Profile

Perching on Labour's new front bench are high-flying twin sisters: Angela and Maria Eagle. Angela is the new shadow business secretary. Maria has been given the defence brief. Mark Coles profiles the pair who - over 25 years in politics - have soared from Merseyside to the heart of Westminster.Producers: Hannah Barnes and Chloe Hadjimatheou.

He’s the bad boy of French literature. Loved and hated in equal measure. But who is Michel Houellebecq? Ed Stourton profiles the controversial novelist who loves to provoke.

Sir John Chilcot has been at the heart of some of the most important political events in recent decades - often in the background, unnoticed by most.It's only in recent years, since he was asked in 2009 to lead the inquiry into the Iraq War, that his name has come to the attention of the wider public.Now - nearly six years after he started - the Chilcot Report has yet to be published, and Sir John has come under increasing pressure from politicians, media and the families of soldiers who lost their lives.Adam Fleming profiles a private man who has had to get used to the spotlight.Producers: Keith Moore and Joe Kent.

Dr Dre's first album for 16 years is top of the charts and a film charting the rise of NWA - his breakout 90s gangsta rap group - is playing to packed cinemas.Over the past 25 years Dr Dre has made an indelible mark on popular culture. After NWA he founded a record label and turned producer - making global stars of artists like Snoop Dogg and Eminem.And he's a hugely successful businessman. His Beats brand - whose headphones have become a ubiquitous fashion accessory - was sold last year to Apple for $3bn (£1.8bn).It's all a long way from his start in life as a poor child to a teenage mother in Los Angeles. But, as Mark Coles hears, there's a dark side to Dr Dre's story of almost unimaginable success.Producers: Keith Moore and James Melley.

Founder of the Ultimo lingerie brand Michelle Mone's rags to riches tale. Clever use of PR has helped make Michelle Mone one of Britain's most recognisable businesswomen. Now she has been made the government's new entrepreneurship tsar and is tipped for a place in the House of Lords.Presenter Mark Coles charts her journey from childhood poverty in Glasgow to a City penthouse overlooking the Thames.Producers: Keith Moore and Katie Inman.

Suddenly everyone's taking Jeremy Corbyn seriously. Dismissed by many as a fringe 'unelectable' figure in the Labour leadership campaign, a bearded vegetarian lover of Latin American revolutionaries, Commons rebellions and allotments, he's now making the running. Chris Bowlby explores what's shaped him, what sort of leader he'd be, and whether he really wants the top Labour job.

Billionaire Donald Trump, leading Republican candidate in the US Presidential race was in Scotland this week. Mark Coles asks if he has what it takes to get him to the White House.

Mhairi Black was yet to graduate when she was elected to the House of Commons in May - the youngest Member of Parliament for over a century. She overturned a 16,000 majority and ousted the veteran Labour MP Douglas Alexander to win Paisley and Renfrewshire South for the SNP.She's packed a lot in to the past few weeks: taking her seat in Parliament; sitting the final exam of her politics degree (dissertation subject: the rise of the SNP); attending her graduation ceremony; and making her maiden speech, in which she attacked the Conservative budget with the observation that she was the only 20-year-old in the whole of the UK who the Chancellor was prepared to help with housing support. The seven minute speech has been viewed online an astonishing 10 million times.Mhairi Black emerged as a political starlet during the referendum campaign on Scottish independence in 2014. She caught the eye of the former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars, who invited her to play a central role in the Yes Campaign, and who also advised her to stand for Parliament. She was expected to give Douglas Alexander a run for his money, but the real target was Holyrood in 2016.Now she's at Westminster, where an eager press is watching her every move. Her candid teenage tweets have been exhumed and her eating habits have been put under the microscope (even her best friends worry about her appetite for chips and Irn Bru). And she'll have less time to use her Partick Thistle season ticket. But Mhairi Black has her sights set for the top. "She will be a significant leader of a left-wing position in Scottish politics," says Jim Sillars.Presenter: Adam Fleming Producer: Tim Mansel.

