Great Lives

Francesca Simon is a writer, journalist and - most famously - the creator of the "Horrid Henry" series of children's booksShe describes herself as "a giddy fan" of the artist, film-maker and poet Jean...

11 Dec 201227min

The date is 1956, Aintree, and Dick Francis is riding the Queen Mother's horse to victory in the Grand National. Except Devon Loch collapses bizarrely to the ground within sight of the finishing post....

4 Dec 201227min

Whilst at school, a young Alan Johnson was given some money by a teacher and told to go and buy four copies of any book for the school library.He headed down the Kings Road in Chelsea, stopping only f...

28 Sep 201228min

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." Edith Wharton is as well known for her wit as for her novels. Born in 1862, she was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, ...

25 Sep 201227min

Film director Stephen Frears discusses the life of his mentor, Czech-born director, Karel Reisz, with the help of critic and Reisz's friend, John Lahr. Frears is one of Britain's most successful direc...

11 Sep 201228min

Ken Dodd explains to Matthew Parris why movie legend Stan Laurel inspired him to get into comedy.Born Stan Jefferson into a theatrical family, in Lancashire, he later moved to the United States, where...

4 Sep 201227min

Matthew Parris invites writer and comic Natalie Haynes to explain why her nomination for a Great Life is a Roman poet about whose life we know very little. Dr Llewelyn Morgan of Brasenose College Oxfo...

29 Aug 201227min

Matthew Parris finds out why the actor Bill Paterson would nominate for Great Life status a Scottish actor little known outside Scotland. He is Leonard Maguire, who died in 1997 after a career which t...

21 Aug 201226min