Great Lives is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol. It has been presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and currently (since April 2006) Matthew Parris. A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the person they feel is truly deserving of the title "Great Life". The presenter and a recognised expert (a biographer, family member or fellow practitioner) are on hand to discuss the person's life. The programmes are 28 minutes long, originally broadcast on Fridays at 23:00, more recently at 16:30 on Tuesday with a repeat at 23:00 on Friday.
Programmes
Series 0, August–November 2001
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Tim Waterstone, founder of bookshop chain | Clement Attlee, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | Joan Bakewell |
| Rosie Boycott, journalist | Sir Ernest Shackleton, polar explorer |
| Terence Conran, food and design entrepreneur | André and Édouard Michelin, French inventors of the detachable pneumatic tyre and the travel guide |
| Ralph Steadman, cartoonist and caricaturist | Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher |
| Barbara Castle, Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister | Sylvia Pankhurst, suffragette |
| Frank Delaney, writer and broadcaster | Henri Matisse, French artist |
| Jonathan Miller, theatre and opera director, physician | Marshall McLuhan, communication theorist and philosopher |
| Fay Weldon, writer | H. G. Wells, visionary author |
| Rabbi Lionel Blue, rabbi and broadcaster | Swami Vivekananda, 19th-century Hindu missionary |
| Jackie Stewart, racing driver | King Hussein of Jordan |
| Joan Littlewood, theatre director | Brendan Behan, Irish writer |
| Lord Tebbit, Conservative politician and former Cabinet Minister | King Alfred the Great, 9th-century King of Wessex |
Series 1, May–August 2002
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Ned Sherrin, broadcaster, television producer and stage director | Sir Donald Wolfit, actor-manager | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Elizabeth Filkin, former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards | George Eliot, novelist |
| Steven Isserlis, cellist | Franz Schubert, Austrian composer |
| Lord Carrington, Conservative politician and former Foreign Secretary | Field Marshal Viscount Slim, military leader |
| Frederic Raphael, author and screenwriter | Alexander the Great |
| Janet Street-Porter, journalist and media executive | Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, revolutionary politician and libertine |
| Chris Barber, jazz trombonist and bandleader | Louis Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter and singer |
| Sue Limb, writer and broadcaster | Lord Byron, poet |
| Frank Keating, sports writer | Tom Spring, 19th-century bare-knuckle boxer |
| Kirsty Young, broadcaster | Katharine Graham, American newspaper publisher |
Series 2, October–December 2002
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Bernard Manning, comedian | Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Albanian Roman Catholic nun | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Sir Paul Nurse, geneticist and cell biologist | Erasmus Darwin, 18th century physician |
| Darcus Howe, writer and broadcaster | C. L. R. James, Caribbean revolutionary and cricket writer |
| Bea Campbell, journalist and author | Rachel Carson, marine biologist and conservationist |
| Muriel Gray, journalist and broadcaster | M. R. James, writer of ghost stories |
| Ahdaf Soueif, novelist and cultural commentator | Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer, songwriter and actress |
| Professor Sir Harry Kroto, chemist | Spinoza, Portuguese philosopher |
| Steve Bell, political cartoonist | James Gillray, 18th-century caricaturist |
| Tam Dalyell, Labour politician | Richard Crossman, Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister |
| Greg Dyke, media executive | Captain James Cook, explorer |
Series 3, April–June 2003
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Beryl Bainbridge, novelist | Robert Falcon Scott, polar explorer | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Leonard Slatkin, conductor and composer | Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian-American composer |
| John Sergeant, journalist and broadcaster | Arthur Ransome, author and journalist |
| Benjamin Zephaniah, writer and poet | Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician |
| Steve Jones, geneticist | James Hogg, poet and novelist |
| Richard Ingrams, journalist and satirist | G. K. Chesterton, writer |
| Stacey Kent, jazz singer, | Powell and Pressburger, film-makers |
| Richard Holmes, military historian | the Man in the Iron Mask, mysterious French prisoner in the Bastille |
| Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh athlete and broadcaster, | David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Esther Rantzen, journalist and broadcaster, | Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland |
Series 4, October–December 2003
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Peter Bazalgette, television executive | Noël Coward, playwright, composer, director, actor and singer | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Kit Wright, writer | Samuel Johnson, author and lexicographer |
| Kate Adie, war reporter | Flora Sandes, pioneer female soldier |
| Jenny Eclair, comedian | Sarah Bernhardt, French actress |
| Brian Keenan, writer | Bernardo O'Higgins, Chilean independence leader |
| Brenda Dean, trade unionist ad Labour peer | Octavia Hill, co-founder of the National Trust |
| Clement Freud, broadcaster, writer, politician and chef | Tommy Cooper, comedian and magician |
| Armando Iannucci, comedian and writer | Charles Dickens, novelist |
| Linda Smith, comedian | Ian Dury, singer |
| Ann Leslie, journalist | Mary Kingsley, writer and explorer |
Series 5, April–June 2004
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Lord Alistair McAlpine, Conservative politician | Machiavelli | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Denis Healey, Labour politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer | Ernest Bevin, Labour politician, former Foreign Secretary |
| Ruth Lea, economist | Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composer |
| George Monbiot, journalist, environmental activist and writer | Thomas Paine, American author and revolutionary |
| Benedict Allen, explorer | Horatio Nelson, naval hero |
| Charles Wheeler, journalist and broadcaster | Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States |
| Kimberley Fortier | Edith Wharton, writer |
| Richard Eyre, theatre director | Anton Chekhov, Russian dramatist |
| Kenneth Clarke, Conservative politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer | Benjamin Disraeli, 19th century Conservative Prime Minister |
| Lord May, scientist | Joseph Banks, naturalist and botanist |
Series 6, October–December 2004
