Last Word

Matthew Bannister on John Glenn, the astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth and later the oldest man ever to be sent into space. The actor Peter Vaughan, best known for his roles in Porridge, Our Friends In the North and latterly Game of Thrones. Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the autocratic chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who was imprisoned for corruption, but re-elected...

Matthew Bannister on Andrew Sachs, the actor who was so much more than Manuel in Fawlty Towers. We hear about his acclaimed radio career. Also the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - brutal dictator or benevolent champion of his people? The jazz and blues singer Mose Allison, whose songs were covered by the Who, the Clash, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison. And The Honourable Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cous...

Kate Silverton on: Martin Aitchison who worked with Barnes Wallis on the bouncing bomb but made his name illustrating the Peter and Jane ladybird books. Sir Mota Singh, the Kenyan born Barrister who became Britain's first ethnic minority judge making headlines worldwide as the first judge in 300 years not to wear the horse hair wig William Trevor - one of Ireland's greatest writers - a novelist, p...

Matthew Bannister on Robert Vaughn - the actor who made his name as Napoleon Solo in "The Man From Uncle" TV series and also appeared in films like "The Magnificent Seven", "Bullitt" and "The Towering Inferno". Ewen Whitaker, the self taught astronomer who became an expert on the geography of the moon and helped direct Apollo 12 to its landing site. Carolyn Hardy, who turned the National Gardens S...

Matthew Bannister on The singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen. He was accused of depressing a generation, but many found his songs inspiring. Lieutenant Colonel Bob Montgomery - the explosives expert who played a leading role in a daring Commando raid on the port of Saint Nazaire during the second world war. Janet Reno - the US Attorney General General under President Bill Clinton - she dealt...

Matthew Bannister on American political activist Tom Hayden. He once said that people only knew four words about him: "Sixties, Radical, Jane and Fonda". He led anti Vietnam war protests and was married to the Hollywood star. Valerie Hunter Gordon who invented the disposable nappy. Her prototypes were made from old wartime parachutes. Literary agent Carole Blake who wrote a best selling guide for...

Matthew Bannister on Raine Countess Spencer. The daughter of Barbara Cartland and step mother of Princess Diana who nicknamed her "Acid Raine". Jimmy Perry who drew on his own life to co-write classic TV comedies including Dad's Army and Hi De Hi. General Stylianos Pattakos, a leading figure in the military junta that took power in Greece in 1967. The theatre director Howard Davies, acclaimed for...

Matthew Bannister on Jean Alexander - the actress best known for playing Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street. Trinh Thi Ngo. Nicknamed Hanoi Hannah, she broadcast propaganda to American GIs during the Vietnam war. Ian Mercer the naturalist who became the first Dartmoor National Park officer and the first Chief Executive of the Countryside Council for Wales. Joseph Harmatz, part of a group of Jewish v...

Matthew Bannister on The world's longest reigning monarch - King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The Nobel prize winning playwright and satirist Dario Fo. Griff Rhys Jones pays tribute. The pioneering racing driver Jean Bloxam She took on the men - and often beat them. Andrew Vicari, the painter from Port Talbot in Wales who made millions through commissions from the Saudi Royal family. And the mu...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Neville Marriner the conductor who founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and led them to become the world's most recorded orchestra. Father Gabriele Amorth, the Catholic Church's leading exorcist who said he'd tackled over a hundred cases of demonic possession. Beryl Crockford, one of the first two British women to become rowing world champions. Professor Louis He...

Matthew Bannister on Shimon Peres, the Israeli elder statesman who was twice Prime Minister of his country and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in negotiating the Oslo Accord with the Palestinians. Nathalie Evans who co founded the Twycross Zoo and provided the chimps for the PG Tips TV adverts. Arnold Palmer, the legendary golfer who won 91 professional titles and was followed by fans known...

Matthew Bannister on American playwright Edward Albee, who won three Pullitzer prizes but not for his best known work "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". Physicist James Cronin who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the asymmetry between matter and anti matter. Health administrator Caroline Thomson, who persuaded the people of the Scottish Highlands to confront the challenges of HIV and AIDS. Zool...

Matthew Bannister on Barry Myers who directed some of the best known commercials of the 1970s and 80s, including ads for Hovis, Olympus Cameras and Cadbury's Flake. Eileen Younghusband, who worked as a filter officer during the Second World War, spotting the approaching aircraft and V2 rockets launched against Britain by the Nazis. The Edinburgh based artist Robin Spark, who had a troubled relatio...

