History’s Secret Heroes with Helena Bonham Carter (Series 1)

May 31

BBC Studios Press Release

Both sets of my grandparents were unconventional war heroes, so I was thrilled to be involved with this fascinating new series and help tell these lesser known, but extraordinary, stories from World War II. The risks these people took and the number of lives they saved was nothing short of heroic and it’s a privilege to shine a light on their acts of courage.

— Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter celebrates WW2’s unsung heroes in new podcast ‘History’s Secret Heroes’ on BBC Radio 4.

The ten-part boxset drops on BBC Sounds and will broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4 from 31st May.

Narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, the new BBC Radio 4 podcast ‘History’s Secret Heroes’ recounts the extraordinary stories of some of the most fascinating unsung heroes from the Second World War. They may not have always made the headlines or the history books, but their acts of resistance, deception and courage changed the course of the war.

In each episode of ‘History’s Secret Heroes’, Helena shines a light on ordinary people with extraordinary stories. Listeners will hear tales of people like Major Charity Adams, the first African American woman to be an officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, and Bela Hazan, a young Jewish woman who went undercover at the Gestapo headquarters to fight against the Nazis. Other episodes include Virginia Hall, an American woman who helped organise the French resistance, and masterminded one of the war’s most successful prison breaks.

Helena also explores the remarkable story of American actor George Takei (Star Trek) who, at just 5 years old, was removed from his home in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack. He and his family were imprisoned without trial along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans.

What I Did

This is my first co-producer role at BBC Studios Factual, the Podcast Unit.

I was approached for the role due to my record of creating factual, historical long-form audio and thankful that they did as I enjoyed every moment helping to create such a series.

As a team, we tried to make it as all encompassing as possible, to show stories from people of different origins, backgrounds and faiths that were impacted by fascism.

From researching different stories, pre-interviewing and interviewing guests, initial editing, scriptwriting, liaising with historians and museums for extra information, and PR, I’ve learnt so much in this role and looking forward to continue to lend these skills elsewhere.

Series Running Order (Episodes produced by me in italics)