Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Lord Rogers of Riverside, the influential architect who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Lloyds Building in London. April Ashley, the transgender model who partied with pop stars and aristocrats during the Swinging Sixties and campaigned for changes to the law on gender identity. Joan Didion, the American writer best known for her memoir 'The Year of Magical Think...

Julian Worricker on Janice Long, the pioneering female DJ who was heard on Radios 1 and 2 and was a familiar face on Top of the Pops. “Marvellous” Marvin Hagler, one of the greatest middleweight boxing champions of all time. Esther Bejarano, one of the last survivors of the Auschwitz women’s orchestra who devoted her life to campaigning against racism. Leslie Bricusse OBE, the prolific songwriter...

Julian Worricker on The feminist writer bell hooks, credited with prompting new, radical thinking about race, gender and class. Shirley McGreal, founder of the International Primate Protection League, whose work in conservation led to her opening a gibbon sanctuary in South Carolina. The singer, dancer and actor, Lionel Blair, whose career began during World War II, and spanned eight decades... An...

Matthew Bannister on The journalist and feminist Mary Maher. She edited the women’s page of the Irish Times and was a prime mover in campaigns for equal rights. The bass player Robbie Shakespeare. With his partner Sly Dunbar he formed a powerful rhythm section in demand by artists from Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru to Grace Jones, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. Anwar Ditta, the British Asian mother who f...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Antony Sher, one of the finest actors of his generation, who was also a writer and a painter. We have a heartfelt personal tribute from his husband, the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran. Roger Phillips, the colourful plant photographer who produced many authoritative books on wild flowers, trees and plants but was perhaps best known for his...

Matthew Bannister on Stephen Sondheim, the acclaimed composer and lyricist who revolutionised the stage musical. We have a tribute from Imelda Staunton who gave award-winning performances in some of his finest roles. Sir Frank Williams, the Formula One motor racing team owner who continued to enjoy great success after breaking his neck in a car crash that left him quadriplegic. His close friend an...

Matthew Bannister on Ian Wallace, one of the most influential figures in British ornithology. At one time he had seen a wider variety of species of birds than anyone else in Britain. Rossana Banti, the Italian partisan who risked her life acting as a courier for the Resistance. Ivy Nicholson, the model who was once a muse for Andy Warhol but fell on hard times and ended up sleeping on the streets....

Kirsty Lang on Aaron Beck the Eminent psychiatrist who developed cognitive behavioural therapy into the world’s most popular treatment for depression and anxiety. Joan Carlyle the principal soprano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for almost 20 years. Etel Adnan one of the Arab world's most important writers, and author of one of the most important War Novels ever written and Anne Bradford...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Archie Lamb who rose from Foreign Office filing clerk to become one of the UK’s most distinguished ambassadors. John Boyden, the record producer who founded the Classics For Pleasure label to bring classical music to a wide audience at affordable prices. Ida Nudel, whose campaigns on behalf of Jewish people refused permission to emigrate to Israel from the Soviet Union led...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Michael Rutter who was known as the 'father of child psychiatry'. He pioneered research into many aspects of child development. Christopher Wenner - also known as Max Stahl - who changed career from Blue Peter TV presenter to intrepid documentary film maker. Sister Megan Rice, the American nun who campaigned against nuclear weapons. She was arrested and sent to prison for...

Matthew Bannister on Bernard Haitink, one of the greatest orchestral conductors of his generation, known for his interpretations of Mahler, Bruckner and Wagner. Victor Gregg, the British soldier who was caught up in the Dresden bombing raids, suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and later went undercover for MI6. Ruthie Tompson, one of Walt Disney’s longest serving animators, she worked on clas...

Kirsty Lang on Colin Powell, who rose from an impoverished childhood in Harlem to become US Secretary of State A much loved Irish poet: Brendan Kennelly who learnt his storytelling skills growing up in his father’s pub in County Kerry A ground-breaking female scientist Myriam Sarachik who had to contend with the deeply entrenched sexism And the extraordinary story of John Clunies-Ross - former rul...

Matthew Bannister on Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, once described as the world’s most dangerous man - but hailed as a hero in his native Pakistan for leading the country’s development of nuclear weapons. Dr. R. Allen Gardner, the American ethologist who trained a chimpanzee to use sign language. Beresford King-Smith, who played a key backstage role in the success of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orches...

