Profile

The young, black cellist from Nottingham making chart history.Sheku Kanneh-Mason was the first ever black winner of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year. He performed with the eyes of the world looking on at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. And now he's become the first ever cellist to reach the UK’s top 10 album chart. Who is the 20-year-old making classical accessible? Mark Coles finds out from those who know him best.Producers: Simon Maybin & Diane Richardson Editor: Penny Murphy

The judge taking up the presidency of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom as tensions with the government simmer.British judges have been under attack like never before in recent years, described as “enemies of the people” by one newspaper. The Supreme Court was accused by Downing Street of making “a serious mistake” in its ruling on the prorogation of Parliament. The Conservative Party’s election manifesto promised ominously to look at “the relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts”. The role of the country’s most senior judge has arguably never been more important. So who is Lord Reed? Mark Coles investigates.Producers: Simon Maybin & Diane Richardson

The Australian prime minister feeling the heat over his response to his country’s bushfire crisis.Pilloried for holidaying in Hawaii while his homeland burned, then heckled on camera by angry victims, Scott Morrison has been making international headlines for all the wrong reasons. It’s not been good PR for someone with a background in marketing and tourism. Mark Coles unpicks the character of Australia’s man of the moment.Producers: Simon Maybin & Diane Richardson Editor: Hugh Levinson

Becky Milligan looks at the life of Dina Asher-Smith, the fastest woman in British history. An athlete who's also a keen historian, role model and lover of the glitz. For years she's been winning championships and breaking records. But will the great British hope win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?Producer: Smita Patel

On ‘Profile’ this week - one of Britain’s most celebrated storytellers. Michael Morpurgo has written 180 books over the past half century.Over Christmas, he narrated a new BBC TV film adaptation of his 2014 children’s story ‘Mimi And The Mountain Dragon’. Morpurgo is best known for ‘War Horse’ - a book about a horse bought by the British army to serve in the First World War and its young owner’s attempts to bring it home to safety. Turned into a National Theatre play, then a Hollywood movie – it’s made him a household name. Mark Coles hears from Morpurgo’s wife, brother, biographer and close friends talk about what inspired his writing - the profound impact war had on him as a child and the father he didn’t know for years. We hear about his time in the army, the charity he set up to give city children experience of the countryside – and why now in his mid 70s, he’s taken up his love of singing again. Producer Smita Patel Editor Penny MurphyThe programme contains music from the BBC TV Film, "Mimi & the

Leopards, aliens and Songs of Praise. Mark Coles explores the life of actor John Boyega, whose talent and dedication brought him to the attention of Hollywood.Producers: Linda Pressly and Di Richardson

Pink trams, flying squirrels and a taste for rock music. Mark Coles finds out about the life and character of Finland's new Prime Minister, Sanna Marin. The first to graduate in her family, Sanna Marin entered politics at the age of 20 and rose quickly through the ranks of the Social Democratic (SDP) party becoming an MP in 2015. She now leads a five-party governing coalition.Mark Coles asks colleagues and friends what drives the world's youngest Prime Minister.

We’re profiling the relatively little known RMT union leader Mick Cash this week.Train guards have begun what they say will be 27 days of strike action across the entire South Western Railway region in December.More than 600,000 journeys a day are being affected. The aim, says 59 year old Mick Cash, is to prevent SWR introducing new driver-only controlled trains next year. Mark Coles tries to find out more about the man.

