Last Word

Bonnie Tyler, went from a Welsh council house to topping the international charts with songs like: ”Lost In France”, “Holding out for a Hero” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Born Gaynor Hopkins in South Wales she grew up in a passionately religious family, which is where young Gaynor’s first experience of performing came – singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at her local chapel. Fellow Wel...

Dame Penelope Keith became a household name for her performances in two classic TV comedy shows of the 1970s and early 80s: The Good Life and To The Manor Born. We share her story through her own words, with interviews from the BBC Archives. David Hencke was an award-winning investigative journalist who worked for the Guardian newspaper for over thirty years. His scoops brought to light wrongdoing...

A giant of American economics, former US Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, was an economic pioneer who shaped the modern American economy and believed in free markets and light touch regulation. A world financial crisis after he left the job, however, forced him to question some of his economic assumptions. We hear from Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders. Tulsi Vagjiani survived the plane crash wh...

Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute. Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband w...

For thirty years, Kanya King was a champion of Black music. She was the founder and guiding light of the Music of Black Origin Awards, the ‘MOBOs’. Launched in 1996, the awards became a highly successful annual event. Sir Alex Younger was one of the longest serving chiefs of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. He held the role known as “C” from 2014 to 2020. In that time, he headed the security o...

Larry King teamed up with his wife Billie Jean King to start the women’s professional tennis circuit in the USA. Baroness Ramsay was MI6 Head of Station in Helsinki during the Cold War and then became a leading figure in Labour politics. Caroline Marland transformed the financial fortunes of The Guardian newspaper as a senior executive in the 1980s and 90s. Valie Export challenged centuries of mis...

Matthew Bannister on Clarence B Jones the American lawyer and civil rights campaigner who helped Martin Luther King to write his famous I Have A Dream speech. Judith Chalmers, the TV and radio presenter best known for her globetrotting holiday series Wish You Were Here. Dr Anna Ritchie, the archaeologist who excavated some of Orkney’s most revealing ancient sites. And Frank Land, one of the prime...

Kirsty Lang on Michael Pennington, the Shakespearean actor who preferred a life on stage to the glamour of Hollywood. For Dame Judi Dench, he was her 'Mr Plum', she recalls his life. Cynthia Shange defied apartheid to become the first Black woman to represent South Africa at Miss World. Scott Hastings the rugby legend, who was once Scotland’s most capped player. He went on to become a well-known c...

The virtuoso pianist, Ruth Slenczynska was the last living student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. She began performing at the age of four, and was once reputed to be the greatest child prodigy since Mozart. From the Australian outback to the forefront of British science, Dame Bridget Ogilvie was the daughter of sheep farmers who went on to help make the UK a leader in biomedical research. Labour MP, Tony...

Dr Ittai Gradel, the Danish antiquities dealer who uncovered the theft of hundreds of artefacts from the British Museum. Katie Razzall recalls how he helped her report the story. Dame Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of Westminster Council who had a spectacular fall from grace over the 'homes for votes' scandal. Professor Nigel Dunnett, the horticulturalist and garden designer, known for hi...

Xia De-hong, inspired her daughter Jung Chang to write the best selling book Wild Swans about her trials and tribulations at the hands of the Chinese government. Lord Hunt, the meteorologist and former Director General and Chief Executive of the Met Office, who was an expert in turbulence. Joan Burstein, ran the influential Browns boutique in London’s South Molton Street, backing the careers of ma...

Matthew Bannister on Andy Kershaw, the radio DJ who championed world music, traversing the globe to bring new and eclectic sounds to a mainstream audience. For a time he was roadie to Billy Bragg who recalls their life on the road together. Dame Averil Cameron, the leading historian who re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire. Her friend, Professor Mary Beard, pays tribute. Dr Judith R...

