Great Lives Episodes Episode guide
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Robert FitzRoy
Baroness Margaret Jay chooses pioneering meteorologist Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy.
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Gilbert and Sullivan
Dillie Keane chooses the musical duo Gilbert and Sullivan.
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Joseph Banks
Scientist Lord Robert May nominates the naturalist and botanist, Joseph Banks.
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Benjamin Disraeli
Kenneth Clarke chooses the Victorian politician, Benjamin Disraeli.
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Val McDermid on PD James
Matthew Parris talks to crime writer Val McDermid about the life of PD James.
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Dr Samuel Johnson
Poet Kit Wright chooses author and creator of the English dictionary, Dr Samuel Johnson.
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David Blunkett on Louis Braille
Matthew Parris hears from David Blunkett about the life of Louis Braille. From 2015.
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Octavia Hill
Trade unionist and politician Brenda Dean chooses National Trust founder Octavia Hill.
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US Ambassador Matthew Barzun on JG Winant
Matthew Parris meets US Ambassador Matthew Barzun to talk about his wartime predecessor.
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Lyndon Johnson
Veteran journalist Charles Wheeler chooses the USA's 36th president.
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Antonia Quirke on Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando - greatest actor of the twentieth century?
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Nelson
Explorer Benedict Allen chooses Horatio Nelson.
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Wendy Cope on John Clare
Matthew Parris talks to Wendy Cope about her poetic hero John Clare. From 2015.
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Tom Paine
Writer and political activist George Monbiot chooses 18th-century revolutionary Tom Paine.
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Dame Helen Ghosh on James Lees-Milne
Matthew Parris talks to the National Trust's Dame Helen Ghosh about James Lees-Milne.
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Tchaikovsky
Economist Ruth Lea chooses the great Russian composer. Stephen Johnson adds his expertise.
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Kulvinder Ghir on Zoran Music
Comedian and actor Kulvinder Ghir nominates the life of the artist Zoran Music.
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Mary Kingsley
Journalist Ann Leslie chooses the pioneering writer and explorer Mary Kingsley.
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Rachel Johnson on Ottoline Morrell
Rachel Johnson author and journalist champions the life of Ottoline Morrell.
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Sir Trevor McDonald on Learie Constantine
The veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald chooses the life of Learie Constantine
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Charles Dickens
Satirist and writer Armando Iannucci chooses novelist Charles Dickens.
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Tommy Cooper
Writer and broadcaster Clement Freud chooses comedian Tommy Cooper.
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Flora Sandes
Kate Adie discusses Britain's first commissioned female officer in World War One.
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Bernardo O'Higgins
Writer Brian Keenan chooses Bernardo O'Higgins, who liberated Chile in the 19th century.
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Sarah Bernhardt
Comedienne Jenny Eclair chooses one of the first acting superstars, Sarah Bernhardt.
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David Lloyd George
Athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson chooses her Welsh compatriot, politician David Lloyd George.
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Mervyn King on Risto Ryti
Mervyn King champions the life of the former Prime Minister of Finland Risto Ryti.
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The Man in the Iron Mask
Military historian Richard Holmes nominates the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask.
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Eve Pollard on Nora Ephron
Journalist Eve Pollard explores Hollywood screenwriter Nora Ephron with Matthew Parris.
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GK Chesterton
Richard Ingrams nominates author and journalist GK Chesterton for regularly being right.