Matthew Bannister on The Bishop of Durham the Right Reverend David Jenkins. A respected theologian, he was noted for his controversial views. The diplomat Dame Margaret Anstee who overcame sex discrimination to hold senior roles at the United Nations. She led relief missions at many of the world's major trouble spots. . The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov who faced international condemnation...

Matthew Bannister on João Havelange, the President of the international football federation, FIFA, who stepped down amid allegations of corruption. The French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel who broke the conventions of haute couture to produce wearable clothes for women on the go. Gene Wilder, the comedy film actor best known for his roles as Willy Wonka in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and in...

Julian Worricker on.... The co-writer of 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister' - Sir Antony Jay.... Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, who led the WHO's campaign to eradicate smallpox.... The aristocrat Tom Cholmondeley, who divided opinion in his native Kenya after he shot dead two black men on his ranch.... Nursing leader, Patsy Wright-Warren, who went on to travel the world for the Ry...

Matthew Bannister on the Bishop of Derry Edward Daly. He was famously photographed waving a bloodstained white handkerchief as he tended to a young man shot by the army on Bloody Sunday. The Egyptian born chemist Ahmed Zewail who won the Nobel prize for his work on revealing the minute details of chemical reactions. Suzanne Wright who raised millions of dollars for research into autism after her g...

Matthew Bannister on Luc Hoffmann, the Swiss conservationist who co-founded the World Wildlife Fund and fought to save endangered species and wetlands. Sylvia Peters, one of the best known faces on BBC television in the 1950s. The film stuntman Joe Powell who took part in many death defying exploits. The editor of the Archers William Smethurst who introduced the characters of Eddie Grundy and Nige...

Matthew Bannister on Thomas Sutherland the Scottish-born American professor who was held hostage for more than six years in Lebanon. We hear from his fellow hostage Terry Anderson. The singer, songwriter and producer Gary S Paxton. He brought us the Monster Mash and thousands of other songs and lived up to his nickname "His Weirdness" Sally Beauman, who was given a reported million pound advance f...

Matthew Bannister on The American journalist Sydney Schanberg who won the Pulitzer prize for his reporting on Cambodia. His story was turned into the film "The Killing Fields". The archaeologist Beatrice de Cardi, once described as "a cross between Miss Marple and Indiana Jones". The publisher Lord Evans of Temple Guiting, who, as Matthew Evans, led Faber and Faber to great success. His friend Mel...

Matthew Bannister on Abdul Sattar Edhi. Known as Pakistan's "Angel of Mercy", he built up a foundation which brought healthcare, orphanages and women's shelters to the poorest people in his country. Dr. Suzanne Corkin - the neuroscientist who spent years studying a patient known as "H.M." An operation on his brain had left him with profound amnesia. Bernardo Provenzano - the Sicilian mafia boss ni...

Matthew Bannister on The comedian Caroline Aherne who created Mrs Merton and the Royle family and struggled with the pressures of fame. Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel. Described by President Obama as "one of the great moral voices of our time", he won the Nobel Peace Prize. The poet Sir Geoffrey Hill whose work focused on English history, landscape and religion. The Conservative politic...

Matthew Bannister on The Pakistani qawwali singer Amjad Sabri. A huge star in his homeland, he was shot dead in his car in Karachi. The auctioneer Lorna Kelly who turned her back on a glittering New York lifestyle to work with Mother Teresa. The psychologist Jerome Bruner whose work brought new insight into how children learn. Bob Holman who gave up his academic career to live and work with people...

Matthew Bannister on The parasitologist Sylvia Meek who led the fight to reduce deaths from malaria. Harry Rabinowitz who conducted the music for many films and TV series, including the English Patient and Upstairs Downstairs. Ethel Bush who was one of the two first policewomen to be awarded the George Medal for bravery. Sam King, the RAF veteran from Jamaica who later travelled to Britain on the...

Julian Worricker on: The playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, most famous for 'The Royal Hunt of the Sun, 'Equus' and 'Amadeus'... The physicist, Sir Denys Wilkinson, considered an expert on the electromagnetic properties of nuclear isotopes... The dancer, Peggy Spencer - also a choreographer, adjudicator and dance event organiser... And the man voted the sportsman of the last century, heavyweight boxer...