Mark Coles profiles the muckraker's muckraker, American journalist Seymour Hersh, who has challenged the official story of how Osama Bin Laden was killed.The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer is one of the world's most famous investigative reporters. He exposed both the My Lai massacre, when US soldiers killed hundreds of civilians during the Vietnam war, and the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison.To some he is a hero - a tenacious investigator of uncomfortable truths. To others he is a fantasist - a gullible journalist who sees conspiracy and cover-up wherever he looks.At 78 he shows no sign of slowing down. Now Mark Coles investigates the investigator.Producers: Hannah Barnes and Joe Kent.

The last couple of weeks of the election campaign - and the erroneously narrow polls which highlighted the role of The Queen in the event of a hung parliament - brought to the attention of the public a man who has held arguably one of the most important jobs in Britain since 2007, but who remains largely unknown. He's Sir Christopher Geidt, Private Secretary to The Queen. He is her adviser on political and constitutional matters, and her line of communication to the Government. But who is he?Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Joe Kent and Charlotte Pritchard.

Earlier this week, Loretta Lynch was sworn in as the new US Attorney General. Brought up in North Carolina the daughter of a Baptist minister father and a mother who picked cotton as a young girl, Lynch is the first black woman to hold the position of the nation's top law enforcement official. Harvard-educated Lynch worked at several private law firms and has been a federal prosecutor, winning high-profile cases against corrupt New York lawmakers, sex traffickers and mafiosi. But there has been criticism, too. She is accused of being soft on Wall Street wrongdoing. Edward Stourton has been speaking to people who know her well.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou.

Mark Coles profiles Aidan Turner, the Irish actor who stars in Poldark, the BBC's most successful drama for a decade. Turner has won legions of fans as the brooding, scythe-wielding Cornish hero in the classic costume drama remake.Producers: Ben Crighton and Chloe Hadjimatheou.

With five World Championship titles already under his belt, Ronnie 'The Rocket' O'Sullivan will compete in Sheffield this weekend hoping to secure a sixth. He is seen by many as the greatest snooker player in history. O'Sullivan arrived on the professional snooker scene when he was just a teenager, and immediately caused a storm. His talent was never in doubt. When on form, he is unbeatable. But his public battles with alcoholism, drugs and depression have plagued him throughout his career. Which Ronnie will be on display at the Crucible over the next few weeks? Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Hannah Barnes and Ben Crighton.

We learned this week that Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent and Fearne Cotton are to voice a new run of the hit children's TV series Teletubbies. It's estimated that around a billion children in over 120 countries have watched Teletubbies but there have been no new episodes since 2001, and the imminent return of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po has made news around the world. But who, or what, are the Teletubbies? And why have they proved such an enduring cultural phenomenon?Presenter: Becky Milligan Producers: Ben Crighton and Hannah Barnes.

This week Comedy Central announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah is to take over from Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show.It was a surprise to many that a relative unknown was set to take on one of America's leading talk shows, but Noah's star has been rising fast in recent years.Already a well-known face on British TV and radio, thanks to his award-winning Edinburgh Fringe show back in 2012, the 31-year-old has certainly shown the confidence to take on one of TV's biggest jobs - critics might call it arrogance.Young, good looking, mixed race - Noah is said to be an ad-man's dream, and it's said Comedy Central will be looking to cash in on his global appeal. However, his reputation has already been slightly tarnished as the media began to dig into his Twitter feed and found some distasteful jokes.Noah said he shouldn't be judged on gags which didn't land, and his new bosses backed him up - but whether those same execs will be quite as forgiving once he takes the hotseat is yet to be seen.Trevor Noah says he is a fan of rollercoaster rides. He loves them so much, he often builds his comedy tours around cities that have the biggest rides. His fantasy is a chair that spins while doing a 360 degree loop and a backwards somersault.Stepping into Jon Stewart's shoes just might provide his scariest ride yet.Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith.

