A right royal night out
The tale of an extraordinary night at a legendary British gay pub.Princess Diana, disguised as a man, along with star broadcaster Kenny Everett and Queen singer Freddie Mercury enjoyed a drink in London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern one night at the height of their fame in 1988. The veracity of the event has been questioned but Cleo Rocos, who co-starred with Kenny in his hit TV show, described the celebrity night out in her in her book The Power of Positive Drinking.Cleo tells her story to Alex Collins.(Photo: Kenny Everett and Cleo Rocos. Credit: Tom Wargacki/WireImage via Getty Images)
7 Jul 20239min
When tourism came to the Maldives
In 1972 the first tourists arrived in the Maldives.They stayed in humble lodgings in three houses, looked after by young Maldivians including Ahmed Naseem, Mohamed Umar Maniku and their friends.Perfect for sunbathing, swimming and fishing. Tourists loved it. Italian travel agent George Corbin promised to bring more travellers if they had a place to stay. On 3 October 1972, the first hotel resort called Kurumba opened, changing the islands forever. Now, more than 1.5 million visitors enjoy the Maldives every year.Ahmed Naseem, one of the pioneers of the industry, shares his memories with Nikola Bartosova.(Photo: Kurumba in the 1970s. Credit: Kurumba)
6 Jul 202310min
The National Health Service begins
On 5 July 1948, the UK’s National Health Service began as part of a series of reforms with the aim of supporting and protecting Britain's citizens from the “cradle to the grave”.The architect of the NHS was the health minister in the post-war Labour party government, Aneurin Bevan. The care was to be free for all and paid for by taxation. The birth of the NHS was not without controversy, the British Medical Association worried that doctors would be turned into civil servants.On the same day that the NHS was born, John Marks qualified as a doctor.Dr Marks spoke to Louise Hidalgo about the early days of the NHS in this programme first broadcast in 2009.(Photo: Prime Minister Aneurin Bevan meets staff at Park Hospital, Manchester on the opening day of the NHS Credit: Trafford Healthcare NHS/PA Wire)
5 Jul 20239min
Longest-serving democratically elected communist government
In 1977 what was to become the world’s longest-serving democratically elected communist government came to power in eastern India.Poverty and absolute rule by the central government led to West Bengal embracing a different political ideology to the rest of the country. Their rule lasted until 2011 when they were voted out. Communist Party of India (Marxist) official Mohammad Salim shares his memories of when his party came to power with Rumella Dasgupta.(Photo: Mohammed Salim. Credit: Biswarup Ganguly/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
4 Jul 202310min
The trial of John Demjanjuk
In 1986 a car factory worker from the United States was accused of being ‘Ivan the Terrible’, a notorious concentration camp guard at Treblinka during the Holocaust.John Demjanjuk was extradited from the United States to Israel. His trial became one of the most high profile cases in Israel’s history. He was convicted, then later acquitted and then re-convicted in a German court for having worked in a different camp, Sobibor. Lawyers for the defence, Yoram Sheftel, and prosecution, Eli Gabay, in the Israeli trial tell Dan Hardoon about the process of trying Demjanjuk, and the impact it made on their country’s society. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service. (Photo: John Demjanjuk in the Supreme Court of Israel. Credit: David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
3 Jul 20238min
I made Lady Gaga's meat dress
On 12 September 2010 Lady Gaga, won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. She accepted the award in a dress made entirely out of beef. 13 years later Franc Fernandez, the man behind the meat dress, speaks to Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty about his memories of designing the fleshy frock. He says, pulling apart the flesh and stitching it back together, had "serial killer vibes"!(Photo: Lady Gaga in the meat dress. Credit: Getty Images)
30 Jun 202310min
The 'graveyard' for communist statues
The Hungarian city of Budapest's communist statue 'graveyard' opened on 29 June 1993. Statues representing communism were not destroyed, instead they were relocated to a specially designed park on the outskirts of the city.Laura Jones has been speaking to Judit Holp, who runs Memento Park.This programme has been updated since the original broadcast. In the original version, we said Budapest is in Eastern Europe. We should have said that it is in Central Europe.(Photo: Republic of Councils Monument in Memento Park Credit: Getty Images)
29 Jun 202310min
Sampoong department store disaster
On 29 June 1995, the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul, South Korea, collapsed due to structural failures.The disaster killed 502 people and injured more than 900. It provoked national outrage as the building's construction was riddled with corruption and malpractice.Sun Minh Lee was working at the shop that day. She speaks to Ben Henderson.(Photo: Sampoong Department Store after the collapse. Credit: Choo Youn-Kong/AFP/Getty Images)
28 Jun 20239min
