Profile

The New Labour old boy was at one time a front runner to lead his Party. But after a scandalous resignation from Gordon Brown’s Cabinet, it seemed his political career was over…until now.
James Purnell grew up between France and Guildford. Spending his teenage years at the fee-paying Royal Grammar School, he was known for his distinctive Parisian style and ‘Rupert the Bear’ trousers. A fan of the theatre, golf, and student politics, he began establishing a network that would prove fruitful for a high-flying career. This continued at Oxford - where he studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics - and spent summers interning with up-and-coming Labour politician, Tony Blair.
His career took off early - serving as a councillor in Islingon, Head of Corporate Planning at the BBC, and then Special Advisor to the prime minister all in his 20s. In 2001, he was elected MP for the northern seat of Stalybridge and Hyde, and soon climbed the ranks of government, serving as a minister in Gordon Brown’s government. Purnell weathered storms and scrutiny, before generating a scandal of his own: a failed coup against the prime minister, resigning from the cabinet in 2009.
Now, after decades out of Westminster - with top jobs at the BBC, University of the Arts London, and a corporate advisory and lobbying firm under his belt - he’s back. Andy Burnham, James Purnell’s former flatmate and football buddy, will become prime minister on Monday. And he’s invited his old friend back as his Chief of Staff.
What will the so-called ‘Ant and Dec of New Labour’ do when they take the reigns of government next week?
Production:
Presenter: Becky Milligan
Producers: Tom Gillett, Ellie House
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine Lang
Archive:
FA TV

The FIFA president grew up in Switzerland as part of an Italian migrant family, and fell in love with football and its administration when he was just a teenager.
Having qualified as a football lawyer and making a name for himself at the European football federation UEFA, Infantino ended up perfectly positioned to take over the presidency of the world body FIFA after the organisation was mired in corruption charges. His promise to give the member associations double the money sealed his bid.
He’s now been president for over 10 years and has overseen FIFA’s expansion, with World Cups in Qatar, Russia and now North America; the growth of the women’s game; more competitions; more controversy - and of course more money.
This week, his love affair with Donald Trump has been thrust into the spotlight after US player Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended following Trump's appeal to Infantino. Will this latest controversy prove his undoing, or is it just another chapter in a new brazen age?
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Tom Gillett, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine Lang
ARCHIVE:
FIFA

Donna Ockenden is a senior midwife and healthcare leader who has spent more than 35 years reforming patient safety in UK maternity services.
Born in South Wales, she overcame a difficult childhood marked by poverty, family breakdown, and a period of homelessness.
As a young midwife she cared for a baby named Gina who died from substandard care. This tragic event led to her lifelong 'Gina promise' to devote her career to making childbirth safer for mothers and infants.
Ockenden qualified as both a nurse and a midwife, before moving into senior NHS leadership roles. She transitioned into a formidable independent investigator, widely known for uncovering systemic NHS failures.
In 2017, she was appointed to chair the Ockenden Review into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Her landmark 2022 final report exposed severe deficiencies connected to the deaths of over 200 babies and nine mothers, shifting national perspectives on maternity clinical governance.
Ockenden was later chosen to lead the largest maternity investigation in NHS history at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Her 2026 report has identified hundreds of cases of avoidable harm and prompted national safety reforms.
Outside of healthcare she is an active community advocate, founding the Four Streets Project charity in Chichester to support the local homeless population.
Stephen Smith speaks to friends, families and colleagues who know her best.
Production:
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Bethan Ashmead Latham, Annabel Deas
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

The former boyband member and teen heartthrob, Harry Styles, is going into the final week of his sold-out residency at Wembley before continuing his world tour.
After winning music competitions while at school in Cheshire, Styles entered television’s biggest talent show, The X Factor, in 2010. While not making it as a solo star he was grouped together with four other contestants to form One Direction and becoming one of the most successful boybands of all time selling over 100 million records worldwide.
One Direction created a modern-day Beatlemania before going on permanent hiatus in 2016. Since then Style’s has released four solo albums and launched a career beyond music seeing him take on film roles, modelling gigs and become known as a fashionista. His celebrity best friend the actor James Corden, who used to ‘babysit’ the teenage Harry when he first started out in London is among the guests who speak to Mark Coles for this week’s Profile.
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Annabel Deas, Mhairi Mackenzie and Nathan Archer
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele and Siobhan Reed
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Justine Lang
Carpool karaoke: The Late Late Show (CBS)
Harry Styles singing with White Eskimo (YouTube: OneDirectionNews)
Harry Styles X Factor audition tape (ITV, The X Factor UK)
Fans screaming at One Direction ‘This is Us’ Premier (YouTube: Poveelive)
'As It Was' by Harry Styles (Erskine and Columbia)
'What Makes You Beautiful' by One Direction ( Syco and Columbia)
'Sign of the Times' by Harry Styles (Columbia)
'Watermelon Sugar) (Erskine and Columbia)

Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe is the newest disruptor in right-wing politics but the path he has taken to get there is a familiar one.
Born in Oxford in 1957 Lowe attended an elite all boys boarding school before studying for a degree in Estate Management. After university he was a commodity broker in the City and went to Japan to work in securities but when British football clubs emerged as attractive financial assets in the 1990's he became chair of Southampton after a reverse takeover. Lowe resigned in 2006 after a decade in charge – having been blamed by many fans for relegation in 2005 after 27 years in the top flight. He made a return but resigned again in 2009 as the club’s holding company went into administration.
Next he decided to try his hand at politics. In 2019 Lowe became an MEP for the Brexit Party before switching to national politics after the UK left the EU in 2020, this time for Reform UK. In 2024 he became MP for Great Yarmouth but after falling out with Reform leader Nigel Farage he became an independent MP and launched his own party, Restore Britain.
Production:
Presenter: Becky Milligan
Producers: Annabel Deas and Mhairi Mackenzie
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogondele
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Justine Lang
Credits:
@bedbox via YouTube, Rock Against Rupert - Rupert Lowe Michael Wilde out protest (1 February 2009)
Channel 4, Reform UK infighting escalates as Farage and Lowe trade blows (9 March 2025)
Channel 5 Vanessa, Is it wrong to put your pet down yourself? (24 June 2025)
GB News, Rupert Lowe - ‘I wouldn’t hire Boris Johnson for my organisation’ (5 December 2021)
Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe - Restore Britain Launch Speech (14 February 2026)
Sky News, Restore Britain leader: Farage 'tried to politically assassinate me' (18 June 2026)
The News Agents, Rupert Lowe- In His Own Words (15 March 2025)
The Spectator, Farage - Lowe is ‘a vengeful man’ (9 June 2026)