Profile

Since Matteo Salvini was sworn in as Italy's Interior Minister, his controversial stance on immigration, Roma people and the European Union has made the headlines.

The press have dubbed him the European Donald Trump and commentators say he could pose a threat to the existence of the European Union as we know it.

This week he was in the news again, for refusing to allow another migrant rescue ship to dock in Italy and for his radical proposals to crack down on migration.

But his perfect day would be a much quieter one, in the Italian mountains with his TV host partner and a fishing rod in hand.

Presenter: Helen Grady

Labelled 'the rebel who forgot to rebel', who is Dominic Grieve? Some political commentators thought the Conservative MP, and former Attorney General, could inflict a significant parliamentary defeat on the government. He wanted the Commons to have more of a say over the final outcome of Brexit negotiations. But he called off his own rebellion on Wednesday.

Grieve was called the modern day grand old Duke of York - accused of marching the troops to the top of the hill, only to march them down again.

His wife Caroline tells Mark Coles he has been misunderstood, and describes how he agonised over this week's vote. She also outlines some of the quirkier aspects of her husband's character.

Producer: Smita Patel and Clare Spencer

Footballer Gareth Southgate's career has been haunted by a decisive penalty he missed against Germany in the semi-final of Euro '96.

Even when he went on honeymoon to Bali a Buddhist monk reminded him of that miss.

Now he has a chance to make amends - this time as England manager at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

His path to the top job has not followed the conventional route, being sacked from his only other management role.

But commentators say he has the attributes of a great leader.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Characterised as both a benevolent philanthropist and as a meddling influence, George Soros has been present at some of the most defining moments in modern history.

Soros was born into a Hungarian Jewish family, and later took on a false identity to survive the Nazi occupation in 1944. It was an experience that shaped his life and his outlook and he went on to escape to the West via his knowledge of the international language Esperanto.

Beginning his career as a tobacco salesman, Soros went on to fund one of the most successful hedge funds in US history. Known for his high risk and brazen approach, he is infamous for his involvement in the devaluation of the British pound, known as Black Wednesday.

But his career as a financial investor was not limited to the markets - he went on to use his money to promote non-violent democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. More recently he has proved a controversial figure, providing funding for the pro-Remain campaign in the UK Brexit debate and is now the subject of vilification by the leaders of his native Hungary.

Presenter: Ed Stourton

Producer: Clare Spencer and Serena Tarling.

The leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald has been a face of the campaign to scrap a ban on abortions.

In a referendum, voters in the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to overturn the abortion ban.

The campaign also increased the profile of Ms McDonald who took over as the leader of Sinn Féin in February.

Her personal story is very different from other leading Sinn Féin politicians.

Growing up in a middle class suburb of Dublin - a world away from the tough areas of Northern Ireland most Sinn Féin leaders knew during the years of the Troubles - insiders asked whether her untypical background would work for or against her.

Presenter: Ed Stourton

Few Italians had heard of Giuseppe Conte when they found out he would most probably become their new prime minister.

President Sergio Mattarella approved his nomination as prime minister after a deadlock which had seen Italy without a government for 11 weeks.

The surprise candidate is a law professor in Florence and has no political experience. Even people close to him said he had never mentioned politics.

In the first few days of new-found fame he was accused of embellishing his CV, which he denied.

But as PM he could now become a key player influencing the future of the European Union.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Producers: Estelle Doyle, Clare Spencer

Editor: Emma Rippon.

You may know him as Childish Gambino, the creator of viral video hit 'This is America' or as the Emmy award winning actor and director of comedy drama Atlanta.

Mark Coles profiles Donald Glover, the multi-talented American comedian, record producer, songwriter, rapper and DJ who is forcing the world to confront racism, violence and societies contradictions.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Donald Trump's choice for CIA director, Gina Haspel. Mark Coles profiles the controversial figure whose nomination has forced her out of the shadows to face difficult questions.

Gina Haspel describes herself as a typical middle-class American but the testimony of former colleagues reveals a skilled intelligence operative with an empirical mind, a taste for adventure and a talent for infiltrating terrorist cells.

At her confirmation hearing this week she was commended as an intelligence professional with unwavering honesty but was also grilled about the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques, the waterboarding of terrorist suspects at a CIA base she ran and the subsequent destruction of evidence. The interrogation issue could block her confirmation by the Senate.

Mark Coles talks to former colleagues and security experts about the agent who's spent 30 years trying not to be noticed but who now needs to convince US Senators that she's right for the top job.

Presenter: Mark Coles

Born in Rochdale to Pakistani parents, the new Home Secretary Sajid Javid had a modest start in life. His father worked as a bus driver before moving to Bristol to open a women's clothes shop - the family of seven squeezing into a two-bed flat above it.

Despite these humble beginnings, Javid quickly achieved success, wealth and power. After studying at Exeter University, where he gained a reputation as a committed Thatcherite, he became an investment banker and a multi-millionaire. Javid then moved into politics, becoming a Minister in just four years.

His journey to the top of British politics has not always been smooth - as Business Secretary he was criticised for appearing to be caught unawares by Tata Steel's plans to close its Port Talbot plant at the cost of thousands of jobs.

He now faces his biggest challenge yet as, in the wake of the Windrush controversy, he takes over a Home Office that has been accused of institutional racism.

Mark Coles speaks to friends, colleagues and opponents to find out more about this driven high-flyer.

Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Diane Richardson

Tottenham MP David Lammy has been leading the parliamentary charge for the Windrush generation as they fight for their residency rights. Mark Coles charts the life and career of one of parliament's most formidable campaigners.

Born in North London to Guyanese parents, Lammy grew up in Tottenham but moved to Peterborough aged 11 after winning a council scholarship to the city's cathedral boarding school. He went on to study law in London and at Harvard. Then, after a brief spell as a barrister, he became MP for his home borough of Tottenham at the age of just 27. His political career soon took off, with Tony Blair making him a minister in the New Labour government and Lammy was quickly hailed as 'the Black Blair' or 'Britain's Obama'. But not everything went smoothly for the junior minister.

Since Labour went into opposition, Lammy has spent his time on the back benches. There, he's found his political voice and passion as a defender of those he feels have been failed by the system - from the Grenfell fire victims, to working-class young people struggling to get into top universities, and now the Windrush immigrants. Alastair Campbell calls him "a good old-fashioned class warrior, in the best possible sense".

Mark Coles meets some of the people who know Lammy best - from childhood friends, former teachers and his beloved 'Aunty May' who firmly believes that, one day, her godson will be Britain's first black Prime Minister.

Presenter: Mark Coles.