Profile

Mark Coles profiles Noah. As a new Hollywood movie opens starring Russell Crowe, and as part of a celebration of characters on BBC Radio 4, Mark Coles explores the many sides of a figure we keep returning to.

Edward Stourton profiles Matteo Renzi, the new Italian prime minister. He asks if this former boy scout - nicknamed 'demolition man' for his desire to smash the political establishment - can turn around Italy's fortunes. At 39, he is Italy's youngest-ever PM. He wears jeans and a leather jacket and models himself on Tony Blair. Can he live up to his promises?

Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Ahead of the budget Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Rupert Harrison. He's the top economic adviser to George Osborne, and the man some call the 'real Chancellor' and 'the most important man you've never heard of'. Those who know him well and have seen his influence grow describe his career and characteristics.

Producer: Chris Bowlby

Russian president Vladimir Putin's motives and aims are at the heart of the Ukraine crisis.

In this week's Profile, Mary Ann Sieghart speaks to those who've watched him closely to explore how his life has shaped his view of the world, and Russia's place in it.

We hear about his life as KGB agent, his volatile temper, and the role religion now plays in his life and politics.

Producer: Chris Bowlby

Janet Yellen is President Obama's choice to replace Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve when his term ends later this month, making her the most powerful central banker in the world and, arguably, the most powerful woman in the world. But who is she? Mary Ann Sieghart finds out - discovering, among other things, how Janet Yellen reacted when an earthquake shook her office.

Producer: David Edmonds.

After playing Baltimore drug boss Stringer Bell in The Wire, and Detective John Luther on British television, Idris Elba is now appearing in a very different role - Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom. Chris Bowlby profiles the British actor who some think will one day be the first black James Bond.

Producer: Smita Patel.

As the drama of street protests in Ukraine continues, Mark Coles profiles 'Dr Ironfist', the world boxing champion turned opposition political leader Vitali Klitschko. He's the son of a Soviet air force officer, one of two top boxers with a PhD (the other is his brother Vladimir) and he's nice to his mum. But can he make it in the murky world of Ukrainian politics?

Producers: Chris Bowlby, Laura Gray.

Edward Stourton profiles the Michelle Bachelet, the favourite in this weekend's presidential election in Chile. If Bachelet wins as expected, then it will be her second term as president of a country which elected her to office in 2006. Bachelet took 47 per cent of the vote, almost twice as much as her rival, in the first round but it was not enough to secure an outright victory.

Bachelet's family were victims of the coup in Chile under General Pinochet in 1973. Her father, an Air Force general who refused to go along with the actions of his brother officers, died after being tortured. The regime also tortured Bachelet herself - and her mother - before allowing them to go into exile, first to Australia and then to East Germany, where they joined many of their compatriots.

Profile talks to a fellow Chilean exile who knew Bachelet when she was a student in the GDR, the speechwriter who helped her to victory seven years ago and a British diplomat who helped to sell Chile some second hand frigates and was impressed by Bachelet's plain-dealing.

Producer: Mark Savage.

He was one of the poster boys for London 2012 - a contributor to Team GB's medal haul, admired for his perfect mid-flight somersaults and skimpy swimwear.

British Olympic diver Tom Daley has lived his life in the public eye since first attracting attention aged ten, when he became Britain's youngest diver to win the national championships.

Tom Daley is in the media spotlight more than ever this week after announcing on YouTube that he is dating a man, provoking much discussion not only of the announcement but of the public's reaction to it. Mark Coles tells his story.

Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.

With the SNP announcing its plans for an independent Scotland this week, Lesley Curwen profiles Nicola Sturgeon - a figure who may be key to the party's chances of success.

She's deputy to Alex Salmond but is central to the party's campaign, and she's playing a major but perhaps under-reported role in negotiating with London too.

How did she achieve such a rapid rise to political prominence? And why is she so obsessed with the TV drama Borgen?

Presenter: Lesley Curwen