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Dillie Keane, actress, singer and comedian | Gilbert & Sullivan, librettist and composer of comic operettas 1 | Humphrey Carpenter |
| Baroness Jay, former Labour Leader of the House of Lords | Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN, captain of HMS Beagle |
| Christina Gorna, barrister | Vivien Leigh, actress |
| Jilly Goolden, wine expert | Leonard Woolf, writer, publisher and political thinker |
| Gerry Anderson, broadcaster | Burt Lancaster, American actor |
| Tim Marlow, art historian and broadcaster | Marvin Gaye, soul singer |
| Shami Chakrabarti, civil-rights campaigner | George Orwell, author and journalist |
| Marjorie Wallace, writer and charity chief executive | Sir Edward Elgar, composer |
| David Puttnam, film-maker | Michael Collins, Irish nationalist leader (repeat of Programme 1?) |
| Lucinda Lambton, writer and broadcaster | Captain Henry Morgan, privateer |
- 1The programme originally scheduled was by the guest film-maker David Puttnam (who nominated the Irish nationalist leader Michael Collins). It was withdrawn due to "production quality".[1]
Hogmanay Special, 31 December 2004
- Carpenter died on 4 January 2005, this was his last Great Lives programme 1
Series 7, April–June 2005
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Joe Queenan, humorist, critic and author | Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire | Francine Stock |
| Mary Kenny, author | George Sand, writer |
| Valerie Grove, journalist | Charles M. Schulz, the Peanuts cartoonist |
| Douglas Dunn, poet | Robert Louis Stevenson, writer |
| Michael Morpurgo, Children's Laureate | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer |
| Martin Smith, Chairman of English National Opera | John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist, investor and philanthropist |
| Yvonne Brown, lawyer | Marcus Garvey, Pan-Africanist leader |
| Amanda Vickery, historian | Elizabeth Gaskell, novelist |
| Lord Powell | Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States |
| Frederick Forsyth, novelist | the 1st Duke of Wellington, soldier and statesman |
Series 8, October 2005 – February 2006
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Kathy Lette, writer | Mae West, Hollywood actress | Francine Stock |
| Carole Stone, author and broadcaster | R. D. Laing, psychiatrist |
| Howard Goodall, composer | Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, composer |
| Antony Beevor, historian, and Gillian Slovo, novelist | Vasily Grossman, Soviet writer |
| Robert Thomson, journalist | Zhao Ziyang, Chinese premier |
| Derek Wilson, historian and author | Thomas Cromwell, 16th century politician |
| Fiona Reynolds, Director-General of the National Trust | Beatrix Potter, writer |
| Adam Hart-Davis, historian and broadcaster | Nevil Shute, novelist and aeronautical engineer |
| Helen Lederer, writer and actress | Dorothy Parker, writer and poet |
| Annie Nightingale, radio broadcaster | Marty Feldman, comedian and actor |
Series 9, April–June 2006
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Penelope Keith, actress | Morecambe and Wise, comedy double act | Matthew Parris |
| Jeff Randall, journalist | Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist |
| Julian Clary, comedian | Noël Coward, playwright, composer, director, actor and singer1 |
| Craig Brown, critic and satirist | Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychotherapist |
| Ivan Massow, entrepreneur | Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer |
| Duncan Goodhew, athlete | Johnny Weissmuller, American athlete-turned Tarzan actor |
| Frances Cairncross, economist, journalist and academic | Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian physician and pioneer of antiseptic procedures |
| Anna Raeburn, broadcaster and agony aunt | Tamara Karsavina, Russian ballerina |
| Piers Morgan, journalist and broadcaster | W. G. Grace, English cricketer |
| Krishnan Guru-Murthy, journalist and broadcaster | Robin Day, broadcaster and political interviewer |
1Coward was previously nominated by Peter Bazalgette in Series 4 Programme 1
Series 10, August–September 2006
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist | Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary | Matthew Parris |
| Garry Bushell, newspaper columnist | Max Miller, comedian |
| Helena Kennedy, civil liberties lawyer | Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States |
| Jeremy Vine, broadcaster and journalist | W. H. Auden, poet |
| Elaine Showalter, feminist literary critic | Julia Ward Howe, 19th-century American abolitionist, social activist and poet |
| Lord John Biffen, Conservative politician and former Minister | Stanley Baldwin, Conservative Prime Minister |
| Joanna MacGregor, pianist | Nina Simone, singer and civil rights activist |
| Adair Turner, businessman and academic | Charles Darwin, naturalist and evolutionary scientist |
Series 11, December 2006 – January 2007
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Joe Boyd, record producer | John H. Hammond, record producer | Matthew Parris |
| Lesley Abdela, feminist campaigner | Millicent Garrett Fawcett, suffragist |
| Kathy Sykes, scientist and broadcaster | Albert Einstein, German-American physicist |
| Victor Spinetti, actor | Joan Littlewood, theatre director |
| Alan Davies, actor and comedian | Richard Beckinsale, actor |
| Camilla Wright, journalist | Martha Gellhorn, American war reporter |
| Anne Fine, author | William Beveridge, economist and social reformer |
| Ann Widdecombe, former Conservative MP and former government minister | Pope John Paul II |
Series 12, April–May 2007
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Phill Jupitus, comedian | Joe Strummer, frontman of The Clash | Matthew Parris |
| Nick Danziger, photographer | Tintin, fictional Belgian reporter |
| William Boyd, author | Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright |
| Pallab Ghosh, BBC science correspondent | Marie Curie, Polish chemist and physicist |
| Pauline Black, singer and actor | Billie Holiday, American jazz singer |
| Fiona Bruce, television presenter and newsreader | Mata Hari, Dutch accused spy |
| Yvonne Brewster, theatre director, actress and writer | Claude McKay, poet |
| Barry Cunliffe, archaeologist | Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor |
| Phil Hammond, broadcaster, physician and comedian | George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist and Fabian Society pamphleteer |
Series 13, August–October 2007
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Jude Kelly, theatre director and producer | Lilian Baylis, theatrical producer and manager | Matthew Parris |
| David Trimble, politician | Elvis Presley, American singer |
| Maggi Hambling, painter and sculptor | Rembrandt, Dutch artist |
| The Earl of Snowdon, photographer and Alex Moulton, engineer | Alec Issigonis, car designer |
