Andrea Quint Fleck and her hairdresser Troy Winget bonded over Andrea's hair, the spark was apparent at their first appointment in their home town of Calgary. By coincidence both had question marks over their family history and they decided to do some research. But what they discovered rocked both their worlds.

Presenter: Andile Masuku

Producers: Katy Davies and Deiniol Buxton

Picture: Troy Winget and Andrea Quint Fleck

Credit: Troy Winget and Andrea Quint Fleck

As a boy growing up in Freetown, Sam Jalloh became enamoured with the Sierra Leone national tracksuit. He wasn't particularly fashion conscious, but he was sporty, and he discovered that the only way he'd get one of those tracksuits was by learning to play tennis. Sam didn't have shoes or equipment, so he played barefoot and fashioned a racquet out of plywood. Local coaches spotted Sam's talent for tennis, but these were perilous times in Sierra Leone. The country was in the middle of a civil war, and before Sam could get his tracksuit, he found himself in the crosshairs of the conflict. Sam's written book called How Tennis Saved My Life.

Presenter: Andile Masuku

Producer: Tom Harding-Assinder

Picture: Sam Jalloh

Credit: Courtesy Sam Jalloh

Aged eleven, Dirce de Assis Cavalcanti was taunted by one of her classmates. She was called the "daughter of a murderer". Not long after, Dirce found out that her father had indeed killed a man and not just any man, he’d killed one of Brazil’s celebrated authors, a national treasure. Although he was cleared by the courts, who declared the shooting an act of self-defence, in the court of public opinion Dirce’s dad was condemned.

The story behind that fateful killing is one of love, betrayal and revenge. And it is a story that throughout her life Dirce has grappled with in her attempts to rebuild her family’s reputation.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy

Producer: Andrea Kennedy and Deiniol Buxton

Picture: Dirce de Assis Cavalcanti

Credit: BBC

British DJ Mark Radcliffe has a voice that's instantly recognisable to many people in the UK. He went from being a music obsessed teenager in the northern British town of Bolton, to hanging out with his heroes on his radio show - including Kate Bush and David Bowie. But in 2018 Mark was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth and throat and he feared he might lose his voice forever. He tells us why he decided to tell listeners he had cancer, live on his radio show and how music helped him through the most difficult time of his life. He's written a book about his experience called Crossroads.

Picture: Mark Radcliffe

Credit: Courtesy of Paul Langley

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: June Christie

As a teenager, Amr al-Azm aspired to be like Indiana Jones - but this fantastical Hollywood vision of archaeology was only fleeting, he grew up to fall in love with the real thing too. Amr is from Syria, a land scattered with incredible sites and monuments. But he watched in horror as his country descended into war and his ancient home became a modern battlefield. Priceless historic artefacts were bombed, defaced, plundered and lost forever. In response, Amr set up a network of frontline archaeologists - some of them former students and colleagues - risking their lives to protect what remains of Syria's cultural heritage. From Adnan, who secretly documented the antiquities smuggling trade run by the so-called Islamic State; to Abdul Rahman in rebel-held Idlib province, who guards the precious Roman mosaics in the Maara Museum from government airstrikes.

Picture: Amr al-Azm

Credit: Courtesy of Amr al-Azm

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: Maryam Maruf

Mads Peder Nordbo used to write crime thrillers from his home in a quiet, Danish, village. It was a world he imagined but never experienced. But in 2013, fact and fiction blurred when he stumbled across a murder next to his house.

His latest book is called Cold Fear.

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder

Picture: Mads Peder Nordbo

Credit: Courtesy of Mads Peder Nordbo

When Maria Gallant's baby daughter Gail died after a car crash, Maria prayed for God to give back her child. Within a year she had another daughter- she also called her Gail. Maria brought her up to believe that she was her sister reborn. Gail describes the impact this had on her throughout her life. She has written a book about her experiences called The Changeling.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producers: June Christie and Nathan Gower

Picture: Gail Gallant as a child in her communion dress

Credit: Courtesy of Gail Gallant

British footballer Mark Bright spent his childhood in foster care. Though he was well looked after, no one told him they loved him until he was 18. Meanwhile, he was becoming a star striker and his heyday was at Crystal Palace. He's just published his autobiography, Mark Bright – My Story – From Foster Care to Footballer.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producer: Harry Graham

Picture: Mark Bright after scoring a goal for Crystal Palace in 1991.

Credit: Getty Images/Ben Radford

Wilhelm Verwoerd has spent most of his life wrestling with his surname and what it represents. His grandfather, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, is widely known as the "architect of apartheid" in South Africa because of the brutal policies he introduced as a government minister and then prime minister of the country in the 1950s and 1960s

But Wilhelm turned his back on his family's apartheid politics and is committed to tearing down its racist legacy. His book is called: Verwoerd: My journey through family betrayals.

Presenter: Andile Masuku

Producer: Deiniol Buxton

Picture: Wilhelm Verwoerd 

Credit: Wojciech Klimala

Haben Girma's a Harvard Law School graduate, an attorney, she's been invited to the White House... and she's Deafblind. With the help of her braille computer, she tells Emily Webb about the time she gave Barack Obama a hard time for typing with two fingers. Haben has published a book called Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: Becky Vincent

Photo: Haben Girma meeting Barack Obama in 2015

Credit: White House/ Pete Souza