Profile

Mark Coles profiles Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a key figure in the Syria crisis. Has this chain-smoking, vodka-loving diplomat managed to restore Russian power?

Those who've dealt with him tell us just why he's such a formidable opponent, and how he survived the collapse of the Soviet Union to put Russian diplomacy back at the centre of world affairs.

Producers: Chris Bowlby and Smita Patel.

Chris Bowlby profiles German Chancellor Angela Merkel - always underestimated, physicist and ruthless politician, the woman at the centre of the eurozone crisis. What has shaped a figure who grew up under East German communism, came to dominate united German politics and proclaims her love of football and opera? And as her friendship with David Cameron deepens, might she be key to Britain's EU future?

Producer: Chris Bowlby

Mark Coles explores the life of US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who is taking a global leadership role over Syria.

As President Obama said when he nominated him for Secretary of State, "Kerry's entire life prepared him for this role."

One of his childhood friends tells us that Secretary Kerry has kept the same principles he held as a young man at Yale. But others see him as a man of contradictions: a Vietnam veteran who lead the anti-war movement, then voted for war in Iraq.

What are his guiding principles and motivations? Is he ready to handle the unfolding crisis in Syria?

Producer: Helena Merriman.

Edward Stourton profiles the Commander of Egypt's Armed Forces, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, now the most powerful man in Egypt.

But he was instrumental in Morsi's downfall in July and oversaw the subsequent violent suppression of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

His former teacher from the US Army War College is among those who tell us more about this elusive former military intelligence chief.

Producer: Helena Merriman.

Jane Deith profiles Mo Farah.

This week he became the first British man - and only second man ever - to hold the Olympic and World 10,000m and 5,000m titles.

He was born in Somalia and moved to Britain as a young boy, where his athletic journey began. But it was an unusual one for such a successful athlete - he needed cajoling, ran the wrong way in cross-country races and enjoyed playing to the crowd.

Mo Farah was born to run. But he wasn't destined to win.

Producer: Helena Merriman.

Chris Bowlby profiles the new governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who unveiled his economic strategy this week.

Heralded as 'the outstanding central banker of his generation' by George Osborne, Mr Carney now faces the task of guiding the UK's economy towards full recovery. Since arriving in London he has caused a stir by arriving to work on his first day by tube and unveiling Jane Austen as the face on the new £10 notes.

He has come a long way from his roots in the remoteness of Canada's Northern Territories, a journey which included time at Harvard and Oxford Universities and a successful career at Goldman Sachs.

Producer: Lucy Proctor.

Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female film director.

Haifaa Al-Mansour directed the recently-released Wadjda, the first film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. The film follows the dreams of an 11-year-old girl who is desperate to own a bike, and was partly inspired by Al-Mansour's early years, growing up in a small town near Riyadh.

After working for an oil company, Haifaa al-Mansour decided to become a film-maker, using some of her 11 willing siblings to help her with her first short films. Her very first short film, 'Who', was about a serial killer disguised as a woman in a burka.

She says she doesn't think women can change things in Saudi Arabia if they are "aggressive", but it's better to "have a career and pursue a dream."

Producer: Helena Merriman.

Helen Grady profiles Professor Sir Andre Geim who is one of the most unusual scientists working in Britain - perhaps the world - today.

This week he was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal, believed to be the world's oldest science prize, for his ground-breaking experiments using graphene - thought by many to be the miracle material of the 21st century.

He is also a winner of both the Ig Nobel Prize for improbable research and the real Nobel Prize in Physics.

"What we should be doing with is Andre," one former boss tells us, "is just give him money to go and play, because by going and playing he's much more likely to come up with something revolutionary".

Producer: Mark Savage.

Edward Stourton profiles Samantha Cameron. There's been debate this week about the degree to which her views influence government policy. But what do we actually know about the Prime Minister's wife?

The daughter of a baronet with a family estate in Lincolnshire, Samantha Cameron was born Samantha Sheffield. She grew up in Oxfordshire but moved to Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she took her A' Levels before studying Art at Camberwell College and Bristol Polytechnic.

She met David Cameron through his sister - a close schoolfriend - and they married the same year that she started her career at the British luxury accessories brand, Smythson. She has been credited with reinventing the brand by introducing a popular line of handbags.

Three years into her role as Prime Minister's wife, how is she handling life in Number 10?

With the Ashes underway, Mark Coles profiles the England cricket captain Alastair Cook. Born on Christmas Day in 1984, Cook's first career was as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral. A talented musician, he also studied the clarinet and the saxophone but cricket soon took over and he made his England Test debut at 21, scoring a century. He's hit more Test centuries for England than any other player but shuns celebrity and spends his spare time sheep farming.