| Michael Craig-Martin, conceptual artist | John Cage, avant-garde composer |
| David Rowntree, drummer with Blur and political activist | Lord Denning, judge |
| John Motson, football commentator | Brian Clough, football manager |
| Prue Leith, restaurateur | Elizabeth David, food writer |
| General Sir Michael Rose, British Army officer | George Washington, first President of the United States |
Series 14, December 2007 – January 2008
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Jan Ravens, impressionist | Thora Hird, actress | Matthew Parris |
| Quentin Blake, illustrator | George Cruikshank, caricaturist |
| Redmond O'Hanlon, travel writer | Alfred Russel Wallace, naturalist |
| Sir Richard Sykes, biochemist | Howard Florey, pharmacologist and pathologist |
| Roger Graef, documentary maker | Groucho Marx, American comedian and film star |
| Jacqueline Wilson, author of children's literature | Katherine Mansfield, writer |
| Joe Simpson, mountaineer | Hermann Buhl, mountaineer |
Series 15, April–May 2008
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Mark Gatiss, actor and writer | Peter Cushing, actor | Matthew Parris |
| Rhona Cameron, comedian | Charles Bukowski, novelist and poet |
| Steve Cram, former athlete | Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner |
| Stirling Moss, racing car driver | Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentine racing car driver |
| Anna Ford, TV newsreader | Paul Robeson, black singer, actor and civil rights activist |
| Simon Armitage, poet | Ian Curtis, lead singer with Joy Division |
| Nicholas Parsons, actor and radio and TV presenter | Edward Lear, painter and poet |
| Arabella Weir, comedian, actress and writer | Joyce Grenfell, actress, comedian and singer-songwriter |
| Colin Dexter, crime writer | A. E. Housman, scholar and poet |
Series 16, August–September 2008
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Jon Snow, journalist and broadcaster | Lord Longford, Labour politician and prison reformer | Matthew Parris |
| David Lammy, politician | Richard Pryor, comedian |
| David Attenborough, zoologist and broadcaster | Robert Hooke, 17th century scientist |
| Bob Harris, radio presenter | Alan Freed, disc jockey |
| George Osborne, then shadow chancellor | Henry VII, king |
| Lesley Riddoch, broadcaster | David Ervine, Northern Ireland politician |
| Mike Jackson, army general | Bill Slim, second world war Field Marshal |
| Deborah Meaden, businesswoman | Lady Hester Stanhope, traveller, diplomat and spy |
| Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye | William Hogarth, painter, engraver and satirist |
Series 17, December 2008 – February 2009
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Harvey Goldsmith, performing arts promoter | Luciano Pavarotti, Italian operatic tenor | Matthew Parris |
| Michael Grade, broadcasting executive | Billy Marsh, theatrical agent |
| Raymond Briggs, illustrator and writer | Beachcomber, columnist |
| David Soul, actor | Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and Resistance figure |
| Tracy-Ann Oberman, actress | Bette Davis, American film actress |
| Pam Ayres, poet | Tony Hancock, comedian and actor |
| Rachel De Thame, horticulturalist | Margot Fonteyn, ballerina |
| Ken Livingstone, former mayor of London | Robert F. Kennedy, American politician and brother of President John F. Kennedy |
Series 18, April–May 2009
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Stuart Hall, broadcaster | Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France | Matthew Parris |
| Polly Toynbee, journalist | Roy Jenkins, Labour politician |
| David Mellor, politician | Thomas Beecham, conductor |
| Ruby Wax, American comedian | Carl Jung, Swiss founder of analytical psychology |
| Colin Murray, broadcaster | Frank Sinatra, American singer |
| Andy Sheppard, saxophonist | John Coltrane, saxophonist |
| Michael O'Donnell, broadcaster and physician | Fred Astaire, dancer and actor |
| Misha Glenny, journalist | Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge and anti-Mafia campaigner |
Series 19, August–September 2009
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate | Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate | Matthew Parris |
| David Miliband, Member of Parliament and (then) Foreign Secretary | Joe Slovo, South African ANC leader |
| George Galloway, Member of Parliament | John Cornford, poet and activist |
| Dervla Murphy, travel writer | Freya Stark, travel writer |
| Rolf Harris, Australian television presenter and artist | Kyffin Williams, Welsh artist |
| Boris Johnson, (then) the mayor of London | Samuel Johnson, writer of the great dictionary |
| Kate Humble, TV presenter | Miriam Makeba, South African singer and anti-apartheid activist |
| Paul Daniels, magician | Harry Houdini, American escapologist |
| John Major, former British Prime Minister | Rudyard Kipling, poet and author |
Series 20, December 2009 – February 2010
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Sir Ranulph Fiennes, explorer | Henry V, King of England | Matthew Parris |
| Rich Hall, stand-up comedian | Tennessee Williams, American dramatist |
| Neil Innes, musician and performer | Vivian Stanshall, musician and comic writer |
| Munira Mirza, London Mayoral advisor on arts and culture | Hannah Arendt, German-American political philosopher |
| Christopher Biggins, actor and television presenter | Nero, Roman Emperor |
| Jenny Agutter, actress | Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist |
| David Bailey, photographer | Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist |
| John Williams, composer | Agustin Barrios Mangore, Paraguayan guitarist |
| Richard Dawkins, ethologist and evolutionary biologist | Bill Hamilton, evolutionary theorist |
Series 21, April–May 2010
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| John Godber, playwright | Bertolt Brecht, writer and theatre director | Matthew Parris |
| Clive Stafford Smith, human rights lawyer | Robin Hood, folklore hero |
| Peter White, broadcaster | Douglas Jardine, England cricket captain |
| John Lloyd, comedy writer and television producer | Richard Buckminster Fuller, architect and futurist |
| Stuart Rose, chairman of Marks and Spencer | Matthew Flinders, cartographer |
| Baroness Sarah Hogg, economist and journalist | Charlotte Guest, polymath and businesswoman |
| Brian Cox, physicist | Carl Sagan, astronomer and astrophysicist |
| Viv Anderson, England footballer | Arthur Wharton, athlete and football player |
Series 22, August–September 2010
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| John Harris, journalist and author | John Lennon, musician | Matthew Parris |
| Bettany Hughes, historian | Sappho, Ancient Greek poet |
| Dominic Sandbrook, historian | Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States |
| Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of Kids Company | Mary Carpenter, educational and social reformer |
