Whatever Happened To...?

Episodes

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst
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01The Bankers20180807Lauren Laverne meets three people who started life as bankers, part of the graduate intake for a leading merchant bank back in 1987 and discovers where they ended up.

In October 1987 Edward Heckles; Gill Meekison and Richard Symes started work at Kleinwort Benson, a leading merchant bank, as part of its graduate trainee scheme.

Back then they enjoyed a high octane working environment and thrived in the hothouse of high finance. Today one of them is a teacher; one a health campaigner and the third has spent their entire career at the same bank.

In this programme they reminisce about the heady days of the City in the 1980s and ruminate on how their lives unfolded. Have their personal ups and downs left them philosophical and rueful or happy and fulfilled?

Producer: Paula McGinley

Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Lauren Laverne meets three former bankers and discovers where they ended up.

Lauren Laverne follows the lives of people who spent an intense period of time together.

01The Drama Students20180731As John Lennon once wrote 'life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans'. In this four-part series broadcaster Lauren Laverne follows the twists and turns in the lives of three people who spent an intense period of time together and then went their separate ways. Where did they end up and what took them there? Did early promise turn into a stellar career or did life take a different turn?

Lauren hears how these lives unfolded; the successes and tragedies that form the backdrop of their stories; the incidents that prompted them to change direction and the moving and surprising conclusions they've come to as they look back on their younger selves.

In this first edition Lauren meets three former students who studied acting at the Poor School drama college in 1993. Today one of them is the deputy principal of a performing arts school; one a personal stylist and one an advocate for children in care. But who became who, and how did they get there? They recall with humour and sadness. the fickle and unforgiving world of professional acting.

Producer: Paula Mcginley

Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Lauren Laverne discovers what happened to three drama students who gave it their all.

Lauren Laverne follows the lives of people who spent an intense period of time together.

01The Nuns20180814Lauren Laverne meets three women who trained to become nuns at St Mary's Convent, Ascot in the 1970s.

In December 1972, shortly before Christmas, Stephanie de Laszlo entered the Novitiate of St Mary's Convent in Ascot. She was to be joined by Jane Livesey and Anna Brennan - three young women embarking on a life of contemplation and prayer within the Congregation of Jesus.

But their lives did not all follow that quiet path - since then two of the women have left the Congregation, while the third became its worldwide leader. Today one of the three is a lawyer and one joined the police force before becoming a member of an enclosed community of Benedictine nuns. Which of them chose to leave religious life altogether and why did one go back after several years on the outside?

In this programme the women speak about their faith with clarity and wry humour. They look back on the decision they made to enter religious life and how their resolve was tested in the intervening years. They reflect on the challenges they experienced both inside and outside the convent and how they negotiated the forks in the road along the way to personal understanding and contentment.

Producer: Paula McGinley

Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Lauren Laverne meets three women who trained to become nuns in the 1970s.

Lauren Laverne follows the lives of people who spent an intense period of time together.

01The Refrigeration Engineers20180821Broadcaster Lauren Laverne meets three men who trained as refrigeration and air conditioning engineers at Eastleigh Technical College in Hampshire in 1977 and finds out the surprising turns their lives have taken.

In 1977 when punk was at its height three teenagers - Nick Petford, John Russell-Sanders and Dave Coombs - sat down to start their City and Guilds course in refrigeration and air conditioning at Eastleigh Technical College in Hampshire.

The year long vocational course was designed to produce engineers who would go on to design, install and maintain cooling systems. But Nick, John and Dave had other plans. Today one of them is a university vice-chancellor and an expert in volcanology; one a photographer whose images have appeared on the front pages of national newspapers and one a teacher and carpenter who has created work for Windsor Castle and Salisbury Cathedral. How did they leave the welding and brazing behind and find their true vocations 40 years on?

In this programme the three look back in wonder at what happened to them in the intervening years. They reflect on the choices they made and how they surpassed the expectations of their parents and teachers.

Producer: Paula McGinley

Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Lauren Laverne follows lives of three people who spent an intense period of time together.

