Profile

The recently appointed defence secretary Grant Shapps is no stranger to getting his teeth into a new job, it’s his fifth cabinet role in less than a year. He's widely seen as a safe pair of hands and an effective communicator but has received criticism over his latest appointment because of his lack of military experience. A married father of three and a cousin of The Clash guitarist Mick Jones, he survived a car crash at the age of 20, which put him in a coma for a week, and also made a full recovery after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Mark Coles looks at the life and career of the cabinet veteran who is a spreadsheet whizz, enthusiastic TikToker and licensed pilot. Presenter: Mark Coles Production: Alix Pickles, Diane Richardson Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister, but his government’s plans for judicial reform have triggered one of the most serious crises of his political career. Timandra Harkness looks at the life of the man who has won six elections and who is known to his supporters as 'King Bibi'. Credits: The Hoover Institution: “Bibi: My Story,” Benjamin Netanyahu On His Life And Times The 92nd Street Y: Benjamin Netanyahu and David Rubenstein in Conversation Presenter: Timandra Harkness Production: Sally Abrahams, Diane Richardson, Alix Pickles Production Coordinator: Sabine Schereck Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Damon Rose

The multi-millionaire climate campaigner and Just Stop Oil donor Dale Vince, made his fortune in green energy. He started generating his own power with a homemade windmill before setting up green energy provider, Ecotricity in the 1990s. He’s since commissioned a record-breaking electric car and added a football club and lab-grown diamonds to his sustainable businesses. Mark Coles looks at the life of the eco-entrepreneur who says that the disruption caused by Just Stop Oil protesters is nothing compared to the havoc caused by climate change. Presenter: Mark Coles Production: Sally Abrahams, Diane Richardson, Alix Pickles Production Coordinator: Sabine Schereck Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Richard Vadon

Joe Biden has been involved in US politics for more than fifty years, becoming one of America’s youngest senators in 1972, when Richard Nixon was in the White House. Now, aged eighty, Biden is the oldest US president in history and is seeking re-election in 2024. He’s experienced terrible tragedies in his life, when his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car accident in 1972, and the death from cancer of his elder son, Beau, in 2015. Yet he bounced back, serving two terms as vice president under Barack Obama, and finally making it to President in 2021. As he makes another run at the White House, Mark Coles charts his life from the blue-collar town of Scranton, Philadelphia to Washington DC and hears how family plays a very important role in his life. Presenter: Mark Coles Production team: Diane Richardson, Alix Pickles, Sabine Schereck, Sally Abrahams Sound: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, is no stranger to media attention. He has made headlines for his controversial statements about poverty, migration and the death penalty. Now he is reported to be a prominent figure in the New Conservatives, a pressure group calling on the Prime Minister to drastically cut migration before the next general election. Yet he started his working life as a Nottinghamshire miner, and worked as a Labour councillor before later switching parties. Mark Coles finds out about his life and career. Presenter: Mark Coles Editor: Richard Vadon Sound: Rod Farquhar Production: Viv Jones, Diane Richardson, Alix Pickles, Sabine Schereck

Russia's Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, was publicly condemned by Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, during his march on Moscow. Yet despite the criticism, this long-term ally of President Putin remains in post. Timandra Harkness looks at the life and career of the former construction engineer, who once headed Russia's disaster relief programme, becoming a minister under Boris Yeltsin. Presenter: Timandra Harkness Editor: Richard Vadon Sound: Neil Churchill Production: Sally Abrahams, Diane Richardson, Maria Ogundele, Sabine Schereck

The youngest person ever to receive a life peerage, Charlotte Owen’s elevation to the House of Lords, after less than six years in Westminster - some of it working as an intern - has made newspaper headlines. She’s had a remarkably quick rise through the Conservative party, starting as an intern and ending up a special advisor to then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson - the man who recommended her peerage when he resigned. Charlotte Owen has faced much scrutiny since her peerage was announced but those close to her say she has youth and energy on her side, and is ready to embrace her new role. Mark Coles talks to her colleagues and friends to gain insight into the particularly private future baroness. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Daniel Gordon, Isobel Gough Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele

Jack Smith is no stranger to the courtroom. He counts mob bosses, public officials and war criminals among those he has put behind bars. But no case he has been involved with has been as high profile as the one he is bringing against the former, and possible future, President of the United States - Donald J. Trump. In the last week, he made a very rare public appearance announcing his charges against Trump, unsurprisingly leading to a volley of criticism from the man he will face down in court. A young man from upstate New York, made his way first to Harvard Law School and then, New York City, 250 miles away from his home town. Here he embarked on the impressive legal career that has led to his appointment as Special Counsel. Mark Coles speaks to his old sports teacher and colleagues about his distinguished career so far and why he will not let anything get in his way of presenting the strongest possible case against President Trump. Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Georgia Coan, Kirsteen Knight and I