| Eleanor Bron, actress | Simone Weil, French philosopher and mystic |
| Edwina Currie, former Member of Parliament and government minister | Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel |
| Digby Jones, former director of the CBI | Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Robert Winston, surgeon, scientist, broadcaster and politician | Michel de Montaigne, writers of the French Renaissance |
| Gerald Scarfe, cartoonist | Walt Disney, animator |
Series 23, November 2010 – January 2011
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Mark Borkowski, public relations | Malcolm McLaren, impresario and talent manager | Matthew Parris |
| John Hegley, poet | D. H. Lawrence, novelist |
| Gerry Robinson, businessman | Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright |
| Lionel Blair, dancer and television personality | Sammy Davis Jr., dancer, singer and entertainer |
| Neil Kinnock, former Leader of the Labour Party | Aneurin Bevan, founder of the NHS and Labour Cabinet Minister |
| Barry Cryer, comedian | J. B. Priestley, novelist and playwright |
| Jim Al-Khalili, Iraqi-born physicist | Gertrude Bell, writer, traveller, politician and administrator |
| Katherine Whitehorn, journalist | Mary Stott, campaigning journalist |
| Kwame Kwei-Armah, playwright and actor | Marcus Garvey, African-American political leader 1 |
- Garvey was previously nominated by Yvonne Brown in Series 7 Programme 7 1
Series 24, April–May 2011
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Clive Sinclair, British inventor | Thomas Edison, American inventor | Matthew Parris |
| Charles Hazlewood, conductor | Leonard Bernstein, conductor and composer |
| Diana Quick, actress | Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher |
| Sue MacGregor, broadcaster | Kathleen Ferrier, contralto singer |
| Lynne Truss, writer and journalist | Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and mathematician |
| Caroline Lucas, British Green Member of Parliament | Petra Kelly, German Green politician |
| Matthew Syed, sports journalist | Jack Johnson, "the Galveston Giant", boxer |
| Diane Abbott, Member of Parliament | Harold Pinter, playwright |
Series 25, August–September 2011
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Tim Butcher, journalist | Graham Greene, author and critic | Matthew Parris |
| Janice Long, broadcaster | Kirsty MacColl, singer-songwriter |
| Gwyneth Lewis, poet | Emily Dickinson, American poet |
| Antonio Carluccio, Italian restaurateur | Eduardo Paolozzi, artist |
| Daisy Goodwin, broadcaster and poetry curator | William Shakespeare, poet and playwright |
| Simon Day, comedian and actor | Hans Fallada, German writer |
| Simon Jenkins, journalist | Edwin Lutyens, architect |
| Cerys Matthews, musician | Hildegard of Bingen, German mystic |
| Graeme le Saux, former England footballer | Gerald Durrell, author and conservationist |
Series 26, December 2011 – January 2012
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Michael Sheen, actor | Philip K. Dick, science fiction writer | Matthew Parris |
| Raymond Tallis, philosopher | Ludwig Wittgenstein, German philosopher |
| Steven Pinker, psychologist and cognitive scientist | Thomas Hobbes, philosopher |
| Brian Sewell, art critic | Ludwig II of Bavaria |
| Jim Carter, actor | Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician |
| Martin Rees, astrophysicist | Joseph Rotblat, physicist and campaigner against nuclear weapons |
| Emma Kennedy, actress | Gracie Allen, comedian |
| Clare Gerada, doctors' leader | Vera Brittain, writer, feminist and pacifist |
| Baroness Warsi, Conservative politician and former government minister | Razia Sultana, 13th-century Indian princess |
Series 27, April–May 2012
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Owen Sheers, Welsh poet | Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet | Matthew Parris |
| Will Self, journalist and novelist | Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist and writer |
| Erin Pizzey, writer and campaigner | Gertrude Stein, writer, philanthropist and art collector |
| Tom Robinson, singer, broadcaster and activist | George Lyward, educationalist, teacher and psychotherapist who worked at Finchden Manor |
| Alexei Sayle, comedian | Edward Said, Palestinian-American literary theorist and campaigner for Palestinian rights |
| Eric Pickles, politician | John Ford, American film director |
| Diana Athill, British literary editor, novelist and memoirist | Francisco Goya, Spanish painter |
| Lynn Barber, British journalist and interviewer | Sebastian Walker, founder of Walker Books, a publishing house for children |
Series 28, July–September 2012
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Des Lynam, sports commentator | Henry Cooper, English heavyweight boxer | Matthew Parris |
| Janine di Giovanni, foreign correspondent and author | Josephine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte |
| Rory Stewart, Conservative Member of Parliament, author and adventurer | Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist |
| Bill Paterson, actor | Leonard Maguire, Scottish actor |
| Natalie Haynes, comedian | Juvenal, Roman poet |
| Ken Dodd, comedian | Stan Laurel, film actor and one half of the duo Laurel and Hardy |
| Stephen Frears, film director | Karel Reisz, film director |
| Alan Johnson, politician and former Labour Home Secretary | George Orwell, writer |
| Naomi Wolf, commentator and author of The Beauty Myth | Edith Wharton, novelist, wit and feminist |
Series 29, December 2012 – January 2013
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways and the British Horse Racing Board | Dick Francis, crime novelist and former jockey | Matthew Parris |
| Francesca Simon, children's writer and author of the Horrid Henry books | Jean Cocteau, French writer, artist and film director |
| Lemn Sissay, author and broadcaster | Prince Alemayehu, favourite prince of Queen Victoria |
| Stuart Maconie, radio presenter and music critic | Ralph Vaughan Williams, composer and folk music collector |
| Richard Herring, comedian | Grigori Rasputin, Russian Orthodox mystic |
| Max Mosley, former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) | John Stuart Mill, philosopher |
| Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, interior designer | Aubrey Beardsley, artist of the Aesthetic movement |
| Grace Dent, journalist | Nancy Mitford, novelist and biographer |
| Carol Klein, gardening expert | William Robinson, Irish-born journalist and gardener |
Series 30, April–May 2013
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Peter Hitchens, author and columnist | George Bell, Anglican theologian and bishop | Matthew Parris |
| Bobby Friction, DJ and presenter | Galileo Galilei, Italian pioneer astronomer |
| Chris Tarrant, television presenter | Kenny Everett, comedian and former disc jockey |
| John Blashford-Snell, explorer | David Livingstone, explorer |