Lauren Laverne follows the lives of people who spent an intense period of time together.

0101George2009020720190110/11 (BBC7)She was the scourge of smugglers, perennial kidnap victim - and the stalwart of Enid Blyton's Famous Five.

George reflects on her life - and reveals the fate of other members of the adventurous group of children - Julian, Dick, Anne and their dog Timmy.

First in a six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Rosemary Leach as George, Andrew Sachs as Uncle Quentin, June Barrie as Anne, Cyril Shaps as Dick, Jonathan Tafler as Alf, Peter Woodthorpe as Reggie and Eva Haddon.

Producer: Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

Enid Blyton's character reveals the fate of other 'Famous Five' members.

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters

0102Popeye2009021420190117/18 (BBC7)Born in a typhoon with dynamite in both fists. Spinach was his trademark but it also brought about his downfall.

Whatever happened to EC Segar's sailor man - Popeye?

Six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Warren Mitchell as G Wellington Wimpy, Kerry Shale as Sweepee, Peter Woodthorpe as Bluto, Andrew Sachs as Peter Boyd-Shuster, Jonathan Tafler as Lou Canvas, Cyril Shaps as Moses Kyle, Eva Haddon as Miss Jones and Myfanwy Talog as Sian Owens-Prosser.

Producer: Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

Reflections on the rise and fall of EC Segar's sailor man. Stars Warren Mitchell.

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters

0103The Ugly Sisters2009022120190124/25 (BBC7)Scheming vixens or victims of character assassination by Cinderella's secret police?

Whatever happened to the Ugly Sisters?

Six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Prunella Scales as Marie Claire, Eleanor Bron as Alexandra, Andrew Sachs as Napoleon, Jonathan Tafler as Knuppet, Peter Woodthorpe as Wordsworth and June Barrie as Cinderella,

Produced at BBC Bristol by Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

Cinderella's siblings speak out, giving their version of what happened after the ball

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters

0104Horace Henry Samuel Quelch1994070220190131 (BBC7)
The Scourge of Billy Bunter and other pupils of Greyfriars School who may have done lasting damage to a generation of English schoolboys.

Whatever happened to Horace Henry Samuel Quelch?

Six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Andrew Sachs as Quelch, Nigel Davenport as Major Vernon Smith, Gerald Campion as Bunter, Cyril Shaps as Sir Johnny Bull, Peter Woodthorpe as Harry Wharton MP, Jonathan Tafler as Alonzo Todd, Kerry Shale as Professor Edwin McHatte and Eva Haddon as Dr Anna Safanner.

Produced at BBC Bristol by Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

Did Billy Bunter's scourge of Greyfriars School really become a secret agent?

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters

0105Doctor Who's Granddaughter Susan1994070920190207/08 (BBC7)Last seen abandoned in a rubble-strewn London of the future having helped defeat the Dalek invasion of the Earth...

Whatever happened to Doctor Who's Granddaughter Susan?

Six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Jane Asher as Susan, James Grout as Ian Chesterton, Andrew Sachs as Temmosus, June Barrie as Barbara Wright, Peter Woodthorpe as Joey Oxford and Eva Haddon as Jo Jones.

Produced at BBC Bristol by Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

Last seen in ruined London after a Dalek invasion, where is the Time Lord's relative now?

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters

0106Little Lord Fauntleroy2009031420190214/15 (BBC7)Naive, golden-haired, little angel or an unprincipled scoundrel who is prepared to kill to get his own way?

Whatever happened to Little Lord Fauntleroy?

Six-part series revealing the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction written by Adrian Mourby.

With Michael Horden as Thomas Havisham, Andrew Sachs as Inspector Meake, Christian Rodska as Ceddie, Eva Haddon as Dearest, Kerry Shale as Silas Hobbs, June Barrie as Mary O'Mary and Cyril Shaps as Wilkins.

Produced at BBC Bristol by Brian King

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.

What became of the naive, golden-haired, little angel?

Spoof comedy, charting the lives of celebrated fictional characters