The Mark Steel Lectures
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The Mark Steel Lectures were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over three series between 1999 and 2002. Written and delivered by Mark Steel, each scripted lecture presents persuasive, yet witty, arguments for the importance of a historical figure. Many of the arguments are illustrated by miniature sketches.
These sketches featured Mark Steel, Martin Hyder, Mellany Hudson, Carla Mendonça and Debbie Isitt.
The first series was produced by Phil Clark; the others by Lucy Armitage.
The programme transferred to television in 2003, with an Open University series on BBC Four. This variously featured:
- Gerard Logan as Lord Byron
- Mark Lamarr as Himself
- Martin Hyder as Isaac Newton, Sigmund Freud, Aristotle and Charles Darwin
- Ainsley Harriott as Robert Boyle
- Linda Smith as Martha Freud
- Bob Monkhouse as Himself
It was written by Mark Steel, directed by Michael Cumming, and produced by Jon Rolph. The executive producers were Emma De'Ath and Graham Smith.
Radio Episode List
Series 1 - Englishmen who changed the course of history
- S01 E01 - Oliver Cromwell (9th August 1999)
- S01 E02 - W. G. Grace (16th August 1999)
- S01 E03 - Charlie Chaplin (23rd August 1999)
- S01 E04 - Thomas Paine (30th August 1999)
Series 2 - People with a passion
- S02 E01 - Lord Byron (13th February 2001)
- S02 E02 - Aristotle (20th March 2001)
- S02 E03 - Leonardo Da Vinci (27th March 2001)
- S02 E04 - Che Guevara (3rd April 2001)
- S02 E05 - Billie Holiday (10th April 2001)
- S02 E06 - Karl Marx (17th April 2001)
Series 3 - People with a passion
- S03 E01 - Ludwig van Beethoven (18th September 2002)
- S03 E02 - Hannibal (25th September 2002)
- S03 E03 - Isaac Newton (2nd October 2002)
- S03 E04 - Mary Shelly (9th October 2002)
- S03 E05 - Muhammad Ali (16th October 2002)
- S03 E06 - Napoleon Bonaparte (23rd October 2002)
Television Episode List
Series 1
- S01 E01 - Lord Byron (7th October 2003)
- S01 E02 - Isaac Newton (14th October 2003)
- S01 E03 - Sigmund Freud (21st October 2003)
- S01 E04 - Aristotle (28th October 2003)
- S01 E05 - Charles Darwin (4th November 2003)
- S01 E06 - Karl Marx (11th November 2003)
Series 2
- S02 E01 - Ludwig van Beethoven (5th November 2004)
- S02 E02 - Leonardo da Vinci (12th November 2004)
- S02 E03 - Mary Shelley (19th November 2004)
- S02 E04 - Thomas Paine (26th November 2004)
- S02 E05 - Sylvia Pankhurst (3rd December 2004)
- S02 E06 - Albert Einstein (10th November 2004)