Former High Court judge Baroness Hallett is no stranger to a high-profile case, having previously chaired an inquiry into the 2005 London terror attacks. But her most recent appointment as chair of an inquiry looking at the UK's response to the pandemic could be her biggest job to date. In the past few weeks she’s been stuck in a legal battle with the Government after refusing to withdraw her order for them to hand over unredacted material for her investigation. The first female Chair of the Bar Council, Baroness Hallett didn’t come from the usual privilege associated with the top tier of the legal profession. She grew up as the daughter of a policeman and a secretary, moving around a lot in her childhood and going to various state schools before getting a place at Oxford where she went on to specialise in criminal law. Mark Coles speaks to friends and peers about her extraordinary legal career and why she will not sway over Government demands when the COVID inquiry starts next week. Presenter: Mark Co

Suella Braverman, the current home secretary and former attorney general, has found herself making the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the last few weeks. After a row over a speeding fine, and data showing record levels of net migration on her watch, her poll ratings have dipped. However, she is still a popular figure among many in her party, and despite losing out on the last leadership contest in 2022, she appears to still have her sights on the top job. Some Conservative MPs have accused her of undermining Rishi Sunak's authority and making a bid for future leadership of the party during the National Conservatism conference. Presenter Edward Stourton finds out about the life and career of Suella Braverman, the Harrow born barrister who came from first generation migrants. Credits Dallas Created by David Jacobs Warner Horizon Television, a subsidiary of Warner Bros James O’Brien/LBC Radio National Conservatism Producers: Georgia Coan and Octavia Woodward Editor: China Collins Sound De

Succession - the dark comedy following an American media family - has won 13 Emmys, 5 Golden Globes and a BAFTA. As it draws to a close, we take a look at the life of its creator, a British writer who has co-written some of the best television of the last 20 years including Peep Show, The Thick of it and Fresh Meat. From the border town of Oswestry, Shropshire to the toast of Manhattan and LA, Jesse Armstrong has had an extraordinary journey. Mark Coles hears from his family, friends and colleagues (including Chris Morris, Isy Suttie, Paterson Joseph, David Mitchell and Susan Soon He Stanton), finding out how Armstrong was able to write such rich worlds that bring the pain and absurdity of life in such a colourful fashion. Credits The Hollywood Reporter Succession Created by Jesse Armstrong HBO Peep Show Objective Productions/Channel 4 The Thick Of It BBC Comedy Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Jordan Dunbar, Georgia Coan and Nathan Gower Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Design: James Beard

Enter the murky world of one of the most dominant men in Russia. From selling hotdogs to running a private army and meddling in the US elections, from Syria to Ukraine- who is this man in the shadows? One of the most powerful figures you may not have heard of - Yevgeny Prigozhin. Once a hotdog seller in St Petersburg, this former prisoner has risen to become a friend of Putin and his private army is now one of the main Russian players in the invasion of Ukraine. Along the way he has catered to celebrities at his top end restaurant, allegedly run a centre for internet trolls, been accused of meddling in the US elections and financed a mercenary army - the Wagner group - based worldwide. But is his time up? As the situation for his mercenaries gets worse in Ukraine, Prigozhin has started lashing out publicly at the Russian state. Could this be the last course for the man once named 'Putin's Chef'? Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Jordan Dunbar, Georgia Coan Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Neil Chu

This weekend the controversial President of Turkey faces one of the most important elections ever for his country and the wider Middle East region. But how did the son of a Black Sea coastguard rise to live in a thousand-room palace? And how will he cope with one of the biggest political challenges of a career spanning more than twenty years? Mark Coles hears from Turkish and British guests who know Recep Tayyip Erdogan well. And for more on the Turkish leader, the two part series, Empire of Erdogan, is available on BBC iPlayer. Presenter -Mark Coles Producer - Jordan Dunbar Researcher - Olivia Woodward Sound Design - Rod Farqhuar Editor - Simon Watts

South African opera star Pretty Yende is performing her biggest gig yet at the Coronation. She was personally selected by the King to sing at the service in Westminster Abbey. Growing up in the small rural town of Mpumalanga, Yende’s passion for opera began when she saw a British Airways advertisement featuring the Flower Duet by Delibes. She asked her teacher about it, who advised her to join the school choir. Abandoning her initial plans to become an accountant, Pretty Yende went on to study at La Scala in Milan before making her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York in 2013, in the role of Adèle in Rossini's Le Comte Ory. A last-minute substitute, Yende had only weeks to prepare for the part. She tripped as she went out on stage, but picked herself up and carried on, going on to receive a standing ovation. Mark Coles talks to family and friends about one of the rising stars of opera. Credits: Title: I Feel Pretty (from the musical West Side Story) Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Music by Leonard Bernstein.

