Bunce's Tales of the Extraordinary BBC Radio 5 Live

Steve's back with ten episodes all about the Winter Olympics - only on BBC Sounds.

In this final episode of the series, broadcaster and journalist, and self confessed Everest expert Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker the tale of a man from Kazakhstan who day and night on the highest mountain, saved people from a frozen death with a series of rescues that seemed impossible. It is truly breathless at that altitude and in the thin air our hero went beyond reasonable human endurance to save lives. With a diversion back to his favourite subject of surfing Steve tells us briefly about Eddie Aikau, a man that took on the Pacific Ocean. The expression “Eddie would go” is still commonly heard in Hawaii. But it’s the tale of elite mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev that ends this series of Bunce’s Tales of the Extraordinary.

In this tale, journalist Steve Bunce makes the connection between the so-called "greatest footballer you never saw", Robin Friday, and Manchester United legend George Best. Friday is a fantastic character in his own right, the football mavericks maverick, who lit up the lower leagues in the seventies. Everyone who saw him speaks of his greatness and ability to play at the top, but did he ever get to test himself against George Best? Steve digresses to tell Caroline Barker about a night out in New York with another sporting character famous for his exploits in the bars and clubs as much as his sporting achievements, the Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta.

Zamora v Zarate met one night in Little Mexico, a fearsome quarter of Los Angeles, in a fight of extraordinary quality. Veteran broadcaster and journalist Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker about two fighters with some of the most remarkable statistics to ever meet in the ring. No defeats, a combined 74 wins with 73 ending in knockout. A man in underpants invades the ring at one point and we also hear about other unexpected sporting interruptions.

Writer Steve Bunce tells the story of Stuey Ungar, the greatest poker player in history, a man of marvels and a troubled genius with a strong self-destructive streak. 'The Kid’ set records at the poker tables in Las Vegas that people still talk about to this day, but this is a tale of horror with a suitably grizzly end. As with all stories of Vegas casino’s there is craziness so we also hear of escaping green painted alligators and the colourful denizens of the Vegas strip. As told to Caroline Barker.

The life of stuntman, bodyguard and boxer Nosher Powell, told by Steve Bunce, who exchanged letters with the notorious hardman. From appearances in James Bond films to the Two Ronnies, Nosher was a showbiz staple with TV with film credits in Ben Her, Are You Being Served and Henry V to go alongside his life in the ring. As told to Caroline Barker.