Profile

British Professor David Thouless won this year's Nobel Prize for contributions to the field of topology. Two other British physicists, Professor J. Michael Kosterlitz and Professor Duncan Haldane shared the award. Of course the physics is rather complicated, you don't win a Nobel prize for discovering something obvious, but put simply, David Thouless worked out a way of predicting how a material will behave using maths.In this programme, though, we'll focus on the man himself. Who is David Thouless and how did he spend his time when he wasn't thinking about equations? We'll hear about the treats he liked as a school boy during the war, about family holidays from his son, Michael Thouless, himself a Professor of Engineering and we'll also hear that things in the real world didn't often go as smoothly as planned...Audio from the Hubbard Theory Consortium 50th Anniversary Lecture used, with thanks.Producer Smita Patel & Researcher Phoebe Keane.

When Theresa May became Prime Minister she appointed Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy as her joint Chiefs of Staff. It's a role first imported from the US by Tony Blair, when he brought in Jonathan Powell to help oversee the day-to-day running of government. The position puts Timothy and Hill at the heart of decision-making inside Number 10. So who are they? And how much influence do they really have? Mark Coles reports.Producer: Ben Crighton.

Emma Walmsley will be one of just seven female bosses in the country's top 100 companies when she takes the helm of GSK next year. The pharmaceutical giant is worth £80bn, making it the most valuable company with a woman CEO. But how did Emma Walmsley get to where she is today? Mark Coles looks back over her school days and her rise up the corporate career ladder at L'Oreal. We hear from her father, retired vice admiral Sir Robert Walmsley, her school friend and her business associate Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of advertising firm WPP. Who is Emma Walmsley and what impact will she have on one of Britain's biggest companies?

The new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is in the news this week because he's threatening to send home some of America's troops and "re-orientate" his country's foreign policy away from its traditional ally, America. And last week he was reported to have called President Obama a "son of a whore". Not surprisingly, perhaps, he has caught the attention of the world's media. But human rights organisations have been paying close attention to Mr Duterte for other reasons: he is alleged to have been complicit in the killing of drug dealers and criminals by vigilante ‘death squads’. Presenter: Edward Stourton Producer: Phoebe Keane and Micaela Papa

Elon Musk is the billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, and the co-founder of Paypal. He plans to colonise Mars. Last week that dream might have been scuppered as his SpaceX rocket exploded on the Launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the first time a rocket has exploded at launch since 1960. It was carrying a satellite Facebook wanted to use to provide internet access to Africa. While investigations continue into what caused last week's explosion, this week Mark Coles explores the life of the man who also wants to make the travel time from London to Manchester 18 minutes and to counter global warming. Producers: Charlotte Pritchard and Phoebe Keane.

Amber Rudd has risen rapidly through British politics, becoming Home Secretary only six years after being elected an MP in 2010. It's a rise unmatched by any other politician since World War Two. Becky Milligan profiles the woman who has made this leap and stepped into Theresa May's shoes. In an exclusive interview for Profile her sister, Melissa Dunford Wood talks candidly about their childhood, parents and friends, and how her sister was "on the floor" after the unexpected and painful divorce from her ex husband AA Gill.

Last October Seumas Milne, a Winchester- and Oxford-educated left-winger, was granted unpaid leave from his position at The Guardian to enter the world of political spin as executive director of strategy and communications in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.The appointment wasn't without controversy. Milne has been labelled a Stalinist by David Cameron and caused division at The Guardian for chairing an event with President Putin. Jeremy Corbyn has chosen a hard-left thinker as his right-hand man. As the Labour Party hustings come to a close this week, Adam Fleming speaks to friends and colleagues to find out about the man who's at the heart of the Corbyn project.Producer: Smita Patel.

Mark Coles speaks to family, friends and colleagues of cyclist Laura Trott - the first British woman to win four Olympic golds - to find out how, after winning her first bike race at the age of eight, she has carried on winning ever since.Producer: Smita Patel.

Poet, painter and virtuoso pianist, Stephen Hough has been described as a polymath. He learned to play on a piano that cost £5 from a local antique shop and went on to become a virtuoso to astonish the world. Becky Milligan speaks to lifelong friends and some of the world's leading names in classical music to profile a man who plays like a dream.Producers Smita Patel & Ed Davey.

You may not have heard of Sonia Friedman, but she's one of the most important people in British theatre. She's produced many of the biggest stage hits of the past 15 years - including Jerusalem and The Book of Mormon - and is a multiple award winner. This week, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in London. It was produced by Sonia Friedman. Her first job interview was with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in their kitchen. She got the job. She's a consummate deal-maker and is able to persuade writers and performers from JK Rowling to Mark Rylance and Benedict Cumberbatch to work with her. Mark Coles talks to family, friends and colleagues to discover more about her life and career.Producers: Charlotte Prichard and Sarah Shebbeare.