Matthew Bannister on The Indian singer Asha Bhosle who soundtracked countless Bollywood films and collaborated with Boy George, Michael Stipe and Damon Albarn. Sir Neil Cossons, a leading light in the development of the UK’s museums. Professor Harold Ellis, the respected surgeon whose long career began at the same time as the foundation of the NHS. Daphne Selfe, the elegant model who was rediscove...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Craig Reedie, the sports administrator who led London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and went on to become President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Lord Coe pays tribute. Bronwen Naish, the musician who devoted her life to promoting the joys of the double bass. Geoff Yeadon, the world record breaking cave diver from Yorkshire. And Margareta Magnusson, best known...

John Wilson on Robert Fox the producer who had a career that spanned theatre, film and television. We have tributes from Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Robert’s brother, the actor Edward Fox. Mary Rand MBE, the first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Sir Tony Hoare, one of the world’s leading computer software designers who developed algorithms...

Matthew Bannister on The Woman’s Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray. Mark Steel joins us to recall her triumphant debut as a stand-up comedian. Len Deighton who created “anti-James Bond” novels including The Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain and Horse Under Water. Lynda Hale, the footballer who battled against sexism to play in the first official England women’s international in 1972. Jurgen Haberm...

Matthew Bannister on Yanar Mohammed who campaigned for women’s rights in Iraq and set up a secret network of shelters for those fleeing abusive relationships. She was shot dead on 2nd March. Phil Woolas, a key figure in the New Labour project who became MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth. Professor Robin Weiss, the eminent virologist who carried out important work to understand HIV. Jane Lapotaire...

Matthew Bannister on Paul Conroy, the photojournalist who worked extensively in war zones in the Middle East and the Balkans. He was with the Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin when she was killed in Syria. Kenith Trodd, the TV producer best known for his work with Dennis Potter on series like Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Stephen Poliakoff pays tribute. Astrid Llewellyn who skipp...

Matthew Bannister on Neil Sedaka the prolific songwriter who had Sixties hits with Oh Carol and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and made a Seventies comeback with Solitaire and Love Will Keep Us Together. Graham Gouldman pays tribute. Drusilla Beyfus, the journalist best known for her books on etiquette. Her daughter Alexandra Shulman shares her memories. Professor Dame Carole Jordan, the leading ast...

Matthew Bannister on Martyn Butler who was a central figure in the UK’s early response to HIV and AIDS. He was a co-founder of the Terrence Higgins Trust and gave his own home phone number as a helpline. Allan Massie, the Scottish author and critic whose hero was Sir Walter Scott. Sir Ian Rankin pays tribute. Professor Nicola Fear, the epidemiologist who studied the effects on military personnel o...

Kirsty Lang on Reverend Jesse Jackson the leading American civil rights campaigner. Diane Munday who fought to make abortion legal and co-founded the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. Philippe Gaulier whose internationally renowned clown school which helped to shape the careers of many leading actors. Lady Jean Wilson who travelled the world building a charity that cured millions of avoidable bl...

Matthew Bannister on: Meredith Hooper, the prolific author who wrote several books about Antarctica. We have a tribute from her son, the Oscar winning film director Tom Hooper. David Young, the American lawyer who was in charge of a team known as “The Plumbers” who tried to stop leaks of sensitive information from the Nixon White House. Dorothy Solomon, the manager and agent who steered the career...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Nicholas White, whose research on tropical diseases saved millions of lives. Lord Wallace, the Liberal Democrat who served in the Scottish and Westminster parliaments and was Deputy to three First Ministers. Professor Deborah Cameron who studied the use of language from a feminist perspective. Sly Dunbar, the Jamaican drummer who played on hundreds of hit records and teame...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Mark Tully who reported on India for the BBC for decades, covering some of the most significant events in the country’s recent history. Dame Gillian Wagner who campaigned to raise the standards of residential care in the UK. Dr. Gladys West, the mathematician whose work paved the way for the development of GPS. Richard Larn OBE, the diver who was one of the UK’s leading ex...

Matthew Bannister on Molly Burkett, who devoted her life - and her home - to rescuing thousands of injured birds and animals. At times these included a killer whale, a pigmy hippopotamus and a beer drinking crow. Sir James Munby, the respected judge who was President of the Family Division and was instrumental in opening it up to greater public scrutiny. Edith Flanigen, the chemist who invented mo...