Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl

Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl

Bonnie Tyler, went from a Welsh council house to topping the international charts with songs like: ”Lost In France”, “Holding out for a Hero” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Born Gaynor Hopkins in South Wales she grew up in a passionately religious family, which is where young Gaynor’s first experience of performing came – singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at her local chapel. Fellow Welsh musician and broadcaster Mal Pope tells Matthew about her life.  Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee was arrested and held for more than four hundred days by the Chinese authorities. They were investigating the publications sold at his Causeway Bay Bookstore, some of which were critical of the Communist regime on the mainland. He became a symbol of freedom of speech after he revealed his incarceration at a news conference. The journalist and author Emily Feng interviewed him.  In 1988 Colonel Abdul Ahad Momand became the first, and so far only, Afghan citizen to travel into space. He was part of the three-person crew that launched from Kazakhstan on board the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft. During the trip, Colonel Momand, who was a Muslim, became the first person to read from the Koran on TV while in orbit. General Khyan Zadran was a friend and colleague of Colonel Momand. TV and radio director Kay Patrick was best known for her work on Coronation Street, where she oversaw 250 episodes in 20 years. During that time, she steered some of the show’s most memorable storylines including the death of Hayley Cropper, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh - Julie remembers her sensitive and talented director. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Archive: BBC One, Top of the Pops, 24/02/1983; BBC Two, On Show, 30/03/2005; BBC World Service, Witness, 22/06/2026; YouTube, Hong Kong Free Press, 21/06/2016; ITV Studios, Coronation Street, Episode 8305, 20/01/2014; Dr Who: Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels, 18/09/2023; BBC Four, The Spaceman of Afghanistan, 13/10/2014

The Good Life of Dame Penelope Keith

Dame Penelope Keith became a household name for her performances in two classic TV comedy shows of the 1970s and early 80s: The Good Life and To The Manor Born. We share her story through her own words, with interviews from the BBC Archives. David Hencke was an award-winning investigative journalist who worked for the Guardian newspaper for over thirty years. His scoops brought to light wrongdoing in many spheres of public life. His friend and colleague Francis Beckett reveals where his drive to uncover the truth came from. The solitary nun, Sister Maggie Ross, born Martha Reeves, extolled the virtues of silence. A renowned theologian, she spent part of her time in the wilderness of Alaska with a tamed raven. Her bishop protector, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, pays tribute. Marion Fossett was an Irish contortionist, and Eurovision hopeful, who became a fourth generation circus performer by joining the family business. She started young, brought in to the circus ring as an 18 month old baby, by an elephant. Marion became one of the industry’s few ringmistresses. Her niece, Sonya Fossett, takes us inside the world of Fossett's Circus. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy Archive: BBC One, Wogan, 13.09.1985; BBC Radio 4, In Conversation… with Penelope Keith, 28.10.1999; BBC One, The Heaven and Earth Show, 24.08.2003; BBC One, The Good Life: "Silly, but it's fun”, 26.12.1977; BBC One, The Good Life: “A Tug of the Forelock”, 24.09.1976; BBC Four, Penelope Keith Remembers To The Manor Born, 02.01.2024; BBC One, To The Manor Born: “Grantleigh”, 30.09.1979; BBC News, 20.10.1994; BBC Two, Westminster Daily, 26.10.1994; BBC News, 23.12.1998; BBC Two, Limits of Freedom: “Who Is Big Brother?”, 10.10.1983; BBC Radio 4, Museum of Curiosity, 26.03.2008; The Gilded Thread with Irene O’Brien, 23.05.2023

"He became one of the most powerful men in the world” - the story of the man who shaped modern economics

