Profile

Jan 18 2025 619 ep. 14 mins 22.2k

An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines

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Claudia Sheinbaum

Jan 18 2025 14 mins

She is the renowned scientist who studied environmental engineering, and went on to hold the role of mayor of Mexico City during the Coronavirus pandemic.Late last year, Claudia Sheinbaum made further history. "For the first time in the 200 years of the [Mexican] Republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico," she said before taking office.Born in 1962, Claudia Sheinb

Allan Leighton

Jan 11 2025 14 mins

He's been described as the best connected man in the business world. Allan Leighton’s the arch-moderniser who's led some of the UK's most well-known companies. His career started at Mars Confectionery in the mid-70s, working his way up through the business over nearly two decades. But, it was in the 90s that Allan Leighton really made his name.He moved to Asda in 1992, becoming C

Thomas Tuchel

Jan 04 2025 14 mins

He’s been described by his new bosses at the Football Association as, "one of the best coaches in the world".Thomas Tuchel has also earned a reputation as a “control freak”, with “charming” yet “divisive” attributes.Born in Krumbach, Bavaria in 1973 his football journey began as a youngster when his father coached him at his local club. After growing into a promising

Ruth Jones

Dec 28 2024 14 mins

Oh! What’s occurrin'? Good question…This week’s Profile, with Stephen Smith, is focusing in on a woman born in Bridgend in south Wales, who loved to participate in musical theatre as a child – and went on to create one of Britain’s best-loved sitcoms.With a degree in drama under her belt from the University of Warwick, Ruth Jones initially found work at BBC Wales in both

Daniel Křetínský

Dec 21 2024 14 mins

Since it was privatised over a decade ago, there's been speculation around the future of the UK's troubled postal service, Royal Mail.Now the government has approved its purchase by the Czech billionaire, Daniel Křetínský, a relative unknown here in the UK.Born in communist Czechoslovakia in 1975, Křetínský was a teenager when the Berlin Wall came down. He started his career

Nick Park

Dec 14 2024 14 mins

Through his passion for stop motion and modelling clay, we have come to love his silent (but wise) dog and well-meaning owner.Wallace and Gromit are Nick Park’s most famous creations, but what more do we know about this Preston born Oscar winner?He would use his mother’s home movie camera to record his early films; he studied animation at the National Film and Television School

Tom Molnar

Dec 07 2024 14 mins

From using a skateboard to baking sourdough, Tom Molnar leads an eclectic life.Born in the United States, he earned a degree in Ecology at Dartmouth College, before going on to gain experience in corporate strategy and client management. It was during those years, that he noticed a gap in the market for quality bread.Tom Molnar joined forces with Ran Avidan and Gail Mejia in 2005,

Kim Leadbeater

Nov 29 2024 14 mins

She is the self-styled "proud Yorkshirewoman" at the centre of an extraordinary week at Westminster.Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind a bid to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill in England and Wales, was born in West Yorkshire in 1976.Before her life in politics, she worked in furniture sales and as an exercise instructor, before becoming a lecturer in health and exe

Sir Ridley Scott

Nov 23 2024 14 mins

From television commercials in the 1970s, to today’s toga-ripping, chariot-flipping sequel to Gladiator.Sir Ridley Scott is one of Britain’s greatest film directors.The grammar school boy, born in South Shields, spent part of his childhood in Germany before pursuing his passion for art at school in Hartlepool and then the Royal College of Art.But the camera appealed to Scott as

Sahra Wagenknecht

Nov 16 2024 14 mins

Born in communist East Germany, to a German mother and Iranian father, Sahra Wagenknecht has long been the face of the country’s hard left. But her own breakaway political movement, supporting a higher minimum wage as well as an end to weapons deliveries to Ukraine, appears to be gaining further support.And with Germany set to hold elections early next year, following the collaps