Edward Stourton profiles the Labour leadership contender, Owen Smith. MP for Pontypridd since 2010, Mr Smith is challenging Jeremy Corbyn, saying that he's not up to the job. A former colleague at BBC Wales - where Mr Smith worked as a journalist - describes him as bright and ambitious, sometimes exasperating, and someone who 'didn't know their place'. And an old family friend tells us his character is firmly rooted in the culture of the South Wales valleys.Producers: Charlotte Pritchard and Laura Gray.

With no leadership campaign - during which the public might have got to know her better - Theresa May has entered Downing Street with a remarkably low profile. Mark Coles has been talking to people who know her well - including new Cabinet appointees Justine Greening and Chris Grayling - to try to find out who she really is, and what she believes in. Producer: Smita Patel and Laura Gray.

Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May are vying to be the next Conservative leader and Britain's second ever female prime minister. Mark Coles explores how a little-known junior energy minister was propelled into the limelight by the televised referendum debates and now stands a chance of leading not only her party but also her country. She is a relative newcomer to politics, having been elected to Parliament in 2010 when she won her seat in South Northamptonshire. She cooks an excellent roast dinner and has strong family values. Before becoming an MP she had a long career in the city but this has come under scrutiny this week with some claiming she has exaggerated past roles. We take a closer look at her CV and ask - does it stack up? Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Laura Gray and Sarah Shebbeare.

Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.

Synonymous with Glastonbury Festival, Michael Eavis is the bearded impresario of one of the biggest parties on earth. But this is no hedonistic figure: in reality, Eavis is a near-teetotal Method-ist who happily admits that his beloved herd of cows comes before the celebrities, rock and roll... or even the show itself. As more than 100,000 revellers descend upon Worthy Farm in Somerset, Mark Coles profiles this complex individual. Through his early battles with authority, financial setbacks and personal tragedy, we learn what drove Eavis to turn the land his family have owned for 150 years into the home of an iconic music festival. We hear from his GP son, the best man at his wedding and a host of famous DJs and musicians who have known him. From naked morning swims on the farm - every day of the year - to a ferociously competitive table tennis tournaments, we get beneath this skin of this individual and learn what makes him tick. World famous bands have graced his property and David Bowie's stayed in his fa

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced Amanda Spielman is set to take over as chief inspector of schools in England. But the decision has provoked some controversy. Teaching unions have pointed out that Amanda Spielman has never been a teacher herself. But others have defended her, saying her experience setting up a successful academies chain - and most recently at exams regulator Ofqual - mean she's well-placed to take on this important role. Mark Coles has been finding out what makes Amanda Spielman tick.

This week the Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley gave evidence to a Business Select Committee inquiry into working conditions at his firm. In a rare public appearance, he admitted that the company had been paying employees less than the minimum wage. But how much do we really know about this secretive billionaire? He is one of the most intriguing characters in British business but also one of the most elusive. He is the driving force behind the Sports Direct empire, entrepreneur, owner of Newcastle United and once a possible saviour of BHS. In this programme Edward Stourton searches for the secret behind Mike Ashley's huge retail success and asks how much control he really has over his business.This programme contains material from a previous episode of Profile about Mike Ashley first broadcast on Saturday 23 Feb 2013. Producer: Laura Gray.

The Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, has vowed to keep alive the defiant revolution begun by Hugo Chavez. And that revolution has global radical support. But with growing economic chaos and street protests, it's feared that Venezuela is descending into chaos. Maduro has maintained the cult of Chavez, blamed his problems on CIA plots, and told the women of Venezuela to stop using hair driers as the oil-rich country faces constant power cuts. So what has shaped Maduro in his defiance? Can he hold the country together? Chris Bowlby explores his life and career. Producer: Alex Burton.

To many, including himself, Jose Mourinho is the most successful football manager in the world - the 'special one'.He has won league titles in all of the countries he's worked in. But he is also divisive; famous for igniting rows with opponents and provoking referees.Mourinho was born into football. His father was a goalkeeper who once played for Portugal. The young Jose wanted to be a player too but after short spells in minor clubs he realised coaching offered him a brighter future.Fast forward 25 years and this week Mourinho has been named Manchester United's new manager.Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Wesley Stephenson.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is credited with detoxifying the Tory brand in Scotland. A kick-boxing, Territorial Army-trained, gay Christian with working-class roots, she's not your typical Tory.This month she's led a Conservative resurgence in Scotland. The Scottish Conservatives are now the largest opposition party in Holyrood, kicking Labour into third place. David Cameron has tipped her as a potential successor.At just 37 her rise has been meteoric. She joined the Conservative Party only 7 years ago after a career in broadcasting. How has she done it? Mark Coles finds out.Producer: Ben Crighton.