| Gyles Brandreth, writer and broadcaster | Arthur Conan Doyle, author |
| Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, a website for parents | Bill Shankly, football manager |
| John Cooper Clarke, poet | Salvador Dalí, Spanish surrealist painter |
| Edmund de Waal, ceramicist and writer | Primo Levi, Italian Holocaust survivor, writer and chemist |
| Dr Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces | Florence Nightingale, nurse, health administrator and statistician |
Series 31, August–October 2013
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Russell Grant, astrologer and broadcaster | Ivor Novello, composer and actor | Matthew Parris |
| Gabriel Gbadamosi, playwright | Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician |
| Tanika Gupta | Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet |
| Julie Burchill, writer | Ava Gardner, American film star |
| Paul Mason, journalist and broadcaster | Louise Michel, 19th century French anarchist |
| Peter Bowles, actor | George Devine, theatre director |
| Konnie Huq, television presenter and writer | Ada Lovelace, computing pioneer |
| Brendan Barber, trade unionist | John Steinbeck, American novelist |
| Al Murray, comedian | Bernard Montgomery, WW2 British General |
Series 32, December 2013 – January 2014
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Ricky Ross, singer with Deacon Blue | Hank Williams, singer-songwriter | Matthew Parris |
| Michael Horovitz, poet | Allen Ginsberg, Beat poet |
| Meg Rosoff, novelist | Isabella Bird, Victorian traveller |
| David Chipperfield, architect | Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect |
| David Baddiel, comedian | John Updike, novelist |
| Adil Ray, actor and TV personality | Dave Allen, comedian |
| Mark Constantine, businessman and founder of Lush cosmetics | Kahlil Gibran, poet |
| Sara Cox, radio presenter | Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, hip-hop artist |
Series 33, April–May 2014
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Evelyn Glennie, percussionist | Jacqueline du Pré, cellist | Matthew Parris |
| Sarah Vine, newspaper columnist | Dante Alighieri, 12th-13th century Italian poet |
| Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser | Hans Sloane, art collector and benefactor of the British Museum |
| Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician | Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer |
| Deborah Moggach, novelist | Arnold Bennett, 19th-century novelist |
| Isy Suttie, comedian, musician and actor | Jake Thackray, singer-songwriter |
| John Craven, journalist and television presenter | Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 19th-century British engineer |
| Emma Kirkby, soprano singer | Henry Purcell, 17th-century composer |
| Michael Palin, Python, writer and broadcaster | Ernest Hemingway, American writer |
Series 34, August–October 2014
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Jonathan Meades, writer and broadcaster | Edward Burra, artist | Matthew Parris |
| Jazzie B, DJ and music entrepreneur | James Brown, American singer |
| Oona King, politician | Ida B. Wells, American journalist and civil rights leader |
| Ray Mears, woodsman and TV presenter | Rommel, German field marshal of World War II |
| Tom Shakespeare, sociologist | Gramsci, Italian Marxist politician |
| Labi Siffre, poet and singer-songwriter | Arthur Ransome, author and journalist |
| Stella Rimington, former Director General of MI5 and writer | Dorothy L. Sayers, crime writer |
| Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, politician and academic | Joseph Bazalgette, Victorian engineer responsible for London's main sewers |
| Edith Hall, classicist | Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian |
Series 35, December 2014 – January 2015
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Arthur Smith, comedian | Emil Zátopek, Czechoslovak distance runner | Matthew Parris |
| Laura Bates, feminist writer | Louisa May Alcott, 19th century American author of Little Women |
| Brian Eno, musician | Michael Young, sociologist and politician |
| Tom Solomon, neurologist | Roald Dahl, children's writer |
| Philippa Langley, historian | Richard III, 15th -century King of England |
| Michael Dobbs, politician and novelist | Guy Burgess, spy |
| Eve Pollard, journalist & former newspaper editor | Nora Ephron, American screenwriter |
| Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England | Risto Ryti, Governor of Bank of Finland, Prime Minister and President of Finland during World War II |
Series 36, April–June 2015
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Trevor McDonald, news presenter | Learie Constantine, Trinidadian cricketer and politician | Matthew Parris |
| Rachel Johnson, author & journalist | Lady Ottoline Morrell, literary hostess and associate of the Bloomsbury Group |
| Kulvinder Ghir, comedian & actor | Zoran Mušič, Slovene artist and survivor of Dachau |
| Helen Ghosh, Director General of the National Trust | James Lees-Milne, writer and expert on country houses |
| Wendy Cope, poet | John Clare, 19th-century poet |
| Antonia Quirke, film critic | Marlon Brando, American actor |
| Matthew Barzun, American ambassador | John Gil Winant, American ambassador to UK 1941–46 |
| David Blunkett, blind politician | Louis Braille, 18th-century French inventor of Braille |
| Val McDermid, crime writer | P. D. James, crime writer |
Series 37, August–September 2015
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Ian McKellen, actor | Edmund Hillary, mountaineer and explorer | Matthew Parris |
| Vicky Pryce, Greek-born former British Government economist | Melina Mercouri, Greek actress, singer and politician |
| Michael Howard, former Conservative Party leader | Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch |
| Ade Adepitan, television personality and Paralympian | George Washington Williams, American Civil War veteran and historian |
| Monica Ali, novelist | Richard Francis Burton, explorer and adventurer |
| Frances Crook, prison reformist | Barbara Castle, Labour Party politician and former Cabinet Minister |
| Hannah Rothschild, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker | Thelonious Monk, jazz musician |
| Nick Stadlen, former High Court judge | Bram Fischer, South African lawyer and anti-apartheid activist |
| Toyah Willcox, singer & actress | Katharine Hepburn, Hollywood actress |
Series 38, December 2015 – January 2016
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Dickie Bird, cricket umpire | Sir Leonard Hutton, English cricketer | Matthew Parris |
| Roger Saul, founder of the Mulberry fashion label | Gertrude Jekyll, garden designer |
| Alvin Hall, financial journalist | James Baldwin, African American writer |
| Precious Lunga, epidemiologist | Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmental and political activist |
| Martin Jennings, sculptor | Charles Sargeant Jagger, sculptor of British World War One war memorials |
