The first of Martha Kearney's new series celebrating portraits and portraiture through the eyes of ten Great Britons. Her guest is the internationally acclaimed fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, who's chosen a photograph from the 1920s of Stephen Tennant and the celebrated photographer Cecil Beaton.

After three years of closure for major refurbishment and expansion the National Portrait Gallery, just off London's Trafalgar Square is about to re-open. To mark the occasion the gallery, along with BBC Radio 4 have launched a celebration of great Britons, with Martha Kearney hosting a Close Encounter between the likes of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Dame Katherine Grainger, Edward Enninful and Arlo Parks and a portrait they choose to champion. For Sir TIm Berners-Lee it's the Suffragette campaigner Christabel Pankhurst, for Dame Katherine Grainger it's the first English woman to swim the channel, the largely forgotten Mercedes Gleitze.

In each episode we find out about the subject of the portrait, the moment at which their image was captured for posterity and the importance of image and identity for those who find themselves at the centre of the nation's attention today. It's also a chance for Martha's guests to get a look behind the scenes as the gallery prepares for its grand re-opening.

Producers: Tom Alban and Mohini Patel Show less