Tasoula Hadjitofi tricked a notorious art smuggler to recover Cyprus' holiest relics

When war split Tasoula's home country of Cyprus in two in 1974 she had to leave home, never to return. Years later, while living in the Netherlands she was approached by a shady art dealer with news that shook her to the core: artefacts sacred to her Greek Orthodox faith had been stolen, hammered out from church walls and were now being sold on the black market. Tasoula then poured everything into righting this wrong and vowed to bring them back. She would have to plumb the depths of the criminal underworld and hatch an elaborate sting operation to catch the mastermind behind it all.

Presenter: Emily Webb

Tasoula Hadjitofi uncovered a shady network looting her country's most sacred relics

In 1974 Tasoula's country, Cyprus, was torn in two by war. Distraught and unable to return home she ended up in the Netherlands where some years later a shadowy art dealer approached her with some astonishing news. Religious artefacts sacred to her faith that had adorned the churches she prayed in as a girl had been chiselled away, and were now being sold on the black market. And so began Tasoula's decade-long search for the stolen relics. But she would first have to learn from the criminals in order to catch them.

Presenter: Emily Webb

Pepe and Lucía: the bonfire of young love, a long separation, and rise to presidency.

The guerrilla lovers finally meet and fall for each other, but their joy is shortlived, they’re soon arrested again – and this time there won’t be any escape. Uruguay’s military coup means that the couple are separated by 13 years of brutal detention. When they’re granted amnesty, they find their way back to each other, and enter the political fray, all the way up to the presidency.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy

Clips courtesy of Euro News, RDTV, France 24 and SBS.

Pepe and Lucía: the guerrilla lovers who became the leaders of Uruguay

When they were younger, José Pepe Mujica and Lucía Topolansky separately joined a left-wing insurgency set on overthrowing the country's government.

Dubbers were Elizabeth Rhodes and Fede di Lorenzo

When award-winning author Alex Wheatle was sentenced to nine months in prison at the age of 18, he thought his life was over.

Alex had been born in London to Jamaican parents, but grew up in care in the notorious Shirley Oaks children’s home. As a teenager, he was convicted of assaulting a police officer during the Brixton Riots. He felt totally alone and without hope. But as the door slammed on Alex’s prison cell, he met a book-loving man called Simeon who opened his eyes to the importance of his own history – and encouraged him to use his past to write a new and hopeful future.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Eric Ngalle is now a poet and academic in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, but it's his experiences as a people-trafficked teenager that inspire much of his work. When he was 17, he found himself broke and alone in Moscow, freezing cold and unable to speak a word of Russian. To survive, he relied on charity, girlfriends, and a brief stripping career. None of this was enough to buy him a ticket home to Cameroon, so he got involved in a high-risk scam, which targeted some very dangerous people.

If you’ve been affected by anything you heard in this interview, support is available through the BBC Action Line website or via Befrienders Worldwide.

Presenter: Asya Fouks

Get in touch: WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

Sport but not as you know it. A brand new sports storytelling podcast.

Imagine being stranded in the “death zone” on one of the world’s highest mountains. How about running 200 miles in a dark tunnel? We’ve been searching the world for the most amazing sport stories. Other podcasts bring you the scores and team news. This one tells the stories you’ll wish you’d known about and now probably won’t forget. You don’t need to be obsessed with sport to find yourself immersed in our mini-seasons and short stories.

Reality TV producer Johnathan Walton found himself in a plot he couldn't have dreamt up.

It all started when a woman helped him when he was locked out of his building's swimming pool. She was magnetic and full of fun and soon they became inseparable. But things weren't quite as rosy as they seemed. Four years into their friendship Johnathan started pulling at the edges of her story, it all began to unravel and he'd have to start playing detective in a bid to bring her down.

Presenter: India Rakusen

Gamal Turawa has lived many lives - but never fitted in.

First as a black British boy adopted into a white family, then hoodwinked by his father and eventually begging on the streets of Lagos - he was always on the margins. As an adult he joined London's Metropolitan Police, but instead of finding a home there, his differences were used to tear him down and humilate him. When Gamal finally hit rock bottom he decided to stop hiding and stand out.

Details of organisations offering information and support on a wide range of issues are available at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar

Gamal Turawa has lived many lives - but never fitted in

As the first openly gay black officer in London's Metropolitan Police, he struggled to find his way while reckoning with his past. Adopted into a white family as a baby, Gamal was hoodwinked by his father as a boy and ended up living as a teenage beggar on the streets of Lagos, until a chance encounter saw him find work as a magician's assistant, hyping up crowds across West Africa.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar