The Actor
BAFTA winner Wendy Craig decided to become an actor when she was three. She has worked on stage and television since the sixties and starred alongside Bette Davies in The Nanny. Wendy currently plays in Netflix’s The Worst Witch.
Series III
In Series III, we'll profile 13 new individuals redefining later life.
The Skydivers
Pat and Alicia Moorehead have been skydiving all over the world for over forty years. Amid preparations for their next trip - to Australia - they sat still just long enough to tell their story.
The Geographer
Since retiring, the former head teacher has written and illustrated around a dozen hiking guides and trekked solo across the UK.
The Health Crusader
At 19, as a recruit in Churchill’s secret army, Helen Taylor Thompson sent coded messages to agents in France and Germany. She went on to co-ordinate the opening of the first AIDS hospice in Europe and co-founded Community Action Network (CAN) and Thare Machi Education, charities which reach out to vulnerable people all over the world today.
The Zookeeper
The former motorbike racer and entrepreneur runs Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire and The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, together with his family.
The Makeup Monarch
Retired at 65 in the wake of a life-changing family event, Tricia Cusden asked herself what she wanted from the rest of her life. Five years on, the phenomenal success of her online makeup brand, Look Fabulous Forever, has given her the answer.
The Fundraiser
Jeffrey works tirelessly for charitable causes. It doesn’t matter if you’re 4 or 104, Jeffrey’s efforts show that everyone can do something to help.
The Serial Entrepreneur
With several successful ventures behind him, Bob Gould doesn’t need to endure the blood, sweat and tears of building up a new business, but he can’t think of anything he’d rather do.
The Campaigner
After a broadcasting career spanning several decades, Joan Bakewell was made a working peer and the Voice of Older People in the House of Lords.
Restless Creative
Arthur Taussig has a master’s degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in biophysics from UCLA. In the early 1960s, he went on to teach film and photography at Orange Coast College, a community college in California. When he retired in 2001, at the age of 60, his life’s work really began.
Digital Diva
After a career in marketing in the beauty industry, Angela Laws came out of retirement to become marketing and social-media manager for TrustedHousesitters, a global digital business that matches house and pet-sitters. With no digital marketing skills, she had to learn how to create online content and manage digital communities.
An Artist's Impression
Fresh from high school, Floyd Norman began his career as an in-betweener at Walt Disney studios. The first African-American artist to work at Disney, he has successfully spanned the worlds of hand-drawn and computer animation. Floyd Norman was the subject of the 2016 documentary, “An Animated Life.”
The Bard's Bluestocking
Retired journalist and author of six books, Joy has completed five degrees and is putting the finishing touches to her PHD on Elizabethan literature at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. Not content with scholarship alone, she has directed several plays for the Institute’s theatre group.
Series II
8 episodes
Living Art
One evening she suddenly decided to give up her career as an acclaimed culinary author to become an outsider artist.
Maestro of Venice
The Venetian glass master’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. But his inspiration both in art and life comes from simple pleasures close to home.
Father of string theory
The son of a hard-working plumber from The Bronx became the ‘father of string theory’ and one of the world’s most eminent physicists. He is now a best-selling author who is not afraid of a challenge.
A taste for life
Madhur Jaffrey may be best known for having revolutionised the way we see Indian food globally, but the polymath chef, writer and actor has many more strings to her bow. Now 84, her hunger for all that the world has to offer is far from sated.
Witness to history
Japan’s first female photojournalist fought discrimination to chronicle her nation’s postwar devastation. Now into her second century, she is still working despite breaking her legs and hand in a fall.
Star man
At 75, his curiosity and enthusiasm undimmed, this Nasa research scientist has no plans to scale down his search for extraterrestrial life. As far as he’s concerned, he’s just getting started.
Speed queen
After three decades as a celebrity speed queen, Dubliner Rosemary Smith retired from rally driving. But then, a few months before her 80th birthday, she received an offer she couldn’t refuse – a drive in a Formula One car.
Animal advocate
Virginia McKenna began her career as an actress and found fame playing Joy Adamson in the 1966 film Born Free.
Series I
12 episodes
Pedal pusher
The Frenchman set his latest world record in January, thriving in a sport that he has loved since he was a child.
Treasure hunter
The ancient Japanese tradition of plunging into the sea to fish still offers joys to a woman who has been doing it for almost 70 years.
Not ready to retire
She arrived in the UK as a Kindertransport refugee, built a leading tech business and is now changing lives through her three charities.
Still in the saddle
Australia’s oldest professional rodeo star says the sport keeps him fit and the competition still keeps him hungry after more than 70 years.
The last laugh
The american discovered stand-up in her 70s, and wants audiences to leave her shows believing that it is never too late to achieve their dreams.
Style and substance
After a long career as a leading stylist, the New Yorker founded her own company and has become a social media star who has embraced getting older.
A glorious view from the top
The Japanese first climbed — and skied down — Mount Everest at 70. Now, he is plotting a fourth attempt of the world’s highest peak.
The 'Iron Nun'
Having competed in 45 of the gruelling races that combine swimming, running and cycling, the American is still training and competing.
Still at the helm
The first man to complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe is as committed to his craft as ever, and says experience has only made him better at it.
Artisan on song
The man credited with reviving the violin-making traditions of Antonio Stradivari says understanding nature and finding joy in work is the key to a long and healthy life.
A fresh face
After a break of almost six decades, an unexpected encounter at the age of 70 relaunched one of the most enduring careers in high fashion. Two decades on, it is still going strong.
The road runner
At the age of 90, the former dentist rebuilt his body. Now, he is a world-class sprinter and long jumper, and wants us to radically rethink how we approach ageing.
