Episode Details

Sir Edward Coke was born in Norfolk in 1552.

He's best known as a judge and Parliamentarian, the link says Jesse Norman between Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights.

He was also, the programme claims, an occasionally appalling human being who used his own daughter in a marriage deal to buy himself favour with the King.

Joining Jesse Norman, and presenter Ian Hislop, in the studio, and often backing up his claims for Coke's greatness, is Dr Alexandra Gajda of Oxford University.

Jesse Norman is a government minister, former paymaster general and one time financial secretary to the Treasury.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2023.