In History

In 1989, the Komsomolets sank off the Norwegian coast. Four years later, the BBC reported on plans to seal in its torpedoes' toxic plutonium.

The US oil billionaire's 16th-Century English mansion was home to a stunning art collection and a lion named Nero. In 1963, the BBC visited him there to discuss his "great success".

In July 1983, Clash of Loyalties was screened for the first – and almost last – time. In 2020, its producer told the BBC about conscriptions, interrogations, and a drunk Oliver Reed.

The author's childhood was rocked by bankruptcy and deceit. In 2008, he told the BBC that his "hectic background" trained him to be an author – and a spy.

Lord Lucan was found guilty of killing Sandra Rivett on 19 June 1975 – but by then he had already disappeared. His wife was interviewed by the BBC in 1980.

US journalist Martha Gellhorn tricked officers so that she could write firsthand dispatches from Normandy in June 1944. In 1991, she told the BBC about her daring subterfuge.

Martha Mitchell was a flamboyant Washington socialite whose husband was embroiled in the Watergate scandal. Her shocking claims of a "dirty business" were dismissed as delusional.