On Thursday evening seven party leaders will meet in an ITV studio for the much-anticipated general election debate. Some of them are - it's fair to say - rather less well known than others. Many viewers - in England, at least - will not know all that much about Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru leader. So, on Profile this week, Mark Coles has been finding out what makes her tick.Producer: Gemma Newby.

Italy's famous couture couple Dolce & Gabbana have fallen out with Elton John over off-colour comments they made about IVF babies and gay families. But they have no shortage of fans. Becky Milligan profiles the characters behind one of the world's greatest - and most valuable - fashion empires.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou.

Mark Coles profiles the DUP's leader at Westminster, Nigel Dodds, one of a number of possible post-election kingmakers. Dodds, furious to find his party excluded from the leaders' debates, is now being watched carefully to see which - if any - other parties he might support in coalition. Nigel Dodds is conservative and religious. He is opposed to gay marriage and abortion and believes Britain would be better off outside of the EU. But does that really tell us where he might put his support?Producer: Smita Patel.

Iraqi army and militia forces are fighting to take back Tikrit from the so-called Islamic State. Pulling the strings on the Iraqi side is an Iranian: Major-General Qassem Suleimani, the 'shadow commander' who has been described as the single most powerful operative in the Middle East. As the leader of the foreign branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - the Quds Force - Suleimani has emerged as Iran's leading foreign strategist. He has been arming and training Bashar al-Assad's military in Syria and leading the Shia militias fighting ISIS on the frontline in Iraq - where the US blames him for countless attacks on American soldiers. He has the ear of the supreme leader and has been influencing politics from Yemen to Bahrain. Mark Coles tells his extraordinary story.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Richard Knight.

After a rocky campaign launch, the Green leader Natalie Bennett has been in the headlines this week. Mark Coles hears how she moved from journalism in provincial Australia to British politics, and has combined a love of cricket with feminist campaigning. How is she likely to fare amid the intense scrutiny of the coming election?Producer: Chris Bowlby.

The casually-dressed Greek finance minster Yanis Varoufakis has, in challenging the eurozone, become - almost overnight - one of the most important politicians in Europe. In this edition of Profile Mark Coles hears how Varoufakis grew up under the Greek colonels but was shaped by life in Thatcherite Britain before embarking on his unusually restless international career in economics. Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Richard Knight.

Mark Coles profiles the former HSBC boss and trade minister Lord Green after an uncomfortable week in which revelations about HSBC's Swiss arm aiding tax evasion dominated the headlines.Once lauded as Britain's ethical banker, the ordained Church of England minister now finds himself under fire from the press and politicians. Producers: Keith Moore and James Melley.

Chris Bowlby profiles the veteran Labour MP and co-author of this week's report on hunger, Frank Field, who is one of the most unusual politicians in Britain.Variously described as "independent-minded" and a "free thinker" Field has been in Parliament for more than 30 years, representing Birkenhead, which contains some of the most deprived wards in the country.He had to fight off a hard left challenge from Militant at the beginning of his career and he has long been a campaigner against poverty. His radical views on welfare haven't always endeared him to his Labour colleagues but he is famous for the friends he has made across the political divide.Most remarkably, perhaps, he was one of those who told Margaret Thatcher, shortly before she resigned, that it was time for her to go. We'll hear from friends, both Labour and Conservative, who speak warmly of a man of dogged determination and great personal integrity. But we'll also hear from critics who say he's not a natural team player who was failed in his brief period as a member of Tony Blair's first government.Producer: Tim Mansel.

The presidential election in Afghanistan was drawn-out and controversial. The man who emerged as the winner is a United States-trained anthropologist who is described by friends as one of the world's leading intellectuals. Ashraf Ghani was born in Afghanistan, studied in Lebanon and the United States, and worked for years for the World Bank. As finance minister of Afghanistan he fell out with President Karzai and most of his colleagues - the same friends who point to his intellectual capacity and moral integrity also acknowledge his ferocious temper. Humility is another word that's often mentioned - it is said that he is never happier than when sitting cross-legged drinking tea with tribal elders in the Afghan provinces. But can he turn his intellectual vision into political reality at this vital moment of transition in Afghanistan?Presenter: Becky Milligan Producer: Tim Mansel.

