The New Elizabethans

The New Elizabethans: David Attenborough Britain's well-known broadcaster and naturalist whose landmark Life series changed the way we watched TV and attracted record audiences. He received more public votes to be a New Elizabethan than anyone else.

Starting as a trainee producer at the BBC in 1952 making shows like 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral' and 'Zoo Quest' he became Controller of BBC 2 in 1965. There he shook up the schedule, commissioning programmes such as 'Man Alive', 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and 'Civilization'.

But despite being promoted to Director of Programmes for BBC 1 and 2 in 1969, Attenborough's heart lay in programme-making and he resigned from the BBC to present and write Life on Earth. This was the first in the Life series with unforgettable scenes such as Attenborough encountering Dian Fossey's mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Since then, Attenborough's films have pushed the boundaries of wildlife film-making and his hushed tones enthusing about the natural world have earned him the title "greatest living national treasure".

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: Clare Walker.

The New Elizabethans: Stuart Hall. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

Stuart Hall is a leading thinker on British culture, race and identity. Born and educated in in Jamaica, Hall won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and arrived in Britain in 1951, three years after the Empire Windrush carried the first generation of post-war West Indian immigrants to the UK. He went on to become a founding figure in cultural studies through his work at Birmingham University with Richard Hoggart. His writing and ideas have influenced politics and public debate across the Second Elizabethan Age.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: James Cook.

Jayaben Desai, defied stereotyping all her life. "A person like me, I am never scared of anybody," she told managers at the Grunwick film processing plant in Willesden, London shortly before she led a walkout in August 1976. Desai and her co workers were dubbed "strikers in saris" by the media but she went on to lead a campaign which eventually led to a respect for immigrant workers and a recognition of the very long hours and low wages they were prepared to tolerate.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

She's worked in a factory and was a primary school teacher for a while. But it's her career as a fashion designer which has brought her fame. She's been designing clothes and shoes which have seized the headlines since the late 70s.

Dame Vivenne Westwood has won British Designer of the year three times and has influenced young designers in the UK and around the world with her particular take on fashion: subversive, funny and quirky.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

Producer: Sukey Firth.

The New Elizabethans: Lord Jenkins of Hillhead. Jim Naughtie considers the politician, Roy Jenkins who left the Labour Party to set up the Social Democratic Party.

Roy Jenkins made the journey to Government from a school in south Wales, via Oxford University and a spell at Bletchley Park. He held high office in a Labour government but never made Prime Minister. He became the first British president of the European Commission and after disaffection with the direction the Labour party was taking, he was one of the co founders of the Social Democratic Party. In his political retirement he went on to write acclaimed political biographies of Gladstone and Churchill.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

The New Elizabethans: Jocelyn Bell Burnell the astrophysicist who discovered pulsars, the beams of radiation emitted by rapidly spinning neutron stars.

Bell Burnell was a PhD student trying to track quasars at the time of her discovery, but it was through analysing the data from the radio telescope she had helped to build at Cambridge University that she first noticed these signals.

When her results were published in the journal Nature in 1968 they caused an astronomical sensation. In 1974, her PhD supervisor, Prof Anthony Hewish received the Nobel Prize for Physics along with Dr Martin Ryle for their work on pulsars but she was not included. Many of her peers think she is one of the most notable omissions from the Nobel list, although she has claimed she was not upset by it.

She was the first woman president of the Institute of Physics and throughout her life she has promoted the cause of women in science.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: Clare Walker.

The New Elizabethans: Talaiasi Labalaba.

Britain's military history during the current Queen's reign has featured many interventions in Middle East politics - some successful, some disastrous - nearly all of them highly public and controversial. The Battle of Mirbat is a little-known secret. Fought in 1972, it was part of the British Army's clandestine involvement in Oman. Nine SAS troopers, plus support from a handful of Omani gunners, were pitted against hundreds of communist guerrillas. James Naughtie recounts how the bravery and self-sacrifice of one man, Talaiasi Labalaba, helped the British and Omanis to hold out and prevent a loss in one of the UK's most crucial secret conflicts. He assesses Britain's military international presence since 1952 through the exploits of this one soldier.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse.".

The New Elizabethans: David Bowie. James Naughtie considers the musical influence of the man who first came to public attention in 1969 with his song "Space Oddity", and then exploded onto the music scene in the early 70's with his glam rock, androgynous alter ego, Ziggy Stardust.

Bowie has proved the master of reinvention, breaking into the American market in the mid 70's with songs like "Fame" - described by Bowie as "plastic soul" -, a radical change in style and sound which confounded his UK fan base. He then reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with "Let's Dance" and throughout his career has continued to experiment with musical styles, including blue-eyed soul, industrial, adult contemporary, and jungle. He is widely considered to be the most unique innovator of popular culture of his era.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: Alison Hughes.

The New Elizabethans: Roald Dahl. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

James Naughtie explores the life Roald Dahl who put his huge success down to conspiring with children against adults in his stories and sharing a child's sense of humour. 'It takes an adult who can still think as a child' he said. 'Children are only half civilised. They are tougher, coarser and they laugh at things that make us squirm.'

For three decades, starting with 'James and the Giant Peach' in 1961, Dahl was producing stories for children fizzing with invented language, rude jokes and bad ends for bad adults. He was passionate about drawing in reluctant young readers. 'It's very worthwhile encouraging children to read,' he said. ' The most important thing I can teach them is not to be daunted by books.'

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings. They were asked to choose: 'Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and given the age its character, for better or worse.'

Producer: Kate Howells.

The New Elizabethans: Jack Jones. James Naughtie on the trade union leader who as general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union in the 1970's, exercised more power over government economic policy than any other trades union leader in British history.

Jones fought to maintain the power of the shop steward, and his resistance to sanctions on strike action led to the downfall of Harold Wilson's government in 1970. Jones was instrumental in the "Social Contract" between the Labour party and the unions, and successfully campaigned for higher pensions, better health and safety legislation and the establishment of the conciliation service ACAS. But Jones' refusal to deviate from union power led to the "Winter of Discontent" in 1977 and the inevitable public backlash which saw Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives sweep to power in 1979.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."