Profile

Profile episodes:

• 04.20.2024

  Paul Sinton-Hewitt

  Paul Sinton-Hewitt, the founder of parkrun, was born in Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa at the age of five, where he was brought up in care with his two siblings. Always a keen middle distance runner, he was...

  
• 04.06.2024

  Simon Harris

  Although Simon Harris reportedly describes himself as an 'accidental politician', he has managed to make a career out of it. His interest in politics was sparked at the age of 15 when he set up a support group in his...

  
• 03.30.2024

  Bishop Rosemarie Mallett

  Rosemarie Mallett’s star has risen quickly in the Church of England. After a career in academia and a period of disenchantment with the institution, she became a priest in 2005, attracting the attention of senior members of the clergy for...

  
• 03.23.2024

  Vaughan Gething

  Vaughan Gething this week became Wales’ new First Minister, and the leader of Welsh Labour. He’s the fifth person to hold the post and the first black leader of a national government in Europe. No stranger to breaking...

  
• 03.16.2024

  Michael Gove

  The current Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, first joined the cabinet in 2010 and has remained there for most of the past 14 years in various posts. He’s served four prime ministers. During that time...

  
• 03.09.2024

  Sir Paul Marshall

  The millionaire hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall has recently hit the headlines, both for his growing media portfolio and controversy over his social media activity. After an eclectic career spent mostly in the background, from philanthropic work to...

  
• 03.02.2024

  Yulia Navalnaya

  Mother, widow... and now the face of Russian opposition? Yulia Navalnaya has risen to the spotlight in recent weeks following her husband's death in a Siberian prison. The wife of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has until now remained...

  
• 02.24.2024

  Frank Auerbach

  Frank Auerbach was sent to Britain from Nazi Germany by his parents at the age of 8. Growing up in a Quaker boarding school in Kent, he developed his artistic talents - later to be inspired by the landscapes of...

  
• 02.17.2024

  James Timpson

  Timpson - best known for its key cutting and shoe repair services - has become a household name, with over 1000 stores on town high streets and in local supermarkets. But its current CEO, James Timpson, is probably better known...

  
• 02.10.2024

  Emma Little-Pengelly

  With power sharing in Northern Ireland restored after a two year hiatus, the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly has landed herself a top job - Deputy First Minister. It’s the first time a unionist has been in the role. Hailing from...

  
• 02.03.2024

  General Sir Patrick Sanders

  General Sir Patrick Sanders has served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, rising through the ranks from Infantry Officer to Head of the Army. It's not a position he expected to reach and says "my first sergeant...

  
• 01.27.2024

  Jurgen Klopp

  He’s led Liverpool Football Club to countless victories and is adored by fans for his touchline antics. As he announces his departure from Liverpool FC after nine years, Timandra Harkness looks at the life of Jurgen Klopp, from...

  
• 01.20.2024

  Gabriel Attal

  Stephen Smith looks at the life of the newly appointed French prime minister. The child of film producers, at one stage it looked like he was bound for a career in entertainment. Instead, Gabriel Attal has become the youngest...

  
• 01.13.2024

  Colleen Hoover

  The ‘New Adult’ romance author topping book charts, and breaking records - she’s even outsold the Bible. Who is Colleen Hoover? The small-town Texan turned hit novelist is a TikTok sensation. Young women film themselves sobbing as they read...

  
• 01.06.2024

  Richard Tice

  Reform UK - formerly known as 'The Brexit Party' - has hit 10% in polls for the first time. And its leader, Richard Tice, is gearing up to contest the next general election. In a press conference this week, he...

  
• 12.30.2023

  Sir Mufti Hamid Patel

  Sir Mufti Hamid Patel, chief executive of education trust, Star Academies, which runs schools often in deprived areas, many of which have achieved outstanding results. Sir Mufti Hamid Patel left school in Blackburn at 16, without himself excelling academically. ...

