Margaret Keane, Keith Smith, Mario Fiorentini, Brenda Fisher - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

Matthew Bannister on

Margaret Keane (pictured), the American artist whose paintings of children with 'Big Eyes' became hugely popular in the 1960s. Her identity as the painter was kept secret by her husband who claimed the works as his own.

Keith Smith, the market trader who co-founded the Poundland chain of shops.

Mario Fiorentini, Italy’s most decorated partisan, who risked torture and death to fight the German occupation of his country.

Brenda Fisher, the long distance swimmer from Grimsby who became an international celebrity after breaking the women’s speed record for swimming the English Channel.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Larry Karaszewski
Interviewed guest: Steve Smith
Interviewed guest: Philip Cooke
Interviewed guest: Alessandro Portelli
Interviewed guest: Lucy Wood
Interviewed guest: Peter Winchester MBE

Archive clips used: Westinghouse Broadcasting Company / Mike Douglas Entertainments, The Mike Douglas Show - Interview with Margaret Keane 1972; BBC World Service, Outlook - Margaret Keane interview 30/12/2014; Duane Anderly, 1964 Lost Interview with Walter and Margaret Keane from YouTube; The Weinstein Company / Silverwood Films / Tim Burton Productions, Big Eyes (film clip) 2014; Express & Star YouTube Channel, Founder of Poundland, Keith Smith opens his grounds up for a festival 25/06/2015; BBC One, Antiques Roadshow: Series 41 - Pioneering Women Special 10/06/2018; BBC Sound Archive, Swim The Channel 17/08/1951.

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