Helena Bonham Carter launches World War II podcast ‘History’s Secret Heroes’
A new historical podcast narrated by Helena Bonham Carter launched this week.
Made for BBC Radio 4, History’s Secret Heroes shines a fascinating light on ordinary people with extraordinary stories, exploring unsung heroes from the Second World War.
“They may not have always made the headlines or the history books,” we’re told, “but their acts of resistance, deception and courage changed the course of the war.”
Helena Bonham Carter shot to fame in 1985’s A Room with a View playing playing Lucy Honeychurch and has been a British period drama icon ever since.
In recent years, the English actress has appeared in The Crown, both Enola Holmes movies, and 2023’s acclaimed ITVX drama Nolly.
“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,” said Bonham Carter
“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,” she added.
History’s Secret Heroes is available now as a box set on the BBC Sounds app, and the show is also being broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4 at 11:30am on Wednesday mornings.
“In each episode of History’s Secret Heroes, Helena shines a light on ordinary people with extraordinary stories,” the official synopsis reads.
“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 five 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.”
Helena Bonham Carter’s next period drama role was revealed recently, leading the cast of The Offing.
Based on the bestselling novel by The Gallows Pole author Benjamin Myers, the movie is set just after World War II in the northeast of England.
A Room with a View movie is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.