One of the less likely political partnerships of recent years has been that of the Conservative Foreign Secretary William Hague and the Hollywood actor and director Angelina Jolie. They joined forces three years ago to campaign against rape as a weapon of war, and jointly hosted an international conference in London last summer. This week Mark Coles profiles the woman who brought them together; a refugee from Bosnia who has just taken her seat in the House of Lords. She is Arminka Helic, for ten years a special adviser to William Hague. Hague himself tells us how in 2011 Helic brought Jolie's film "In The Land of Blood and Honey" to him, a film that portrays the tactical use of mass rape against civilians. Helic told him it was a film he needed to watch. Producers: Tim Mansel and Hannah Moor.

Grace Mugabe has been an almost silent figure at her husband, Robert Mugabe's side for almost two decades. Now she is starting to flex her own political muscles, which some are interpreting as a bid for the Presidency. But does she have the skill and the support to secure the top job and a Mugabe dynasty? In December she will head Zanu-PF's Women's League which will make her one of the most powerful people in Zimbabwe's governing party. Jo Fidgen questions how much 'soft' power she already has over her husband and whether she makes a credible political leader?

An insight into man of the moment, Benedict Cumberbatch. Code-breaker, physicist, Victorian sleuth. Overnight he became an object of obsession with a Cumber-cult following of adoring fans, spawning internet memes and slash fiction fantasies. What is it about Benedict Cumberbatch that makes the world go weak at the knees?

This week, with Republicans celebrating mid term election victories, Rand Paul - a Tea Party supporting ophthalmologist from Kentucky with only three years' experience in the Senate is fast emerging as one of the frontrunners to try to wrest the US Presidency back from the Democrats in 2016. Rand is part of a political dynasty although hardly from the Republican Party establishment. His father Ron - also a physician turned politician - ran as a Libertarian for the US Presidency twice on a platform championing free markets, small government and a ferocious determination to keep the state out of individuals lives. Rand shares many of his father's ideas but his challenge now is making them palatable to a majority of the Republican party and a majority of people in the country. Many ask if he could pose a serious threat to Hilary Clinton by greatly expanding the Republicans' appeal and reaching out to African Americans and young voters. Some praise Rand Paul for his unconventional yet pragmatic approach - TIME magazine recently called him "the most interesting man in US politics." But some see him as a wolf in sheep's clothing and a dangerous isolationist. In this edition of Mark Coles asks who exactly is Rand Paul - the man who eschews small talk but embraces loud shirts and turtle neck sweaters?

Film director Christopher Nolan's latest $160m blockbuster Interstellar opens next week. Mark Coles examines the more humble beginnings of his film making career at University College London and asks how he has achieved the enviable knack of delivering huge box office takings and keeping the critics happy.Producer: Ben Carter.

Migration Watch UK's founder Sir Andrew Green is to become a member of the House of Lords. Presenter Jo Fidgen talks to Sir Andrew's old friends and colleagues in an attempt to find out what motivated this former ambassador to Syria and Saudi Arabia become one of the UK's most influential voices on immigration.Producer: Laura Gray.

Writer Richard Flanagan is the 2014 winner of the Man Booker Prize. His novel "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" is a story set among prisoners of war, forced by the Japanese to work on the Thai-Burma "death" railway. Presenter Becky Milligan looks into Flanagan's life in his native Tasmania where he is a prominent environmental campaigner and a regular at the local pub. She talks to Flanagan's close friends and relatives including his brother Martin Flanagan, leading film actress Kerry Fox and publisher Nikki Christer.Producer: Smita Patel.

