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Great LivesAuthor: BBC Radio 4
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives. Language: en Genres: Documentary, History, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Alex Wheatle, the Bard of Brixton
Monday, 19 January, 2026
After a childhood in care in Surrey, Alex Wheatle was moved to a hostel in Brixton aged fourteen. Later he was involved in the riots and given a prison sentence, events which were covered in one of the Small Axe anthology of films by Steve McQueen. But it is Wheatle's writing career that has prompted Ashley John Baptiste to pick him for Great Lives - and his success was rapid and inspiring before his early death in 2025. Joining Ashley in this celebration of the life and career of the Brixton Bard is Lemn Sissay and Vanessa Walters, author of Rude Girls and The Nigerwife.Includes archive of Alex Wheatle MBE at the Hay Festival in 2024 and on Graham Norton's radio show. The producer for BBC Studios in Bristol is Miles Warde