| Susan Calman, Scottish comedian | Molly Weir, Scottish actress |
| Nitin Sawhney, musician and producer | Jeff Buckley, singer-songwriter |
| Eliza Manningham-Buller, former Director General of MI5 | Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States |
Series 39, April–May 2016
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Anthony Horowitz, novelist and screenwriter | Alfred Hitchcock, film director | Matthew Parris |
| Nancy Dell'Olio, lawyer | Lucrezia Borgia, Italian princess |
| Ray Peacock, Comedian | Lenny Bruce, Comedian |
| Sudha Bhuchar, actress | Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress |
| Graeme Lamb, SAS commando | Christine Granville, spy |
| Timmy Mallett, TV presenter | Richard the Lionheart, King |
| Charles Moore, journalist | Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, medical oncology |
| Ann Limb, chair of the Scout Association | George Fox, founder of the Quakers |
| Frank Turner, folk singer | Joseph Grimaldi, comedian |
Series 40, August–September 2016
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Hilary Devey, television personality | Gracie Fields, actress | Matthew Parris |
| Alex Salmond, Scottish former First Minister | Thomas Muir, Father of Scottish Democracy. |
| Sara Pascoe, stand-up comedian | Virginia Woolf, writer |
| Georgina Godwin, journalist | Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations |
| Tony Hawks, comedian | Marshall Rosenberg, psychologist |
| Maureen Lipman, actress | Cicely Saunders, nurse |
| Eliza Carthy, folk musician | Caroline Norton, poet |
| A. A. Gill, writer | Neville Chamberlain, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Cyrus Todiwala, chef | Dadabhai Naoroji, first British Indian MP |
Series 41, December 2016 – January 2017
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Lucy Porter, comedian | Cary Grant, American actor | Matthew Parris |
| Ben Kingsley, actor | Elie Wiesel, Romanian-born, American Jewish Nobel laureate |
| Orlando Murrin, food writer | Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist |
| Ruth Holdaway, sports personality | Helen Rollason, sports journalist |
| Suzannah Lipscomb, historian | C. S. Lewis, novelist |
| Akram Khan, choreographer | Srinivasa Ramanujan, mathematician |
| Len Goodman, dancer | Lionel Bart, composer |
| Chris Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford | Pope John XXIII, pope |
Series 42, April–May 2017
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Gary Kemp, songwriter | Edward William Godwin, architect | Matthew Parris |
| Germaine Greer, feminist writer | Dame Elisabeth Frink, sculptor |
| Ermonela Jaho, soprano | Mother Teresa, nun |
| Anton du Beke, dancer | Arnold Palmer, golfer |
| Peaches Golding, consultant | Shirley Chisholm, Member of U.S. Congress (Dem) |
| Steven Knight, screenwriter | Sitting Bull, Lakota chief |
| Sue Cameron, columnist | Emma of Normandy, queen consort |
| Peter Williams, businessman | Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc |
| Iain Lee, broadcaster | Andy Kaufman, entertainer and performance artist |
Series 43, August–September 2017
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Maxine Peake, actor | Ellen Wilkinson, Labour MP and Cabinet Minister | Matthew Parris |
| Stephen Fry, comedian, actor and writer | P.G. Wodehouse, writer, creator of Jeeves |
| Sathnam Sanghera, journalist and author | Alexander Gardner, explorer |
| Don McCullin, photojournalist | Norman Lewis, travel writer |
| Tracy Chevalier, novelist | Mary Anning, fossil collector and working-class woman from Lyme Regis |
| Helen Sharman, first British in space | Elsie Widdowson, dietitian |
| Nicholas Stern, Economist | Muhammad Ali, boxer and civil rights activist |
| Andrea Catherwood, presenter and journalist | Constance Markievicz, Irish politician and suffragette |
| Helena Morrissey, City boss | Rachael Heyhoe Flint, cricketer and businesswoman |
Series 44, December 2017 - January 2018
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Will Gregory, musician | Flann O'Brien, novelist | Matthew Parris |
| Cornelia Parker, sculptor | Marcel Duchamp, French painter |
| Louise Richardson, political scientist | Daniel O'Connell, Barrister |
| Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor | Mahatma Gandhi, Indian independence leader |
| Helen Arney, presenter | Hertha Ayrton, physicist, and suffragette |
| Gisela Stuart, Labour MP | Joseph Chamberlain, Liberal MP |
| Justin Marozzi, historian | Herodotus, Ancient Greek historian |
| Liza Tarbuck, actress | Nikola Tesla, Serbian inventor |
Series 45, April–May 2018
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Vic Reeves, comedian, actor and artist | Captain Beefheart, American musician | Matthew Parris |
| Ayesha Hazarika, comedian and political commentator | Jayaben Desai, trade unionist |
| Adrian Utley, musician | Miles Davis, American jazz musician |
| Laura Serrant, professor | Audre Lorde, American poet and activist |
| Tej Lalvani, businessman | Richard Feynman, American theoretical physicist |
| Simon Callow, actor | Orson Welles, American actor |
| Mica Paris, soul singer | Josephine Baker, American Vaudeville performer |
| Suzy Klein, TV and Radio presentator | Hedy Lamarr, actress |
| Barbara Stocking, former head of Oxfam | Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia |
Series 46, July–September 2018
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Hanif Kureishi, writer | David Bowie, musician | Matthew Parris |
| Erica Wagner, former literary editor of The Times | Roald Amundsen, Norwegian polar explorer |
| Simon Evans, comedian | John Stuart Mill, philosopher |
| Patricia Greene, actor | Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury |
| Helen Glover, Olympic rower | Alison Hargreaves, mountaineer |
| Greg Jenner, historian | Gene Kelly, American dancer |
| Cherie Blair, barrister | Rose Heilbron, England's first woman judge |
| Mark Carwardine, zoologist | Douglas Adams, writer |
| Christina Lamb, author and correspondent | Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan |
Series 47, December 2018 – January 2019
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Samira Ahmed, freelance journalist, | Laura Ingalls Wilder, American writer | Matthew Parris |
| Russell Kane, writer, comedian | Evelyn Waugh, English writer |
| Tim Smit, businessman | Humphrey Jennings, English documentary filmmaker |
| Mark Steel, comedian | Charlie Chaplin, actor and comedian |
| Nikesh Shukla, author | Ghulam Mohammad, Great Gama, Pakistani wrestler |
| Suzanne O'Sullivan, neurologist | Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author |
| Rohan Silva, former policy advisor to David Cameron and George Osborne | Colin Chapman, creator of Lotus Cars |
| Matt Lucas, comedian, screenwriter, actor | Freddie Mercury, musician, songwriter, lead vocalist of Queen |
Series 48, April–May 2019