  
• 12.23.2023

  Polly Neate

  Polly Neate. CEO of the housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Recently rescued in a dramatic cliff top drama, Neate was determined to fight social injustice from an early age. She started life as a journalist and then worked for...

  
• 12.16.2023

  Tucker Carlson

  Tucker Carlson, the American conservative political commentator and newscaster. He was born in California and from the age of six was brought up by his father after his mother left the family home. Tucker Carlson followed in his father's...

  
• 12.09.2023

  Olivia Colman

  Olivia Colman, Oscar winning actress. Stephen Smith charts her career from an appearance at the age of 4 in a school nativity play, through to her current project as Mrs. Scrubbit in the new 'Wonka' film. ...

  
• 12.02.2023

  Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI

  It is only a year since the controversial AI chatbot, ChatGPT was launched by Open AI, the company founded by this week's profilee, Sam Altman. For him the past year may have felt like a roller coaster but surely nothing...

  
• 11.25.2023

  Javier Milei

  The new President of Argentina, Javier Milei swept into power winning fifty-five percent of the popular vote. He's threatened to take a chainsaw to the economy, replace the peso with the dollar and blow up the Central Bank. With...

  
• 11.18.2023

  James Cleverly

  Born and raised in south east London, James Cleverly once dreamed of being an artist, then opted for an army career. But never expected to become a politician. Yet now, after swiftly climbing the cabinet ladder, the high-flying...

  
• 11.11.2023

  Antony Blinken

  As President Biden's top diplomat, Antony Blinken is in the eye of the storm as the conflict rages in Israel and Gaza. The US Secretary of State has been preparing for this role his whole life. But has...

  
• 10.28.2023

  Sir Lenny Henry

  One of Britain's most popular comedians, Sir Lenny Henry, has spent nearly 50 years in show business. His new TV drama series 'Three Little Birds' is inspired by his mother's generation, who came to Britain from the Caribbean to make...

  
• 10.21.2023

  Donald Tusk

  After helping to secure strong results for opposition parties in Poland’s most recent election, former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk looks highly likely to return to his country’s top job. Best known in the UK as a former President of...

  
• 10.14.2023

  Adam Kay

  Adam Kay is a Bafta-winning TV writer, author and comedian who previously worked as a hospital doctor. He's famous for using his medical experiences to highlight the pressures of working in the NHS. He recently spoke out in support of...

  
• 10.07.2023

  Sir Keir Starmer

  The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to become the UK's next prime minister. He first won his seat in Parliament in 2015 after a successful career working as a human rights lawyer and then being appointed the...

  
• 09.30.2023

  Lachlan Murdoch

  Lachlan Murdoch will become the boss of one of the world's most powerful media empires. His father, Rupert, has said his eldest son will succeed him as chairman of Fox and News Corp. Lachlan's appointment ends years of...

  
• 09.23.2023

  Miriam Margolyes

  Miriam Margolyes is at the peak of her career, even though she's been acting on our screens for decades. Her career started in the 1960 but despite playing many roles on stage, TV and film she is more famous now...

  
• 09.16.2023

  Davina McCall

  Davina McCall is regularly referred to as the queen of reality TV and has been a familiar face on our screens for decades. From the unpredictable dating show Streetmate, to the iconic Big Brother and now her latest show Your...

  
• 09.09.2023

  Grant Shapps

  The recently appointed defence secretary Grant Shapps is no stranger to getting his teeth into a new job, it’s his fifth cabinet role in less than a year. He's widely seen as a safe pair of hands and an...

  
• 07.29.2023

  Benjamin Netanyahu

  Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister, but his government’s plans for judicial reform have triggered one of the most serious crises of his political career. Timandra Harkness looks at the life of the man who has won six elections...

  
• 07.25.2023

  Dale Vince

  The multi-millionaire climate campaigner and Just Stop Oil donor Dale Vince, made his fortune in green energy. He started generating his own power with a homemade windmill before setting up green energy provider, Ecotricity in the 1990s. He’s...

