The series offers new perspectives on WWII, including the compelling story of Star Trek’s George Takei.

BBC Radio 4 have announced a new series which sheds light on heroic ordinary people during WWII.

History’s Secret Heroes will tell stories of resistance and courage which haven’t made the headlines or the history books.

The series’ promises a fascinating line up of subjects including;

Major Charity Adams – the first African American woman to be an officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

Bela Hazan – a young Jewish woman who went undercover at the Gestapo headquarters to fight the Nazis.

Virginia Hall – the American who helped organise the French resistance, masterminding one of the war’s most successful prison breaks

A further episode will explore the story of Star Trek star George Takei. He was one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned without trial in the wake of the Pearl Harbour attack.

Series narrator Helena Bonham Carter says:

“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. 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.”

History’s Secret Heroes is a BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

It’s available now as a boxset via BBC Sounds, and broadcasts weekly on BBC Radio 4 at 11:30 on Wednesdays.