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Shappi Khorsandi, comedian | Emma, Lady Hamilton, spouse of Lord Nelson | Matthew Parris |
| Helen Lewis, journalist | Catherine de' Medici, Queen consort of France |
| Tom Holland, historian | Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians |
| Ian McMillan, poet | Malcolm Lowry, writer |
| Kirill Gerstein, Russian American pianist | Ferruccio Busoni, composer |
| Caroline Criado-Perez, feminist campaigner | Jane Austen, writer |
| Jeremy Deller, artist | Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager |
| Shirley Collins, folk singer | Alan Lomax, American song-hunter |
| Kamila Shamsie, writer | Asma Jahangir, human rights lawyer |
Series 49, July–September 2019
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Lucy Irvine, adventurer and author | Robinson Crusoe, fictional characters | Matthew Parris |
| Ed Balls, British Labour and Co-operative politician | Herbert Howells, composer |
| Laura Marling, folk singer-songwriter | Lou Andreas-Salome, first woman psychoanalyst |
| Caroline Quentin, actress | Sir John Vanbrugh, playwright and architect |
| Shaun Ley, Broadcaster | Ramsay MacDonald, First UK Labour Prime Minister |
| Philippa Perry, psychotherapist | Maria Montessori, Italian educator |
| Fiona Shaw, actress | Eleonora Duse, actress |
| Sindhu Vee, comedian | Prince Rogers Nelson |
| Chibundu Onuzo, author | Constance Cummings-John, Sierra Leonean educationist |
Series 50, December 2019 – January 2020
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Peter Oborne, journalist | William Brown and his creator, Richmal Crompton | Matthew Parris |
| Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News reporter | Lee Miller, War photographer and model |
| Jeremy Paxman, broadcaster | Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, politician |
| Janice Turner, journalist | Enid Blyton, novelist |
| Bill Bailey, comedian | Alfred Russel Wallace, naturalist |
| Ken Clarke, politician | Charlie Parker, Jazz sax player |
| Josie Long, comedian | Kurt Vonnegut, American author |
| Andi Oliver, chef | Toni Morrison, American Nobel Prize-winning author |
Series 51, April–June 2020
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Rick Stein, chef | Jim Morrison, rock singer | Matthew Parris |
| Frank Cottrell-Boyce, script writer | Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins |
| Kate Stables, musician | Ursula K. Le Guin, American author |
| Olivette Otele, historian | Maya Angelou, African-American writer |
| Daniel Rigby, TV author | Victoria Wood, comedian |
| Sally Phillips, comedian | Myrna Loy, American film actress |
| Anand Menon, political scientist | Billy Bremner, footballer |
| Sara Wheeler, author | Sybille Bedford, author |
| Dolly Alderton, author | Doris Day, American actress |
Series 52, August–September 2020
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Margaret MacMillan, Canadian historian | Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist dictator | Matthew Parris |
| Jessie Burton, author | Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter |
| Peter Frankopan, historian | Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Soviet rocket scientist |
| Jessie Ware, English singer | Donna Summer, American singer |
| Frances O'Grady, trade unionist | Ernest Bevin, Labour politician and trade unionist |
| Tom Allen, comedian | Kenneth Williams, English actor |
| David Adjaye, Ghanaian-British architect | Okwui Enwezor, Nigerian curator |
| James Graham, playwright | John Maynard Keynes, economist |
| Michael Wood, historian | Xuanzang, Chinese monk and traveller |
Series 53, December 2020 – January 2021
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Philippa Gregory, novelist | Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII | Matthew Parris |
| David Spiegelhalter, professor | Frank Ramsey, mathematician |
| Diane Morgan, comedian | Hugh Dowding, Air Chief Marshal |
| Robert Rinder, barrister | Jessica Mitford, civil rights activist and investigative journalist |
| David Jonsson, actor | Jean-Michel Basquiat, American artist |
| Caroline Catz, actor | Delia Derbyshire, composer |
| Cori Crider, human rights lawyer | Cesar Chavez, Rights activist |
Series 54, April–June 2021
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Jonathan Kent, director | Patricia Highsmith, author of The Talented Mr Ripley | Matthew Parris |
| Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, journalist and author | Chinua Achebe, novelist |
| Eddie Piller, broadcaster and record producer | Kenny Lynch, singer, songwriter, entertainer |
| KT Tunstall, singer-songwriter | Ivor Cutler, poet, author, artist and humorist |
| Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster | Harry Hopkins, American statesman |
| Arlo Parks, singer-songwriter | Elliott Smith, singer |
| Ben Miller, actor, comedian and author | William Hazlitt, critic and essayist |
| Rosie Millard, journalist and broadcaster | Edward III of England, king |
Series 55, August–September 2021
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Michael Booth, author | Hans Christian Andersen, author | Matthew Parris |
| Tasmin Little, violinist | Yehudi Menuhin, violinist |
| Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health | Althea Gibson, tennis player |
| Lindsay Johns, writer and broadcaster | Frantz Fanon, psychiatrist and philosopher |
| Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A | Josiah Wedgwood, master potter |
| Peggy Seeger, folk singer | Ewan MacColl, folk singer and activist |
| Dorothy Byrne, president of Murray Edwards College | Catherine of Siena, saint, mystic, activist and author |
| Yanis Varoufakis, politician and economist | Hypatia, ancient Greek mathematician |
| Ruth Rogers, chef and restaurateur | James Baldwin, African-American writer |
Series 56, December 2021 – January 2022
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Niall Ferguson, historian | J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings | Matthew Parris |
| Rory Sutherland, marketing guru | Johnny Ramone, musician |
| Nina Sosanya, actor | Jeanne Baret, first female circumnavigator |
| Priyanga Burford, actor | Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan, princess and WWII special agent |
| Richard Walker, MD of Iceland | William Lever, founder of Unilever |
| Lady Hale, judge | Lady Rhondda, suffragette and businesswoman |
| Roma Agrawal, engineer and author | Mrinalini Sarabhai, Indian classical dancer |
| Henry Normal, poet | Spike Milligan, author and Goon |
Series 57, April–May 2022
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Brian Cox, actor | Lindsay Anderson, film director | Matthew Parris |
| Donald Macintyre, journalist | Tom Hopkinson, newspaper editor |
| Janet Ellis, Blue Peter presenter | Kaye Webb, Puffin Books editor |
| Lolita Chakrabarti, playwright and actor | Ira Aldridge, actor |
| Joe Swift, garden designer | Gil Scott-Heron, poet and musician |