Douglas Carswell has become UKIP's first elected MP in Westminster. A free-thinking Eurosceptic Conservative, Carswell was never shy to criticise "our supine, spineless Parliament". Nonetheless his surprise defection in the summer shocked his friends and supporters. Ed Stourton asks what made him leave now and whether there's more to Douglas Carswell than jam-making and politics.

In January 2014 Benefits Street aired for the first time on Channel 4. The reality TV series, which documented the lives of residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, was controversial right from the start. Ofcom and Channel 4 received hundreds of complaints.One straight-talking resident - Deirdre Kelly, also known as 'White Dee' - became the standout star of the show. Many of the headlines were negative and the mother-of-two found herself vilified, accused of being a scrounger and worse.But she received a warmer welcome on Celebrity Big Brother this summer and more recently this week at the Conservative Party Conference where she spoke at a fringe event hosted by a think-tank.So how did an ordinary woman from Birmingham, who has spent the last several years living off benefits, become so famous - and, potentially, influential? Mark Coles travels to Birmingham to find out.Presenter Mark Coles Producer Ben Crighton.

Ricky Tomlinson is a top TV actor with starring roles including Brookside and The Royle Family. But he has a controversial trade union past, and was once imprisoned for picketing during a strike. A new play about him has just opened. Mary Ann Sieghart discovers a powerful mix of politics and personal drama in his life and career.Producer: Ben Crighton.

How did Shane Smith - a hard-partying, tattooed former Ottawa punk rocker - turn a community magazine into an international multi-media empire?Mark Coles looks at the life of one of the founders of Vice, a man whose motto is: "We like our stories to punch you in the face."His company is the fast-growing enfant terrible of digital media. Renowned for its often controversial reports aimed at a young audience disillusioned with mainstream media, it seems that no subject is taboo. Scoops include an interview with a former Liberian warlord and cannibal, as well as a trip to North Korea with former basketball player Dennis Rodman to meet Kim Jong-un. Among Vice's often controversial documentaries from war zones was this summer's eye-opening report from inside the Islamic State. Vice may have been accused of 'daredevil' journalism but that hasn't stopped the likes of Rupert Murdoch heralding Vice a "global success" and buying a 5% stake in the company. Could Vice become the next CNN, as Shane Smith hopes?Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Ben Crighton.

How did Jack Ma, a teacher with no business training, become one of China's - indeed, the world's - most successful entrepreneurs?The BBC's business editor Kamal Ahmed looks at the man behind the online retail giant Alibaba Group - a company described as a mix between Amazon and Ebay - which is due to list on the New York Stock Exchange later this month, making Alibaba one of the most valuable internet companies in the world.Jack Ma is no ordinary business leader. How many other global tycoons like to fill a stadium with their employees only to step on stage, be-wigged, to deliver not bland corporate messages, but Lion King songs?Producer: Ben Crighton Presenter: Kamal AhmedArchive clips from the film 'Crocodile in the Yangtze: The Alibaba Story' (by Porter Erisman).

Edward Stourton profiles Rona Fairhead, the woman nominated to replace Lord Patten as chair of the BBC Trust. She's a high achiever who excelled at school and in the world of business, but her nomination caught many by surprise. So who is she, and how will she fare in one of the BBC's toughest jobs?

There is every sign this weekend that Russia's proxy war with Ukraine could become a full-blown conflict between states.The crisis now coming to a head has been in the making ever since Ukraine declared its independence from Moscow in the summer of 1990.Edward Stourton profiles the Ukrainian leader, Petro Poroshenko, who must now face the challenge of war - and who came of age and flourished during his country's first turbulent two and a half decades as a modern independent nation.Producer: Bob Howard.

Sir Nicholas Macpherson, largely unknown outside Whitehall, has become a key figure in the Scottish independence debate. And as head of the Treasury since 2005, he's been at the centre of Britain's response to the global financial crisis. Chris Bowlby explains why he's so influential, and how his involvement in the Scottish debate is informed by personal links as well as policy considerations.

