One To One

John McCarthy talks to those who by accident or design, feel they live outside mainstream British society. Today he talks to Rafi, who fled to this country from Afghanistan in 2011, after working as an interpreter for the allied forces. Rafi explains how he took on the role in the hope of improving relations in his country but in fact it left him isolated from his home community and the people he worked for. Threats from the Taliban caused him to flee his homeland and to seek asylum here. After eighteen months of isolation in this country, he has now gained refugee status and can look for work but he explains the loneliness he feels living on the outside and away from his home, his friends and family. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

John McCarthy talks to a young woman who was made to feel an outsider within her own community, for becoming the victim of her husband's physical and psychological abuse. John says of the series: I hope to talk to people who are living on the 'outside' of mainstream UK society. On the street they would look like anyone else but in fact they are somehow apart. I have experienced being an 'outsider' myself; on my return from captivity in Lebanon, when I'd look like any other Londoner, but would feel utterly self-conscious and confused by the world around me. I've had similar feelings following the deaths of close family members. One experience was very rare, the other universal. I want to explore the idea of being an outsider; having conversations with others who will have walked those same private/public paths either through choice or because of circumstances beyond their control. What is it like being on the 'outside'? How do you cope with loneliness and feelings of being excluded? What are the attractions of

John McCarthy takes over the One to One chair to talk to people who feel themselves to be outside the mainstream; today he talks to hermit, Rachel Denton. Talking about the series, John says, "I hope to talk to people who are living on the 'outside' of mainstream UK society. On the street they would look like anyone else but in fact they are somehow apart. I have experienced being an 'outsider' myself; on my return from captivity in Lebanon, when I'd look like any other Londoner, but would feel utterly self-conscious and confused by the world around me. I've had similar feelings following the deaths of close family members. One experience was very rare, the other universal. I want to explore the idea of being an outsider; having conversations with others who will have walked those same private/public paths either through choice or because of circumstances beyond their control." So what is it like being on the 'outside'? How do you cope with loneliness and feelings of being excluded? What are the attractions

Martin Wainwright concludes his series of interviews, with those who persist and persevere with their views no matter what, by talking to creationist, Malcolm Bowden.

Martin Wainwright continues his exploration into what makes people become persistent campaigners. Last week he talked to peace activist, Lindis Percy, who consciously chose her cause but in this weeks programme he talks to Paul Lambert, who took up the fight for safety on bulk carriers when his youngest brother was lost at sea when MV Derbyshire sank off Japan in 1980. Not a man used to writing letters or locking horns with MPs or shipping magnates, Paul campaigned tirelessly at great cost to his own health and happiness, to discover the truth about the Derbyshire. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

In this series, where journalists follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most, Martin Wainwright interviews persistent campaigners. Having been brought up in a household that was always at action stations as part of his father's long campaign to become a Liberal MP, perseverance has always fascinated Martin. What instils it? What nurtures it? Can it become an obsession at the cost of everything else , including family? In this first programme he talks to Lindis Percy, now approaching seventy, she's been a political campaigner for some forty years, for the last thirty of them on the issue of American airbases in the UK. Lindis has been arrested five hundred times and served fifteen prison terms but she continues to campaign undeterred. Under the banner of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Airbases she still demonstrated every Tuesday outside the base at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire. Martin joins her there to discover what still inspires her to lobby

For these two programmes of the One to One interview series, Olivia O'Leary talks to people, who have reached the peak of their profession, about growing older. This week she meets one of the greatest ever jump-jockeys, Mick Fitzgerald. He was forced to retire in 2008 after a very serious fall in the Grand National. Producer: Karen Gregor.

For 'One to One' Olivia O'Leary is interviewing three people at the peak of their profession about growing older. This week she meets the Booker Prize winning author, John Banville, who also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Producer: Karen Gregor.

In a new series of One to One, Olivia O'Leary speaks to people who've reached the peak of their careers about how growing older affects their approach to work. In this first programme, Olivia speaks to one of her heroes - the great Russian-Icelandic pianist, Vladimir Ashkenazy. He left the Soviet union in the sixties, and has played a vast repertoire of the greatest piano music on stages all over the world. Ashkenazy is now conductor laureate with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. At 75 he is still jetting around the world to engagements so we were lucky to catch up with him in a hotel at Heathrow as he was leaving after a brief visit to the UK. In a candid discussion, Ashkenazy discussed the arthrosis (not arthritis as has been reported) in his hands which occasionally means his fingers cannot fit between the black keys; he talks about not wanting to become the kind of 'older' conductor, with failing physical capacity, that

In this One to One we explore how our experience at school can leave kids afraid to take risks as they fear failure. Kate Silverton desperately wanted to be a journalist from the age of 12. In her teens she travelled extensively - hitch-hiking across Israel and visiting the Palestinian territories in an attempt to better understand the conflict there, she stayed in a Bedouin in the desert and at nineteen went to Zimbabwe for four months armed with just a dictaphone to capture the stories of the people she met along the way. Despite her natural curiosity about the world and her desire to report stories of people living in conflict she didn't follow her heart because she feared she might fail. As the first in her family to go to university much depended on her and her career choice and she opted to enter the City as a Corporate Financier - a demanding job but one that diverted from her doing the one thing she wanted to do - because she feared she might not be good enough. It took the death of her best friend to

Kate Silverton wanted desperately to be a journalist from the age of 12. In her teens she travelled extensively - hitch-hiking across Israel and visiting the Palestinian territories in an attempt to better understand the conflict there, she stayed in a Bedouin in the desert and at nineteen went to Zimbabwe for four months armed with just a dictaphone to capture the stories of the people she met along the way. Despite her natural curiosity about the world and her desire to report stories of people living in conflict she didn't follow her heart because she feared she might fail. As the first in her family to go to university much depended on her and her career choice and she opted to enter the City as a Corporate Financier - a demanding job but one that diverted from her doing the one thing she wanted to do - because she feared she might not be good enough. It took the death of her best friend to convince her to change her mind. In the first of this two-part series for One to One, Kate talks to composer Raymon

