The New Elizabethans

The New Elizabethans: Robert Edwards. 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.

Scientist Robert Edwards who won the Nobel Prize in 2010, was the pioneer of In Vitro Fertilisation alongside his colleague Dr Patrick Steptoe. The pair came to world wide fame in July 1978, after the birth of Louise Brown, who would always be known - memorably, though inaccurately - as the first test tube baby. Today, around the world, the number of people who would never have been born without the IVF treatment developed by Edwards and Steptoe is around 5 million.

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: Sukey Firth.

The New Elizabethans: Germaine Greer. 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 considers the provocative Australian born feminist and academic who is credited with making feminism appealing and accessible for a large audience of both men and women. She has said 'The more people we annoy, the more we know we're doing it right.'

With the publication of 'The Female Eunuch' in 1970 (which has never been out of print since) Greer won international fame and set out to transform women's lives. But in 1999 she examined the lack of progress that had occurred in society since that earlier publication and wrote 'The time has come to get angry again.'

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: George Best.

James Naughtie considers the life and achievements of the footballer from Northern Ireland, whose exceptional talent was harnessed by Manchester United in the 1960's, where he rose rapidly to the top of the game.

Success gave him the whole world at his feet, and while he is admired as one of the greatest ever footballers, Best came to represent a playboy figure and was arguably better known for performances off the pitch - his love life and lavish alcohol fuelled lifestyle - than on it.

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: Basil d'Oliveira. 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 remembers the South African cricketer who became a British citizen. The D'Oliveira affair was a landmark in the South African story. Peter Hain, a young South African still in his twenties who was then leading protests against apartheid, said afterwards that Nelson Mandela - in prison on Robben Island at the time - told him later that the episode (South Africa's refusal to welcome an English Test cricket team that included a non-white player) was "decisive" in the fight against apartheid.

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: Sukey Firth.

The New Elizabethans: Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement who revolutionised palliative care and helped people to die with dignity, free from fear and pain.

Cicely Saunders was inspired to build St Christopher's Hospice in south London by two Polish patients with whom she developed very close friendships. She raised the money through charitable donations and the doors opened in 1967. By the time of her death at St Christopher's in 2005, there was a network of modern hospices across the world and 50,000 health professionals had been trained in end of life care by St Christopher's, reaching over 120 countries.

Her thesis was simple. "You matter because you are you, and you matter until the last moment of your life. We will do all we can to help you, not only to die peacefully, but to live until you die."

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."

No political figure in our time has risen to such heights of fame and influence on such a brief, fragmentary career in office as Enoch Powell. For more than half his Parliamentary career he was defined in the minds of many people by one speech about immigration made at a Birmingham hotel in 1968. He was sacked the next day by the Conservative party leader, Edward Heath and spent the rest of his political career on the back benches of the Conservative party, then later with the Ulster Unionists.

Asked as he was about to turn 80 how he would like to be remembered, he replied "I should like to have been killed in the war".

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; Sarah Taylor.

The New Elizabethans: Terence Conran. 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.

Terence Conran has changed the way Britain looks and introduced the concept of good taste and design to the living room in post war Britain. Still working at 80, his career spans a revolution in the restaurant world, the founding of the Design Museum, his home retail and style makeover with the Habitat and Conran stores together with his many books on food and lifestyle.

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: Sarah Taylor.

The New Elizabethans: 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.

Today James Naughtie considers Peter Hall, colossus of 20th Century English theatre, who was responsible for the development, success and longevity of both the RSC and The National Theatre.

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: Sukey Firth.

The New Elizabethans: Margot Fonteyn.

James Naughtie considers the life and legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn, widely considered to be one of the greatest classical dancers of the 20th century. She spent her whole career with the Royal Ballet and was appointed prima ballerina absoluta by The Queen.

Her greatest artistic work was with the Russian star Rudolf Nureyev. Beginning in the 1960's when she was 42, he 24 - they formed an on and off stage partnership that lasted until her retirement in 1979. They debuted Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, and Frederick Ashton choreographed Margeurite and Armand for them, a role which wasn't performed by any other artists until the 21st century.

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.

James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were two young men from Liverpool whose dazzling talent created first a band, then a cultural phenomenon and finally became a short hand for vast social change.

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.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.

*** Broadcast on 4 Extra to mark the 60th anniversary of the Beatles first universal chart number 1, From Me To You, in May 1963.