  
• 07.15.2023

  Joe Biden

  Joe Biden has been involved in US politics for more than fifty years, becoming one of America’s youngest senators in 1972, when Richard Nixon was in the White House. Now, aged eighty, Biden is the oldest US president...

  
• 07.08.2023

  Lee Anderson

  Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, is no stranger to media attention. He has made headlines for his controversial statements about poverty, migration and the death penalty. Now he is reported to be a...

  
• 07.01.2023

  Sergei Shoigu

  Russia's Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, was publicly condemned by Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, during his march on Moscow. Yet despite the criticism, this long-term ally of President Putin remains in post. Timandra Harkness looks at the life and career...

  
• 06.24.2023

  Charlotte Owen

  The youngest person ever to receive a life peerage, Charlotte Owen’s elevation to the House of Lords, after less than six years in Westminster - some of it working as an intern - has made newspaper headlines. She’s had...

  
• 06.17.2023

  Jack Smith

  Jack Smith is no stranger to the courtroom. He counts mob bosses, public officials and war criminals among those he has put behind bars. But no case he has been involved with has been as high profile as the one...

  
• 06.10.2023

  Baroness Hallett

  Former High Court judge Baroness Hallett is no stranger to a high-profile case, having previously chaired an inquiry into the 2005 London terror attacks. But her most recent appointment as chair of an inquiry looking at the UK's response to...

  
• 06.03.2023

  Suella Braverman

  Suella Braverman, the current home secretary and former attorney general, has found herself making the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the last few weeks. After a row over a speeding fine, and data showing record levels of net...

  
• 05.27.2023

  Jesse Armstrong

  Succession - the dark comedy following an American media family - has won 13 Emmys, 5 Golden Globes and a BAFTA. As it draws to a close, we take a look at the life of its creator, a British writer...

  
• 05.20.2023

  Yevgeny Prigozhin

  Enter the murky world of one of the most dominant men in Russia. From selling hotdogs to running a private army and meddling in the US elections, from Syria to Ukraine- who is this man in the shadows? One of...

  
• 05.13.2023

  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

  This weekend the controversial President of Turkey faces one of the most important elections ever for his country and the wider Middle East region. But how did the son of a Black Sea coastguard rise to live in a thousand-room...

  
• 05.06.2023

  Pretty Yende

  South African opera star Pretty Yende is performing her biggest gig yet at the Coronation. She was personally selected by the King to sing at the service in Westminster Abbey. Growing up in the small rural town of Mpumalanga, Yende’s...

  
• 04.30.2023

  Camilla, Queen Consort

  The country girl who won the heart of a prince: Queen Consort, Camilla, will be crowned Queen at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. The BBC’s Royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, talks to friends and royal authors about her...

  
• 04.22.2023

  Vladimir Kara-Murza

  The Russian journalist and Cambridge-educated historian Vladimir Kara-Murza has been a long-time opponent of President Putin's regime. A dual national who also holds a British passport, he was instrumental in getting the Magnitsky Act passed in now over 30 countries,...

  
• 04.15.2023

  Dr Nicola Fox

  Physicist Dr Nicola Fox, who grew up in Hertfordshire, is the new head of science at the US space agency NASA. Only the second woman to hold the post, Dr Fox is a world-renowned expert on the Sun, who'd previously...

  
• 04.08.2023

  Alvin Bragg

  Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's district attorney, is making history and headlines by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump. It's the first time a former American President has been indicted. The first African-American to hold the office of New York District Attorney,...

  
• 04.01.2023

  Humza Yousaf

  Newly-elected leader of the SNP, Humza Yousaf, has become First Minister of Scotland at the age of just 37. The Glaswegian showed community spirit from a young age, fundraising for charity and broadcasting for community station Radio Ramadan, before...

  
• 03.25.2023

  Louise Casey

  Baroness Louise Casey has this week delivered an excoriating review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police. It’s just the latest of a series of tough reports issued by Casey during a career tackling deep-rooted...