Great Lives Folgen

Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe, chooses the life of infamous Leeds United Captain, Billy Bremner.Billy Bremner played for Leeds as a midfielder from 1959 until 1976. He scored 115 goals for the team and captained them for 11 years during the most successful period in their history. 5’5”, with a mop of red hair, he was known as “ten stone of barbed wire” "Wee Billy and “Midfield Terrier”.He grew up near Stirling in a working class family, moving to Leeds at 16 to where he returned in the 80s as manager. At the time, Anand was a schoolboy in Wakefield. Before he became a Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, he was first and foremost a Leeds fan. Anand was also at school with Telegraph journalist Rob Bagchi - author of the forthcoming biography of the club. Growing up in West Yorkshire instilled a lifelong devotion to Billy and the club in both of them - in spite of their "Dirty Leeds" reputation and the ups and downs of a team often destined to narrowly miss out on chances. "If being a Leeds fan has taught me anything, it's that anything which can go wrong, will go wrong."But there is another side to this story, both Anand and Rob are children of Indian parents. Elland Road was well known for the presence of the National Front on the terraces as they were growing up, and so Anand only saw Billy in the flesh a few times. But when Billy returned as manager in the 1980s, he went to great lengths to turn the culture of the terraces around. Presented by Matthew ParrisProduced by Polly Weston

When actress Sally Phillips first saw Myrna Loy, she burst into tears. It was in a film called The Best Years of Our Lives, about three veterans returning to their wives after the Second World War. Myrna Loy was most famous for the Thin Man series, and she also played voluptuous baddies in flicks like The Mask of Fun Manchu. But it's not just her screen career that inspires Sally, a star herself for work in Smack the Pony and Bridget Jones. Myrna Loy was a hardworking and often fearless person, heavily involved with The Red Cross and UNESCO after the war. The author of Fast Talking Dames, Maria di Battista, joins the discussion from Princeton.Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2020.

Actor and comedian Daniel Rigby chooses the creator of Acorn Antiques, As Seen on TV and Dinnerladies, Victoria Wood.Victoria grew up in a bungalow high up on the moors in Lancashire. The rooms were partitioned off with plywood, and she loved to play the piano on her own. She became the biggest comedy star in the UK, writing, directing, acting, and winning BAFTAS for being funny, and being serious too. Nominating the star of Wood and Walters, Dinnerladies and Housewife, 49 is Daniel Rigby. Daniel won a BAFTA playing Eric Morecambe in 2011, with Victoria Wood as his mum. She also became his landlady. Joining the often joyful discussion is Jasper Rees - author of the authorised biography of Victoria Wood.Presenter: Matthew ParrisProducer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2020.