Midweek with Greg Doran and Sir Trevor McDonald

Libby Purves meets Dick Robinson, the Royal Shakespeare Company's new artistic director Greg Doran; broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and Lord and Lady Fitzalan Howard.

Dick Robinson is the great nephew of Sister Edith Appleton who was a nurse in France during the First World War. Sister Edith recorded her experiences in her diaries - contrasting the horrors of her job with her love of the natural world. The diaries provide a record of the terrible effects of gas attacks and shell shock as well as a personal insight into nursing care during that period. War Diaries - a Nurse at the Front, The First World War Diaries of Sister Edith Appleton is published by the Imperial War Museum with Simon and Schuster.

Greg Doran has recently been appointed artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, taking up his new role in September. He joined the company as an actor in 1987 before switching to directing. He is currently rehearsing Julius Caesar, set in modern day Africa, as part of the World Shakespeare Festival. His production of David Edgar's new play Written on the Heart is about to open at the Duchess Theatre in London.

Sir Trevor McDonald OBE broadcaster, presenter and former ITV newsreader is presenting a new three part series for ITV, 'The Mighty Mississippi' which discovers how the river has played a central role in American history. He travels 2500 miles up the Mississippi to explore its place as the backdrop to some of the most painful chapters of life in America's Deep South.

Lord and Lady Fitzalan Howard live at Carlton Towers, near Selby in Yorkshire. They feature in a new Sky Atlantic TV series The Guest Wing in which four stately home owners show how they have kept their properties running by opening their doors to weddings, corporate events and even dog shows.

Producer: Paula McGinley.