As Iraq's divisive Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steps down, hopes are now pinned on his likely successor, Haider al-Abadi to restore trust with the Kurdish and Sunni communities and fight off the advance of the self-styled Islamic State's jihadist fighters. But what do we know about him?Mary Ann Sieghart charts the rise of the doctor's son from Baghdad, who gained a doctorate in electrical engineering in the UK, leading to him forming a company servicing lifts for clients including the BBC. She talks to fellow Shiite Dawa Party members, a member of the Sunni opposition and a former US diplomat to ask whether Dr al-Abadi has the qualities to fix his country's problems.

Jo Fidgen explores the life and times of Karren Brady, successful in business, TV star in The Apprentice and now a rising political star in the Conservative party. How did she succeed in the male-dominated business of football, and where might her career now take her?Producer: Chris Bowlby Editor: Innes Bowen.

Becky Milligan profiles Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, a one-time teenage rebel, Oxford networker, daring reporter - and now a key voice in the Ukraine crisis and an important force in European politics. Producer: Chris Bowlby.

The so-called "fake sheikh" - investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood - hit the headlines this week after singer Tulisa Contostavlos's drugs trial, which was triggered by one of his newspaper investigations, collapsed. The judge told the court he thought prosecution witness Mahmood had lied in giving evidence.Mahmood has long been a controversial figure. His investigations, many for News of the World, have exposed serious wrongdoing. But he is accused of provoking people to commit criminal acts, in pursuit of a lurid newspaper headline. Edward Stourton presents.Producer: Smita Patel.

After this week's cabinet reshuffle Mark Coles profiles Nicky Morgan. Who exactly is the new education secretary? Producer: Smita Patel.

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss has been chosen this week to lead a major enquiry into abuse allegations. But the choice has proved controversial, with claims that she is too close to the establishment. A specialist in family law who became a high-ranking judge, she's been involved in many important decisions. Mary-Ann Sieghart looks at her life and career.Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Speculation abounded this week as to whether Elizabeth Warren hopes to be the Democratic candidate in the next US election.Elizabeth Warren has had a rapid rise to prominence since her election as Senator for Massachusetts in 2012. Her interrogation of key figures from the banking sector during the financial crisis earned her nicknames such as the 'Sheriff of Wall Street' and the 'Matriarch of Mayhem'.On Profile this week Chris Bowlby looks at the life and character of the woman who is said to make many Wall Street executives shiver.Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.

London barrister Amal Alamuddin has become engaged to one of the world's most elusive bachelors, Hollywood A-lister George Clooney. But she is an impressive figure in her own right. As a high-flying human rights lawyer she has defended the likes of Julian Assange of Wikileaks, former Ukrainian president Yulia Tymoshenko and the former head of Libyan intelligence Abdallah Al Senussi. She has also been an adviser to Kofi Annan of the UN on Syria and to the UN tribunal on the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Mark Coles talks to those who know her well.Produced by Rebecca Kesby and Arlene Gregorius.

The owners of Manchester United find themselves under the spotlight once again following the sacking of manager David Moyes, Alex Ferguson's replacement. American billionaire Malcolm Glazer and his family faced a hostile reaction from many fans when they took over the club in 2005. The Glazers control a large business empire in the US including shopping centres and an American football team, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have attempted to keep their liives private but have been unable to avoid media attention. Jo Fidgen talks to friends, foes and observers. Produced by Rebecca Kesby.

Mark Coles profiles new Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid. Son of 1960s immigrants from Pakistan, after a stellar banking career he's now in the Cabinet. What's behind his rise? And what kind of Culture Secretary will he be?Producer: Chris Bowlby.

Narendra Modi is tipped to become the next Prime Minister of India but he's a controversial character, both loved and loathed. In this edition of Profile, Ritula Shah travels to India to find out more about the son of a tea seller who has become a formidable politician. She speaks to the brother he left behind and the tailor who gives him his signature style.Producer: Laura Gray Presenter: Ritula Shah.