attracting global attention.Producers: Ben Crighton, Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

India means Sachin and Sachin means India. So how did a shy 16-year-old cricketer come to embody a nation and its hopes and dreams? Sachin Tendulkar's career spanned a period of remarkable change in what is now one of the world's biggest developing economies. As he plays his 200th and final test match, Tim Franks looks at how Sachin's progress mirrored and even inspired India's over a quarter of a century.

She's been described as the UK's most experienced criminal prosecutor, responsible for bringing some of the most infamous criminals to justice. But she also has a passion for cooking and entertaining. Becky Milligan profiles Alison Saunders, who this week became the new Director of Public Prosecutions.Producer: Ben Crighton.

He is one of a small number of people who has made it to both the North Pole and the South Pole. He runs ultramarathons. He climbs mountains. Oh, and he is a billionaire, one of the country's richest men, who has reluctantly been making the headlines. Jim Ratcliffe, who recently threatened to close the huge Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland - which he owns through his company Ineos - is often described as 'reclusive'. Certainly he doesn't seek publicity. In Profile this week, Jo Fidgen talks to those who know him best, to find out what makes Jim Ratcliffe tick.

Last year, long-standing Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell was forced to resign his new job as Chief Whip after being accused of calling police officers guarding the Downing Street gates "plebs." The so-called 'Plebgate' saga has hit the headlines once again this week after a committee of MPs summoned three senior police officers to explain their inquiry into the incident. While last year Andrew Mitchell was the focus of controversy, the Rugby and Cambridge-educated disciplinarian is now eliciting sympathy in many quarters. Becky Milligan looks at the life of a man caught in the eye of a political storm.Producer: Ben Crighton.

It's 40 years since the National Theatre was led by someone who wasn't a Cambridge graduate, but this week it was announced that Rufus Norris - who spent his late teens as a painter and decorator - would succeed Sir Nicholas Hytner as the theatre's director. So why is Norris such a popular choice for British theatre's top job? Mary Ann Sieghart looks at the making of a director whose work includes collaborations with Damon Albarn and the London Community Gospel Choir and a musical about a real-life serial killer.

This week saw the surprising exit from the English Defence League of its leaders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll. Instrumental in their decision to leave was Essex-born Maajid Nawaz, a former activist for the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. Arrested in 2001 for attempting to revive the group in Egypt, he served four years in a Cairo jail. Today, he has renounced his old beliefs and now runs the Quilliam Foundation, a 'counter extremism' think tank run by former activists. He has also been selected by the Liberal Democrats to fight a marginal parliamentary seat in 2015. Mark Coles looks at his life.Producer: Ben Crighton.

A gifted journalist with his finger on the pulse of Middle England? Or 'the most dangerous man in Britain' as the Guardian newspaper has described him? Mark Coles profiles the powerful and influential Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.Producers: Ben Crighton and Simon Maybin.

Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani has been centre of attention at the UN this week. He's promising a new approach to talks with the West over his country's nuclear programme.He is certainly a change from his abrasive anti-Western predecessor. Rouhani studied in Britain, loves Bogart films and Thomas Hardy novels and is fond of designer clerical robes.So, Mary Ann Sieghart asks, is all that merely a matter of presentation? Or is he a completely new kind of Iranian leader?Producer: Heba Ayoub Editor: Richard Knight.

Comedian Billy Connolly has announced new film and touring plans despite facing ill health. Mark Coles explores how Connolly has long used humour to defy serious adversity. Childhood abuse and alcoholism have been countered by a rich musical, comedy and acting career.In this profile of the Glasgow welder who became a global star, Connolly's own performances and voice are mixed with the thoughts of those who know him well - including singer Barbara Dickson and producer John Lloyd.Producers: Heba Ayoub, Chris Bowlby.