Great Lives Episodes Episode guide
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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.
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Michael Dobbs on Guy Burgess
Michael Dobbs looks back at the life of Cambridge spy Guy Burgess.
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James Hogg
Geneticist Steve Jones chooses 19th-century fiddle-playing shepherd and writer James Hogg.
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Philippa Langley on Richard III
Matthew Parris talks to Philippa Langley about the life of Richard III.
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Bob Marley
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah explores the life of reggae legend Bob Marley.
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Tom Solomon on Roald Dahl
Professor Tom Solomon talks about his former patient, writer Roald Dahl.
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Rachmaninov
Conductor Leonard Slatkin proposes composer Sergei Rachmaninov for great life status.
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Brian Eno on Lord Young of Dartington
Brian Eno champions the life and work of social reformer Michael Young.
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Scott of the Antarctic
Author Beryl Bainbridge selects explorer Robert Falcon Scott as a hidden romantic.
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Laura Bates on Louisa May Alcott
Laura Bates tells Matthew Parris why Louisa May Alcott of "Little Women" is her Great Life
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Captain James Cook
Media executive and broadcaster Greg Dyke chooses explorer Captain James Cook.
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Arthur Smith on Emil Z谩topek
Comedian Arthur Smith tells Matthew Parris about the life of Olympic runner Emil Z谩topek.
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Richard Crossman
Politician Tam Dalyell chooses cabinet minister and political diarist Richard Crossman.
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James Gillray
Political cartoonist Steve Bell chooses the 18th-century caricaturist James Gillray.
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Benedict Spinoza
Nobel Prize-winning chemist Sir Harry Kroto chooses the philosopher Benedict Spinoza.
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Umm Kulthum
Novelist Ahdaf Soueif chooses acclaimed Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum as his great life.
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MR James
Muriel Gray chooses the ghost story writer MR James.
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Rachel Carson
Writer Bea Campbell chooses pioneering environmental protection scientist Rachel Carson.
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CLR James
Darcus Howe discusses his uncle, the sportsman, writer and revolutionary CLR James.
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Erasmus Darwin
Paul Nurse discusses scientist, inventor and poet Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles.
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Professor Edith Hall on Lucille Ball
Matthew Parris invites Professor Edith Hall to nominate her idol.