Sarfraz Manzoor meets author, Elizabeth Wurtzel, to discuss her book 'Prozac Nation'. In 'One to One' the journalist and broadcaster, Sarfraz Manzoor, has been exploring the risks and rewards of taking a personal story and making it public. This is something he's done in his book 'Greetings from Bury Park' and within his journalism where he's written - amongst other topics - about his mixed-marriage and the experience of being a new father. He's intrigued by both the process and the ramifications of revealing private thoughts and experiences: How do people react to you? Do they see it as a betrayal? Do you risk hurting friends and family? Is it worth the risk if you achieve something that truly resonates with your audience? In this, the last of his three interviews, Sarfraz Manzoor speaks to the author of 'Prozac Nation', Elizabeth Wurtzel. Published in the mid-1990s, it was considered the first in the 'misery memoir' genre and was a huge success. But how does Wurtzel feel about what she wrote now, almost

Journalist and broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor explores the risks and rewards of taking a personal story and making it public. This is something he's done in his book ' Greetings from Bury Park' and within his journalism where he's written - amongst other topics - about his mixed-marriage and the experience of being a new father. He's intrigued by both the process and the ramifications of revealing private thoughts and experiences: How do people react to you? Do they see it as a betrayal? Do you risk hurting friends and family? Is it worth the risk if you achieve something that truly resonates with your audience? As he prepares to adapt his memoir into a screenplay, Sarfraz Manzoor speaks to others who have mined their own lives for creative purposes. This week he meets the best known of all the confessional columnists, Liz Jones, from The Mail on Sunday's 'You' Magazine. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Journalist and broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor explores the risks and rewards of taking a personal story and making it public. This is something he's done in his book ' Greetings from Bury Park' and within his journalism where he's written - amongst other topics - about his mixed-marriage and the experience of being a new father. He's intrigued by both the process and the ramifications of revealing private thoughts and experiences: How do people react to you? Do they see it as a betrayal? Do you risk hurting friends and family? Is it worth the risk if you achieve something that truly resonates with your audience? As he prepares to adapt his memoir into a screenplay Sarfraz Manzoor speaks to others who have mined their own lives for creative purposes..This week he is in conversation with children's author, Judith Kerr, whose famous children's book 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' was based on her own experience of escaping the Nazis in the 1930s. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Paddy O'Connell has taken over the One to One interviewer's microphone to explore a subject that reflects his own experience: the effect of great emotional upheaval on family life. Paddy lost his father when he was 11, and in last week's programme he met Sir Al Aynsley-Green whose career was shaped by the early loss of his own father. This week's programme takes a slightly different tack as Paddy meets Lisa Cherry, whose childhood was spent in the Care System. Born in a home for unmarried mothers, her childhood was spent moving from foster home to care home and a spell of homelessness. Eventually Lisa managed to get control of her spiralling life - giving up drinking and getting an education was the making of her. producer: Karen Gregor.

Paddy O'Connell explores a subject that reflects his own experience: the effect of great emotional upheaval on family life. When Paddy was 11 his father died, and in this week's programme -- in order to explore what impact this can have -- he meets Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green who, at the age of 10, lost his own father. Almost immediately he decided that, when he grew up, he would become a doctor so that other children "didn't have to lose their mummies and daddies". This passion for helping children has continued throughout his career: Sir Al was the first Children's Commissioner for England (2005-2010), having also been involved in the political arena of Children's Services since 2000. He was appointed Chair of the NHS Taskforce for Children and then the first National Clinical Director for Children in government. He believes strongly that the topic of childhood bereavement should be spoken about more openly. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Paddy O'Connell explores a subject that reflects his own experience: the effect of great emotional upheaval on family life. When Paddy was 11 his father died which, of course, meant that his mother was widowed. In the first of two programmes, Paddy meets Chantal who was widowed in 1995 and left to bring up three children alone. They discuss the initial reactions; the process of gradually moving on with your life; when - if ever - is it the right time to remove your wedding rings; and - if you do meet someone new - what role does the memory of your first partner play in your new relationship. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Razia Iqbal explores what it means to be a Muslim in modern Europe. Sonia is a young Frenchwoman working for a private investment bank in Paris. Two years ago she decided to wear the hijab to work, an action that has been deeply frowned upon by her employers. She talks to Razia about the importance the headscarf has for her and why she's determined to fight against the discrimination she feels it engenders. Producer: Anne Marie Bullock.

Razia Iqbal explores what it means to be a Muslim in modern Europe. Here she talks to the German writer and journalist, Hilal Sezgin, at her small farm just outside Hamburg.

Razia Iqbal takes the One to One chair for the next three weeks to try to discover what it means to be a Muslim in Europe in the 21st century. She talks to three people, in three countries, about their identity as Muslims where they live against a context of prejudice and misunderstandings about their faith. This week she talks to Hanif Qadir who decided to reject fighting in Afghanistan on the side of the Taliban and chose to help young people in the UK who were in danger of becoming radicalised. In Walthamstow, East London, he set up the Active Change Foundation to encourage young people to a positive future. He explains to Razia about what motivated him to become involved with the Taliban and why he ultimately chose to turn his back on them. Razia says, 'There are fifteen million Muslims in Europe. The continent looks completely different now compared to how it looked two decades ago. I want to talk to people for whom navigating that change is almost a daily challenge' Producer Lucy Lunt.