Profile

Lucy Ash profiles the Russian lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who this week topped a ballot to elect leaders of the opposition to President Putin.

As the new James Bond film "Skyfall" opens next week, Mary Ann Sieghart profiles its director Sam Mendes, a man who wanted to play cricket for England but went on to become a theatre supremo before winning critical acclaim in Hollywood.

Born in Reading and brought up by a single mother, Sam Mendes was educated at Magdalen College School in Oxford, where he demonstrated a competitive streak as captain on the cricket pitch, and Cambridge University where he won critical acclaim for a production of "Cyrano de Bergerac". At just twenty four, he directed Judi Dench in Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" and as she tells Profile " one day when we were rehearsing, I said Sam, I would like to try this another way, can I show you? And he said to me, well you can but it won't work and so during the filming of Skyfall, he asked me to do something and so, I thought I'd complete the circle and I said, well I'll do it but it won't work and he roared with laughter. So we have closed the circle on it."

Later he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where he forged a life long collaboration with actor Simon Russell Beale. He remembers how Sam would bring humour into the rehearsal room. "We had a fart machine in Twelfth Night. I cannot tell you what pleasure it gave him. It was only used once in the play. Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek were sitting on the sofa having a talk after a night on the town and they had a sort of farting competition. I would be in the middle of some very complicated Malvolio bit, something emotionally precise and then this fart would go off. And he loved all that. That was absolutely Sam the schoolboy."

But it was as artistic director to the Donmar Theatre in London that Mendes made his mark, winning five Olivier Awards. Moving into Hollywood, he sealed his success with five Oscars for his first film "American Beauty" starring Kevin Spacey. And now, Mendes has chosen to direct a British classic, a James Bond film "Skyfall".

Claire Bolderson profiles US Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

Chris Bowlby profiles the South Korean pop star Psy, sudden global star whose Gangnam Style has topped the UK singles charts, and whose video is the most popular video ever on Youtube. How has a Korean star swept the world, what lies behind his success, and why is he now selling fridges? And how has the world's most closed society, North Korea, responded to the global Gangnam craze?

Producer: Smita Patel.

Edward Stourton profiles Justin Welby, former oil executive and now Bishop of Durham, emerging as one of the most striking candidates for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a priest after a long business career, and has chaired an NHS trust along the way. When he was Dean of Liverpool he allowed bellringers to play John Lennon's 'Imagine' from the cathedral bells. He has visited Africa regularly, and played a key role in attempts to resolve disputes between parts of the Anglican Communion. So how has someone who has been a bishop for less than a year become a candidate for the top Anglican job? Those who know him, and have followed his career from inside and outside the Church, offer their insights.

Producers:Smita Patel and Chris Bowlby.

It is Andy Murray's year: he missed out in the men's singles at Wimbledon but made up for it by winning an Olympic Gold by defeating Roger Federer in straight sets in the men's singles. Now the Scotsman has won his first grand slam in the US Open against Novak Djokovic.

It has taken Murray grit and determination to get where he is. He has struggled with a fiery temper and his own demons as well as a problem with his knee which forced him to stop playing tennis for at least six months.

He has also faced difficulties in his personal life. When he was eight, he attended Dunblane Primary School where lone gunman Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and their teacher. His parents separated when he was around ten and his promise as a young tennis player took him to a tennis academy in Spain far away from home.

Producers: Mark Savage and Arlene Gregorius.

Edward Stourton profiles Pete Cashmore, one of the world's most popular bloggers and tweeters, who founded the successful social media news website Mashable.

He started it as a teenager in his bedroom in Scotland seven years ago and hired his first writer two years later. His company is now based in the US and employs 80 staff. His website attract millions of readers, and three million follow him on Twitter. The 27 year old has been described as "the Brad Pitt of the blogosphere".

Cashmore is also one of the founders of the Social Good Summit, which takes place in New York this weekend to coincide with UN Week. The conference aims to connect people from all over the globe via social media.

So will Pete Cashmore become a billionaire web entrepreneur and philanthropist? And what does he mean when he says he has been a "lifelong fan of unicorns"?

Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Hannah Barnes.

The new Conservative party co-chairman Grant Shapps is a man with a colourful past. The former grammar schoolboy is a pilot, rapper and successful businessman - but he's also battled cancer and survived a near fatal car crash. Geeta Guru-Murthy profiles the pugnacious and sometimes controversial politician tasked with bringing home the Tory vote.

Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Claire Bolderson profiles Frances O'Grady, soon to become the first woman to lead the Trades Union Congress. She hears from colleagues and close observers of the trade union scene about how she has risen so far, how she has dealt with the macho traditions of union leadership, and what kind of challenge she may mount to the government as austerity bites.

Producers: Chris Bowlby and Anna Meisel.

If nine-times gold medal winner Lee Pearson adds a further three golds to his collection at the London 2012 Paralympics, he could surpass the modern era record haul of 11.

Dressage champion Pearson was born with a condition called arthrogryposis which twisted his limbs.

He won a Children of Courage medal in 1980 aged six, with Margaret Thatcher insisting on carrying him up the stairs of number 10.

An outspoken character on various issues, including the levels of funding in disabled sport and the recognition that goes with it, Pearson has a 100% record in his field, having won gold in every event at every Games he has ever competed in.

So what drives him? And how will he cope with the pressure knowing that if he continues his winning streak in London in the coming weeks, he will be one of the most successful Paralympians in history?

Presenter: Gerry Northam