| Terry Christian | Tony Wilson, "Mr Manchester" |
| Rob Newman, comedian | Franklin D. Roosevelt, US President |
| Anna Maxwell Martin, actor | Joan Rhodes, strongwoman |
| Susie Boyt, novelist | Judy Garland, film-star |
Series 58, May–September 2022
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Pat Nevin, footballer | Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer | Matthew Parris |
| Holly Walsh, comedian | BS Johnson, novelist |
| Bobby Seagull, mathematics teache | Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist |
| John Timpson, businessman | Kathleen Ollerenshaw, educationalist |
| Kate Bingham, venture capitalist | Rosalind Franklin, chemist |
| Romy Gill, food writer | Amrita Pritam, poet |
| Lesley Garrett, soprano singer, | George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, opera manager |
| Cressida Cowell , children's author, | Astrid Lindgren, creator of Pippi Longstocking |
| Bonnie Greer, playwright | The women of the Morant Bay rebellion |
Series 59, December 2022 – January 2023
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Olia Hercules, Ukrainian chef and food writer | Alla Horska, Ukrainian painter | Matthew Parris |
| Olivia Laing, writer | Christopher Lloyd, gardener and writer |
| Noddy Holder, frontman of Slade | Chuck Berry, Rock'n'roll pioneer |
| Bob Harris, radio presenter | Matt Busby, football player and manager |
| Minette Batters, President of NFU | Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, politician |
| Nick Hayes & Patrick Barkham | Roger Deakin, writer, wild swimmer, environmentalist |
| Chris McCausland, comedian | Kurt Cobain, musician in Nirvana |
| Adjoa Andoh, actor | Zora Neale Hurston, writer and anthropologist |
Series 60, April–May 2023
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Qasa Alom, broadcaster | Arthur Ashe, tennis champion | Matthew Parris |
| Christopher Clark, historian | Frederick the Great, King of Prussia |
| Dwayne Fields, 2nd black man to reach North Pole | Matthew Henson, 1st black man to reach North Pole |
| John Robins, comedian | Frank Zappa, musician |
| Gillian Burke, biologist and TV presenter | Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General |
| Jesse Norman, government minister | Edward Coke, prosecutor of Guy Fawkes | Ian Hislop |
| Jon Ronson, journalist | Terry Hall, musician with The Specials |
| Jake Arnott, novelist | John Gay, 18th-century writer |
Series 61, June–September 2023
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Ellie Gibson, comedian | Tony Benn, politician | Matthew Parris |
| Susie Dent, etymologist, | Thomas Mann, German writer |
| Matthew Gould, diplomat | Stamford Raffles, colonialist |
| Sophie Scott, neuroscientist | Hattie Jacques, actress |
| Kate Raworth, scientist | Donella Meadows, environmentalist |
| Chris Watson, musician | Ludwig Koch, broadcaster |
| David Bintley, ballet dancer | Ninette de Valois, dancer |
| Patrick Holden, dairy farmer | Lady Eve Balfour, organic farmer |
| Chi-chi Nwanoku, musician | Jessye Norman, American opera singer |
| Ken Loach, film director | Gerrard Winstanley, religious reformer |
Series 62, November 2023 – January 2024
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Walter Murch, American film director | Mohammad Mossadegh, former Iranian prime minister | Matthew Parris |
| Iszi Lawrence, broadcaster | Diana Barnato Walker, aviator |
| John Gray, philosopher | JG Ballard, writer |
| Faye Tozer, singer | Eartha Kitt, singer |
| Jimmy Wales, co-founder of the Wikipedia | Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States |
| Mr Motivator, fitness instructor | Harry Belafonte, singer and civil rights activist |
| Niamh Cusack, actor | Mary Oliver, poet |
| Simon Mayo, radio DJ | Alan Freeman, radio DJ |
Series 63, April 2024 – May 2024
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Harry Enfield, comedian | Gerard Hoffnung, cartoonist | Matthew Parris |
| Steve Richards, broadcaster | Sir Bruce Forsyth, television presenter |
| Baroness Ros Altmann, Conservative peer | Antoni Gaudí, architect |
| Katherine Rundell, writer | E. Nesbit, writer |
| James Dyson, inventor and businessman | Frank Whittle, aircraft engineer |
| Alice Roberts, TV presenter and author | Queen Emma, Queen |
| Hayaatun Sillem, CEO | Lady Rachel MacRobert, geologist and feminist |
| Harriet Harman, Labour MP | Maria Callas, opera singer |
| Mary Portas, retail consultant and broadcaster | Anita Roddick, businesswoman |
Series 64, August 2024 – September 2024
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Miriam Margolyes, actress | Charles Dickens, writer | Matthew Parris |
| Zing Tsjeng, journalist | Hilma af Klint, painter |
| Julien Temple, film director | Christopher Marlowe, playwright |
| Conn Iggulden, writer | Nero, Roman Emperor |
| Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon | Ignaz Semmelweis, physician and scientist |
| Jo Brand, comedian | Bessie Smith, blues singer |
| Anneka Rice, TV and radio presenter | Jane Morris, model and muse |
Series 65, December 2024 – February 2025
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Ekow Eshun, writer and broadcaster | Justin Fashanu, the first professional footballer to be openly gay | Matthew Parris |
| Doug Allan, wildlife cameraman and photographer | Jacques Cousteau, French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author |
| Hannah Critchlow, scientist, writer and broadcaster | Colin Blakemore, neurobiologist, specialising in vision and the development of the brain |
| Lauren Cuthbertson, ballerina | Margot Fonteyn, ballerina |
| Pen Hadow, Arctic region explorer and advocate | Peter Scott, conservationist, founder of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust |
| Reginald D. Hunter, comedian | Eugene V. Debs, five-time candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States |
| Jessica Fostekew, comedian | Boudica, warrior queen |
| A. N. Wilson, writer | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, polymath |
| Ellen E. Jones, media journalist | Florynce Kennedy, lawyer and activist |
| Mark Billingham, crime writer | George Harrison, Beatle and more |
Series 66, April 2025 -
| Guest | Nominee | Presenter |
| Maggie Hambling, artist | Henrietta Moraes, model and muse | Matthew Parris |
| Jonathan Maitland, playwright | Benny Hill, comedian |
| Kevin Cummins, photographer | Richey Edwards, musician |
| Alex von Tunzelmann, writer and presenter | Ned Ludd, legenday namesake of the Luddites |
| Hilary Bradt, travel publisher | Dervla Murphy, Irish cyclist and travel writer |
| Raymond Blanc, chef | Nicholas Kurti, physicist |
| Rebecca Humphries, actress and author | Tina Turner, Rock icon |
| Hannah Bourne-Taylor, author | Emily Williamson, co-founder of the RSPB |
| Mike Bode, Professor of astrophysicist | Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana |
References
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