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Great Lives Episodes

  1.

    Alan Freed

    Bob Harris nominates Alan Freed, the first ever rock 'n' roll DJ.

  2. Robert Hooke

    David Attenborough nominates the largely forgotten 17th-century inventor and illustrator.

  3. Richard Pryor

    Skills minister David Lammy puts the case for the revolutionary comedian Richard Pryor.

  4. Lord Longford

    Jon Snow champions jails reform campaigner and politician, Lord Longford.

  5. AE Housman

    Author Colin Dexter nominates scholar and poet AE Housman. With Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.

  6. Joyce Grenfell

    Arabella Weir nominates Joyce Grenfell. Biographer Janie Hampton assists.

  7. Edward Lear

    Nicholas Parsons nominates Edward Lear, now remembered best for his nonsense verse.

  8. Ian Curtis

    Poet Simon Armitage nominates Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.

  9. Paul Robeson

    Anna Ford nominates singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson.

  10. Juan Manuel Fangio

    Stirling Moss nominates the great racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

  11. Paavo Nurmi

    Former athlete Steve Cram nominates 鈥楩lying Finn鈥� Paavo Nurmi. Matthew Parris presents.

  12. Charles Bukowski

    Comedian Rhona Cameron chooses the German-American writer and poet, Charles Bukowski.

  13. Peter Cushing

    Actor and writer Mark Gatiss chooses horror film star, Peter Cushing.

  14. Hermann Buhl

    Mountaineer Joe Simpson takes up the cause of the pioneering Austrian climber Hermann Buhl

  15. Katherine Mansfield

    Jacqueline Wilson chooses the writer Katherine Mansfield. With Angela Smith as witness.

  16. Groucho Marx

    Roger Graef champions the great comic Groucho Marx.

  17. Howard Florey

    Richard Sykes champions Sir Howard Florey, a forgotten man in the discovery of penicillin.

  18. Alfred Russel Wallace

    Travel writer Redmond O'Hanlon proposes the pioneering naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.

  19. George Cruikshank

    Quentin Blake nominates illustrator George Cruikshank.

  20. Thora Hird

    Impressionist Jan Ravens chooses the award-winning actress, Dame Thora Hird.

  21. George Washington

    British General Sir Michael Rose selects 'Father of the American Nation' George Washington

  22. Elizabeth David

    Chef and novelist Prue Leith chooses cookery writer Elizabeth David.

  23. Brian Clough

    John Motson nominates former Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough.

  24. Lord Denning

    Blur drummer David Rowntree discusses the life of Lord Denning.

  25. John Cage

    Conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin talks about avant-garde composer John Cage.

  26. Sir Alec Issigonis

    Engineer Alex Moulton and the Earl of Snowdon talk about the life of Alec Issigonis.

  27. Rembrandt

    Artist and sculptor Maggi Hambling nominates Rembrandt as her choice of a great life.

  28. Elvis Presley

    Northern Ireland politician Lord David Trimble chooses Elvis Presley.

  29. Lilian Baylis

    Jude Kelly nominates legendary Edwardian theatre producer Lilian Baylis.

  30. George Bernard Shaw

    Dr Phil Hammond chooses the Nobel Prize-winning playwright, George Bernard Shaw.

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