Profile

Nearly 30 years ago, Jamie Oliver hit British TV screens with The Naked Chef, beginning a career arc that has seen him become a bestselling author and social campaigner.

He started helping out in his parents' pub aged just eight, and struggled at school, but after making the move into cookery he flourished, first in top kitchens and then behind the camera.

Cultural ubiquity and campaigning documentaries followed, though his business fortunes took a significant hit after his Jamie's Italian chain collapsed in 2019. Seven years later, he's betting that he's learnt from his mistakes, as he relaunchs the chain. At the same time his campaigning over school food standards has started to bear fruit again.

Stephen Smith speaks to those who know Jamie Oliver best.

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Presenter: Stephen Smith

Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour MP and the influential head of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, is in the hot seat as the committee

Born in Guildford in 1960 her mother was a teacher and her father an academic who would go on to be a UN Assistant Secretary General. When Emily was seven her father walked out on the family leaving her mother with no income and three children to look after. They were made homeless and moved to a council estate.

After A Levels she studied law and qualified as a barrister in the mid 80s and spent 20 years as a human rights barrister at the chambers of Michael Mansfield KC.

She was first elected as a Labour MP in 2005. She has since been re-elected 5 times and held a number of Shadow Cabinet positions including Defence, Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Attorney General. But when Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister to many people’s surprise there was no ministerial job for Emily.

Now, as chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, she has the power to scrutinise government decisions and appointments; a role that has seen her grilling members of her own party in recent weeks.

Mark Coles looks back on her life.

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Presenter: Mark Coles

Kristalina Georgieva is not like previous heads of the International Monetary Fund. She grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria, which was then part of the Soviet bloc.

Producer: Nathan Gower

McFly front man and children's author Tom Fletcher has returned to his first love - musical theatre - penning the songs for Paddington the Musical which has just got its sticky paws on seven prestigious Olivier Awards.

Born in Harrow north west London, Fletcher took inspiration from a family love of musical theatre and it wasn't long before he was treading the boards, performing the role of Oliver in the West End at the age of 10.

He went on to the prestigious Sylvia Young theatre school where he also met his future wife Giovanna. In his late teens he auditioned to join the band Busted where he was briefly accepted before being told his services were no longer needed. But so impressed were the record label with his musical ability they decided to create another band and McFly was born.

He's also sold millions of books, many of which he co-wrote with bandmate Dougie Poynter.

Mark Coles looks back at Tom's life and career so far.

Producers: Ben Carter and Tom Gillett

Viktor Orbán has been a powerful force in Hungarian politics for nearly 40 years, spending 20 of them as Prime Minister. This weekend he’s trying to win a sixth term in the top job, as voters go to the polls in parliamentary elections.

The story of his political career is entwined with the story of Hungarian democracy; at the end of the Cold War, a young Orbán emerged as both canny operator and gifted orator in the anti-Communist youth movement, Fidesz, steering it through splits and ideological shifts into government, first between 1998 and 2002, and then again from 2010 to today.

As a pursuer of self-described ‘illiberal democracy’ who casts the EU as his constant adversary, Orbán has become an icon for the global hard right and, to his critics, a borderline autocrat and populist.

Presenter Stephen Smith speaks to those who know him well to understand the personal side of this very political beast.

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Presenter: Stephen Smith

From over-worked medics to bent coppers, for the last 30 years Jed Mercurio has been responsible for some of the UK’s most successful TV series, including Cardiac Arrest, Bodies and Bodyguard. But Line of Duty is arguably his biggest hit, and recording has started for the much-anticipated seventh series.

The award-winning screenwriter, director and producer grew up in a working-class family in Staffordshire. His parents, Italian immigrants, were keen he fit in, but friends say Jed was unique from the get-go with big dreams and a determination to be the best.

He initially trained to be a doctor and demonstrated his sharp, witty writing in a medical school magazine. Half-way through his medical training, he joined the RAF and was taught to fly fighter jets, before pivoting to screenwriting.

Mark Coles looks back at his career so far.

Producer: Ben Carter

Dame Sarah Mullally has been installed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury this week. The former nurse from Woking is the first woman to occupy the role of de facto leader of the Church of England and leader of the global Anglican communion.

In contrast to her Eton and Oxford educated predecessor Justin Welby, Sarah Mullally attended her local comprehensive before studying nursing at South Bank Polytechnic. By the age of thirty seven she was appointed Chief nursing officer for the NHS, a meteoric rise that brought with it a six-figure Whitehall salary and meetings with the prime minister. But five years later she threw it in to become a junior priest earning less than twenty thousand pounds a year.

Her supporters see her as a safe pair of hands, a leader who will steady the ship after years of abuse scandals and bitter rows over sexuality and identity. But following her appointment some of the more conservative and evangelical Anglicans have said they will no longer recognise the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

So who is the new Archbishop and what will her tenure hold? Becky Milligan finds out.

Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949, the year after the State of Israel was founded. One of three brothers, Netanyahu spent much of his early years in the United States pursuing his education.

But following his older brother’s death, Netanyahu found himself drawn into a career in the public eye. Using his military experience to advise on security matters, in 1984 Netanyahu became Israel’s Ambassador to the UN and established himself as a champion of Israel on the international stage. But soon, his attention was drawn closer to home.

He returned to Israel and entered the world of politics; in 1993, he became the leader of the Likud party, and was elected prime minister in 1996, a position he's held for much of the following decades.

During his time in power Netanyahu has tried to portray himself as Israel’s protector. However, in recent years, allegations of corruption and lapses in national security have damaged his reputation and polarised Israelis' views about him. His handling of the conflict in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7th attacks has drawn criticism at home and abroad.

Now, Netanyahu has joined forces with the US president Donald Trump to conduct what they termed as ‘major combat operations’ against Iran. But will this war restore Netanyahu’s reputation as ‘Mr Security’, or draw Israel into another intractable conflict?

Mark Coles profiles the longest-serving Israeli prime minister.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Former Labour leader, Ed Miliband, is now Secretary of State for Energy. A role more important than ever with surging energy costs due to the conflict in Iran.

The Miliband brothers battled for the leadership in a historic contest that played out in front of the nation. Ed pipped David at the post, becoming leader of the Labour party in 2010.

After losing the general election to David Cameron in 2015, Ed Miliband stepped away from front line politics. But after coming back into the political spotlight when Keir Starmer appointed him Energy Secretary in 2024, does he have his eye on leadership again?

She’s already won a Bafta for her portrayal of a hoodoo healer in the Southern gothic, Sinners. But can British actress Wunmi Mosaku win an Oscar too? Mosaku says her role has helped her connect with her ancestry and find parts of herself she thought she had lost.

Born in Nigeria in 1986, Wunmi moved to Manchester as a very young child, growing up in Hulme and Chorlton with her parents and two sisters. Her first taste of performing came aged seven when she joined Manchester Girls Choir which she remained a member of until she was eighteen.

But it wasn’t just singing where she excelled. Her sixth form drama teachers spotted her talent and she successfully auditioned for RADA. A decade after graduation she won her first Bafta for her portrayal of the mother of the murdered London schoolboy Damilola Taylor. American directors must have been watching as she began spending more time working stateside. She was cast in sci-fi series Lovecraft Country followed by a trip to Baltimore for a role in We Own This City. Then director Ryan Coogler got in touch and now she’s tipped for an Oscar.

Stephen Smith charts the rise and rise of Wunmi Mosaku.