Great Lives Episodes Episode guide
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Sammy Davis Jr
Dancer and actor Lionel Blair chooses his friend, Sammy Davis Jr.
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Samuel Beckett
Business guru Sir Gerry Robinson chooses playwright Samuel Beckett.
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DH Lawrence
Poet John Hegley chooses the author of Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence.
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Malcolm McLaren
Public relations expert Mark Borkowski discusses the life of the Sex Pistols' manager.
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Walt Disney
Gerald Scarfe, merciless political cartoon satirist, chooses an icon who created icons.
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Michel de Montaigne
Professor Robert Winston chooses a famous writer from the French Renaissance.
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Winston Churchill
Lord Digby Jones chooses Winston Churchill, with contribution from Prof David Reynolds.
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Golda Meir
Edwina Currie discusses the life of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir.
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Simone Weil
Eleanor Bron discusses the life of French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil.
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Mary Carpenter
Camila Batmanghelidjh discusses the life of her Victorian equivalent, Mary Carpenter.
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Richard Nixon
Historian Dominic Sandbrook discusses the life of Richard Nixon.
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Sappho
Greek poet Sappho - intellectual or vamp?
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John Lennon
John Lennon is the life nominated by writer John Harris. Matthew Parris presents.
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Arthur Wharton
Viv Anderson champions the life of Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer
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Carl Sagan
Physicist Brian Cox tells Matthew Parris how Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV show changed his life.
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Charlotte Guest
Sarah Hogg chooses as her champion Lady Charlotte Guest.
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Matthew Flinders
Sir Stuart Rose discusses the life of the cartographer who mapped Australia.
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Buckminster Fuller
TV producer John Lloyd discusses the life of American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller
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Douglas Jardine
Peter White discusses the controversial England cricket captain Douglas Jardine.
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Robin Hood
Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith discusses Robin Hood.
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Bertolt Brecht
Playwright John Godber discusses the life of German writer Bertolt Brecht.
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Bill Hamilton
Professor Richard Dawkins discusses the evolutionary theorist Bill Hamilton.
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Agustin Barrios Mangore
John Williams discusses the life of Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore.
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Picasso
Photographer David Bailey discusses the life and work of Pablo Picasso.
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Lise Meitner
Jenny Agutter champions the life and work of pioneering Austrian physicist Lise Meitner.
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Nero
Christopher Biggins champions the life of the Roman Emperor Nero.
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Hannah Arendt
Munira Mirza discusses the life of the influential political philosopher Hannah Arendt.
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Vivian Stanshall
Neil Innes discusses the life of his colleague and friend Vivian Stanshall.
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Tennessee Williams
Stand-up comedian Rich Hall discusses the life of playwright Tennessee Williams.
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Henry V
Sir Ranulph Fiennes discusses the life of Henry V and tries to separate fact from myth.