A giant of American economics, former US Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, was an economic pioneer who shaped the modern American economy and believed in free markets and light touch regulation. A world financial crisis after he left the job, however, forced him to question some of his economic assumptions. We hear from Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders. Tulsi Vagjiani survived the plane crash which killed her family, but it left her with burns over much of her body. She went on to be a legendary camapigner for better treatment for people who have visible differences. Phil Gorf from Changing Faces and broadcaster model and fellow campaigner Katie Piper pay tribute to her work. French sailor Charlie Dalin, smashed the record in the non-stop round-the-world Vendée Globe race. It was only afterwards that he revealed that he had taken part in the gruelling competition with a rare cancer. We hear from friend and Vendée Globe competitor Pip Hare. Teddie Beverley was the last surviving member of the original girl group, The Beverley Sisters. The trio found huge fame in the 1950s, with hits such as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Teddie's daughter Sasha Felix tells us how they became the highest-paid female entertainers in the UK, and why some of their tracks were banned from the airwaves. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Archive: Beverley Sisters: London Plus, BBC, 04/02/1985; Legends: The Beverley Sisters – Tickled Pink, BBC Two, 31/12/2010; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 05/03/2022; Changing Faces: Visible Hate campaign, YouTube, 23/01/2020; Changing Faces: Our ambassador Tulsi on our #IAmNotYourVillain campaign, YouTube, 14/10/2021; Charlie Dalin: Vendée Globe, 14/01/2025; Alan Greenspan, Capitalism, Newsnight, BBC One, 01/10/2007; Alan Greenspan, Newsnight, BBC One, 01/10/2007; Evan meets Alan, BBC Radio 4, 23/10/2013

A “bone marrow love for the Labour party” Lord Kinnock remembers Lord Hattersley

Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute. Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband was killed by an IRA bomb. He had inspired her to become a speech therapist and after his death she set up one of the first specialist schools for dyslexia and other special educational needs. She named it Fairley House, after her husband. Her daughter Diana Hamilton-Fairley shares her memories. Roger Cook was the intrepid investigative journalist who pioneered the technique known as “doorstepping” - challenging those he suspected of wrongdoing face to face with the camera or tape recorder running. First on Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme Checkpoint and then on ITV’s The Cook Report he took on criminals and fraudsters on behalf of listeners and viewers. Matthew talks to his colleague Tim Tate. Sterling Betancourt was a pioneer of steel pan music from Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of the first to bring the instrument to Britain in the 1950s and went on to play a big role in the early days of the Notting Hill Carnival. Sterling’s wife Beatrice Elokbi tells his story. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ribika Moktan Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy Archive: BBC Midlands Today, 23/02/94; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 31/01/1986; Labour Party Conference 1983 , BBC News , 2.10.1983; Newsnight, BBC Two, 19/04/1981; Tony Livesey, 5 Live, 24/01/2012; PM, BBC Radio 4, 23/10/1975; Tonight, BBC One, 17/12/1975; Forty Minutes: Women in Black, BBC 2, 21/04/1988; Nationwide, BBC One, 29/11/1982; David Hockney, Desert Island Discs, 07/02/1972; The 1951 Festival of Britain: A Brave New World, BBC Four, 24/09/2011; Steel Pan Alley, Radio 4, 6/12/2003

Founder of the ‘MOBOs’ and champion of black music – Kanya King

For thirty years, Kanya King was a champion of Black music. She was the founder and guiding light of the Music of Black Origin Awards, the ‘MOBOs’. Launched in 1996, the awards became a highly successful annual event. Sir Alex Younger was one of the longest serving chiefs of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. He held the role known as “C” from 2014 to 2020. In that time, he headed the security operation to protect the 2012 Olympics and led Britain’s response to the Salisbury Novichok poisoning. Diane Carlson Evans served as a nurse with the US Army during the Vietnam War and led the campaign for a memorial to the women who had served alongside her. And Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian graphic novelist and film maker who created Persepolis, a story of growing up in 1980s Iran. The book, that was designed to make western readers reflect on the humanity of Iranian people, sold millions of copies around the world before being made into an Oscar nominated film in 2007. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy Archive: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 26/02/2020; Trevor Nelson, Rhythm Nation, BBC Radio 1, 9/11/1997; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 4/10/2014; BBC News at 10 05/03/2018; Today Programme: Theresa May Guest Editor, 31/12/2025; Newscast, 30/09/21; Start the Week, Radio 4, 09/12/2024; PERSEPOLIS | Official Trailer; BBC News at 10, 28/09/2022; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4, 30/12/2003; Front Row, Radio 4, 19/03/24