The country girl who won the heart of a prince: Queen Consort, Camilla, will be crowned Queen at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. The BBC’s Royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, talks to friends and royal authors about her life so far. Presenter: Jonny Dymond Producers: Sally Abrahams and Diane Richardson Researcher: Louise Byrne Sound: James Beard Editor: Simon Watts

The Russian journalist and Cambridge-educated historian Vladimir Kara-Murza has been a long-time opponent of President Putin's regime. A dual national who also holds a British passport, he was instrumental in getting the Magnitsky Act passed in now over 30 countries, in a campaign led by financier Bill Browder. The legislation enables governments to sanction Russians engaged in corruption or human rights abuses. He has been a thorn in the side of Putin ever since. More recently he has also spoken out against Russia's war in Ukraine. He was poisoned in Russia, and almost died, twice, in 2015 and 2017, suffering long-term health consequences. Yet he returned to Moscow from the US last year, because he didn’t think he had any right to call people onto the streets into action in Russia if he was sitting safely in America. He was arrested soon after his return, and this week was sentenced to 25 years in a Russian penal colony. But as he wrote from prison: 'the night is darkest before the dawn, but what do you

Physicist Dr Nicola Fox, who grew up in Hertfordshire, is the new head of science at the US space agency NASA. Only the second woman to hold the post, Dr Fox is a world-renowned expert on the Sun, who'd previously overseen one of the most important missions to study its scientific mysteries. In her new role, Nicola Fox will be responsible for hundreds of NASA projects, including returning humans to the Moon and exploring Mars. Outside of work, she enjoys karaoke... and fashion with a space theme. Mark Coles speaks to Nicola Fox’s friends, family and fellow scientists about how she landed ‘the best job on the planet’. Presenter: Mark Coles Production team: Diane Richardson and Georgia Coan Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar

Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's district attorney, is making history and headlines by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump. It's the first time a former American President has been indicted. The first African-American to hold the office of New York District Attorney, Alvin Bragg is the single child of middle class parents. He was born and brought up in Harlem, although he attended an elite private school on New York's Upper West Side before going to Harvard to study Law. Despite his private education, Bragg was no stranger to the danger on the city's streets in the 1980s; he had guns pointed at him by both the police and a suspected drug dealer. Adrian Goldberg speaks to friends and colleagues of Alvin Bragg about his rise to the job of district attorney in his home town, and how he'll manage the historic case against Donald Trump. Presenter: Adrian Goldberg Production Team: Sally Abrahams, Julie Ball, Georgia Coan Editor: Simon Watts Sound: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinator: Sabine Schereck

Newly-elected leader of the SNP, Humza Yousaf, has become First Minister of Scotland at the age of just 37. The Glaswegian showed community spirit from a young age, fundraising for charity and broadcasting for community station Radio Ramadan, before a political awakening that led to a speedy rise up the ranks of his party and into office. Humza Yousaf has taken on some difficult government briefs, as well as some flak, but now he faces the challenge of a political lifetime: healing divisions in the SNP, improving public services and trying to deliver the party's dream of independence. Mark Coles talks to friends, family and colleagues to try to find out more about the first ethnic-minority leader of a devolved government. PRODUCTION TEAM Presenter: Mark Coles Production Team: Nathan Gower, Julie Ball, Diane Richardson Editor: Simon Watts Sound: James Beard Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck

Baroness Louise Casey has this week delivered an excoriating review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police. It’s just the latest of a series of tough reports issued by Casey during a career tackling deep-rooted social issues, including homelessness and anti-social behaviour. Casey is now a cross-bench peer and go-to troubleshooter for governments of all stripes, but her route to the top of public life has been unconventional. Profile speaks to close friends and colleagues of a civil servant known for her fearlessness and no-nonsense style. Presenter: Mark Coles Production team: Sally Abrahams and Nathan Gower Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot