Harry Potter and The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter is narrating History's Secret Heroes, a podcast about World War II for BBC Radio 4.

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"In each episode of History's Secret Heroes, Helena shines a light on ordinary people with extraordinary stories," the British broadcaster said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Listeners will hear tales of people like Major Charity Adams, the first African American woman to be an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, and Bela Hazan, a young Jewish woman who went undercover at the Gestapo headquarters to fight against the Nazis. Other episodes include Virginia Hall, an American woman who helped organize the French resistance, and masterminded one of the war's most successful prison breaks."

Bonham Carter has described both sets of her grandparents as "unconventional war heroes" and explored their contributions in the documentary, My Grandparents' War.

"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," she said about History's Secret Heroes.

"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."

Premiering Wednesday, the radio program will also recount the story of Star Trek legend George Takei, who was removed from his family home at the age of five in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack when 120,000 Japanese Americans were interred.