Matthew Bannister on Antony Hewish, the radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for his work on discovering pulsars. Roger Michell, the film, theatre and TV director who brought us Notting Hill, The Buddha of Suburbia and Persuasion. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of Algeria for more than twenty years, who was ousted from power after trying to secure a fifth term in office. And Jane Powell,...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Gowrie, the Tory peer who served as Northern Ireland minister and Arts minister under Margaret Thatcher. He was also a poet and went on to chair Sotheby’s and the Arts Council. Kamla Bhasin, the Indian feminist writer who inspired millions of women in her campaigns against patriarchy. Shirley Metherell MBE who founded a centre for the treatment of babies with hearing loss...

Julian Worricker on: One of the greatest attacking footballers of all time, Jimmy Greaves, who later became a successful and often very funny TV presenter... The inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, who made home computers and calculators portable and affordable. Olivia Jordan whose heroism during World War 2 saw her driving ambulances through France before she became Charles De Gaulle's translator. And t...

Datshiane Navanayagam on Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, the army officer who led the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. Jean-Paul Belmondo, the unconventional film star who made his name in the film Breathless. Angela Milner the palaeontologist who identified the previously unknown fish-eating theropod, the Baryonyx Walkeri. Inge Ginsberg - the holocaust survivor who became a heavy metal singer in her...

Matthew Bannister on Sergei Kovalev, the scientist and leading dissident, who spoke out against human rights abuses under the Soviet Union and the Yeltsin and Putin regimes. He was sent to a labour camp and suffered internal exile. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the reggae pioneer who helped Bob Marley to develop his sound. Abebech Gobena, the Ethiopian humanitarian who devoted her life to helping thousands...

Matthew Bannister on: The children’s author Jill Murphy who based her best-selling stories of the Worst Witch on her own schooldays. Len Gibson, the former prisoner of war from Sunderland who worked on the notorious Burma railway and later taught Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics to play guitar. Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, the acclaimed artist noted for her exquisite Japanese-influenced paintings of f...

Matthew Bannister on The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. We have a tribute from the boogie woogie pianist who played with Charlie in his other band. The maverick Labour MP and TV presenter Austin Mitchell who fought for the fishing industry in his constituency of Great Grimsby, once changing his surname to 'Haddock' as a publicity stunt. The composer Hugh Wood, remembered by his former stude...

Matthew Bannister on Una Stubbs, the actor who first came to fame in the 1960s TV sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part', then attracted a new generation of fans as Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge. She was also an acclaimed stage performer and ended her career as Mrs Hudson in the Sherlock TV series. Gino Strada, the Italian surgeon who set up the charity Emergency to provide state of the art hospital facil...

Matthew Bannister on The Jamaican-born poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE, who was known for her compelling performances. We have a tribute from Linton Kwesi Johnson. Sir Nicholas Goodison, chairman of the stock exchange at the time of the Big Bang in the 1980s and also a noted expert on antique clocks. Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, the influential Muslim teacher who was born Ian Dallas, worked as an actor...

Julian Worricker on: The opera director, Sir Graham Vick, who challenged people's perceptions by discovering new performers and new audiences. Carmel Budiardjo, the human rights campaigner whose work was influenced by time spent in jail in Indonesia. The award-winning radio documentary maker, Piers Plowright, who set out to shine a light on the everyday lives of ordinary people. And Dusty Hill.......

Matthew Bannister on Jackie Mason, the comedian and former rabbi whose observations of Jewish life took him from the Borscht Belt to Broadway. John Woodcock, the veteran cricket writer who reported on some of the greatest matches of the twentieth century. Dinah Murray, a tireless campaigner for the rights of autistic people. Billy Lacey, thought to be the last of the Norfolk marshmen who used trad...

Matthew Bannister on Gillian Sheen, the first and only British person to win an Olympic Gold Medal for fencing. Professor William 'Twink' Allen, the equine fertility expert whose request for permission to clone a horse was turned down by regulators. Squadron Leader Lawrence 'Benny' Goodman, the bomber pilot who flew highly dangerous missions with the 617 squadron during the second world war. Alan...