In the headlines this week was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis. Just weeks before the general election he made it clear that he believed Jeremy Corbyn was unfit to become PM because of his record on dealing with anti-Semitism within the Labour party - though Mr Corbyn said the party had taken "rapid and effective" action.Edward Stourton traces the Chief Rabbi's story, which begins with a childhood in apartheid South Africa. His tenure as Chief Rabbi has been marked by a few liberalising initiatives, which have ruffled feathers and caused some disquiet within the wider Jewish community. But observers might wonder if the initiatives have gone far enough. He is used to controversy within his own community, but unused to being in the wider public's gaze. So what persuaded Ephraim Mirvis to enter the political fray and what does his intervention tell us about the man?Producer: Rosamund Jones

The American rapper and singer nominated for eight Grammy Awards - more than any other artist this year. A global chart-topping success, Lizzo has captivated audiences across the world this year from the Glastonbury festival to America’s Video and Music Awards. A classically trained flautist, her flute even has 250,000 Instagram followers. But she isn’t just celebrated for her music, she’s known for inspiring self-love and acceptance too, earning her icon status in the body positivity movement. Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Phoebe Keane and May Cameron

Did Donald Trump ‘bribe’ a foreign power – Ukraine - to try to discredit a political rival ahead of next year’s US Presidential race ?On Profile this week, we’re looking at Adam Schiff - the man tasked with finding out. A leading Democrat Congressman and former lawyer, Schiff chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is leading the impeachment investigation. President Trump calls him biased…a “pencil neck, low life” who’s conducting a “hoax witch-hunt”.Mark Coles talks to Schiff’s close friends, critics and former colleagues to find out what he’s really like…and why – before getting into politics - he wanted to be a Hollywood movie writer. Producer: Smita Patel Researcher: May Cameron

Mark Coles profiles the new Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, meeting - among others - his pet parrot, Boris.

Becky Milligan explores how a teacher from the Sydney suburbs came to lead England into the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Producer Smita Patel Researcher May Cameron.

We explore the life and career of British artist Bridget Riley as a new retrospective of her work opens at London's Hayward Gallery. She found fame in the sixties with a series of challenging black and white abstract works. Now in her eighties, she's still producing new work - perhaps even her best, according to some critics. Producer: Smita Patel Researcher: May Cameron

Bernardine Evaristo is the first black British woman to win the Booker Prize. Her novel Girl, Woman, Other shared the 2019 award with Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments. Mark Coles has been finding out about Evaristo's life as an activist, actor and writer.Producer: Smita Patel Researcher: May Cameron

The president of Turkey has controversially sent troops into northern Syria. The decision has been widely condemned by foreign leaders and at home there are signs that his popularity could be fading. But how did Recep Tayyip Erdogan rise to power? How did the son of a sea captain end up in a palace of a thousand rooms?

This week's Profile is the tale of two Rudys: a divisive figure fighting for his - and Donald Trump’s - political life. And a man who united his nation in its darkest hours. Presenter: Becky Milligan Producer: Neal Razzell

Baroness Hale, President of the Supreme Court, was wearing a giant spider brooch as she delivered this week’s bombshell ruling that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament was unlawful. "Spiderwoman takes down the Hulk" was the headline in one newspaper. Mark Coles looks at the life of the first woman to lead the UK's highest court.Producers: Smita Patel and Jordan Dundar Researcher: Darin Graham

The former Wales and British Lions captain, Gareth Thomas, has been headline news this week after announcing he’s living with HIV. In Wales, Thomas is a legend. In 2005, he led the national team to its first Six Nations grand slam title for 27 years…became the first Welsh player to be capped 100 times for his country. Mark Coles talks his friends and former colleagues. We hear about his early days as a postman, his success on the field and how he became one of the first sporting superstars to come out as gay. Producer Smita Patel Researcher Darin Graham Editor Penny Murphy

The life story of Commons Speaker John Bercow. He has announced he will stand down at the end of October after ten highly controversial years in the job. In turbulent political times, he’s proved to be a polarizing figure. For some, he is the backbencher’s champion - the most modernising Speaker in parliament’s history. Others accuse him of bias, and deliberately trying to stop Brexit. Mark Coles talks to friends, colleagues and critics of Speaker Bercow - hearing about his long political journey which started on the far right - and how he wooed his now wife with feats of rhetoric. And with his thunderous shouts of ‘Order Order’ now mimicked and memed around the world, we hear how for some, he has become an unlikely social media superstar.Producer Smita Patel Researcher Darin Graham