Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Martin McGuinness, who went from being a violent IRA commander to a peace making politician. Chuck Berry, hailed as the father of rock n roll by musicians from Keith Richards to John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. The Nobel prize winning poet Sir Derek Walcott, who brought the Caribbean experience to the wider world. Salome Karwah, who survived Ebola in her native Liberia, went...

Matthew Bannister on The racing driver John Surtees who won world championships on two wheels and four. Gordon Thomas who wrote best selling books about espionage and religion. Sir Howard Hodgkin - one of the UK's most admired modern painters. H. Boyd Woodruff, the microbiologist who isolated life saving antibiotics in soil. Joni Sledge one of four singing sisters in the disco group Sister Sledge....

Matthew Bannister on The human rights lawyer Sir Nigel Rodley. He helped to draft the United Nations Convention Against Torture and became its special rapporteur on the issue. Pete Overend Watts, the bass player from Mott the Hoople. His platform soled boots were so high that if he fell over on stage he needed a roadie to put him back on his feet again. Louise Hulton the maternal health expert who...

Julian Worricker on: The long-serving Labour MP and former minister, Gerald Kaufman The prolific Dutch illustrator and author Dick Bruna Cardinal Desmond Connell, who as Archbishop of Dublin presided over the Church's handling of the child abuse scandal Controversial city mayor Rita Barbera, who ran Valencia in Spain for twenty years Writer and broadcaster, Frank Delaney, best known for Radio 4 pr...

Kate Silverton on Stanley Bard, the enigmatic proprietor of New York's Chelsea Hotel who created a haven for artists, writers and rock stars and presided over one of the greatest experiments in bohemian living in the history of New York Norma McCorvey, known as Jane Roe, the anonymous plaintiff in the Roe v Wade case by which the US supreme court legalised abortion, who became an unlikely icon for...

Matthew Bannister on Betty Tebbs who devoted her life to fighting for women's rights and nuclear disarmament. Sir Peter Mansfield, the Nobel Prize winning physicist who led the development of MRI scanning. Dame Jennifer Jenkins, chairwoman of the Consumers Association and the National Trust. Hans Rosling the statistician known for his skill as a communicator who worked to end poverty. Al Jarreau t...

Matthew Bannister on The comedy writer Alan Simpson. With his partner Ray Galton, he created classic sitcoms including Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son. Brunhilde Pomsel who was the secretary to the Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels. Sir Ken Morrison, the Yorkshireman who built up the family grocery firm to become Britain's fourth largest supermarket chain. And the Nigerian born novelist...

Matthew Bannister on Sir John Hurt, the actor whose outstanding roles included Quentin Crisp, the Elephant Man and Caligula. Margaret Pereira, the pioneering forensic scientist who was known as "Miss Murder" by the press. Sir Christopher Bland who chaired LWT, the BBC and BT. Emma Tennant, the author from an aristocratic background whose work included sequels to classic novels. And Mary Tyler Moor...

Matthew Bannister on The Labour MP Tam Dalyell who asked the West Lothian Question and pursued Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Belgrano. Victor Lownes who ran Playboy's clubs in the UK - and lived up to the magazine's lifestyle and values. Children's author Babette Cole, best known for writing and illustrating Princess Smartypants and The Trouble with Mum. The Chinese economist and lingu...

Matthew Bannister on Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint who captained the England women's cricket team to victory in the World Cup. Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the key players in the country's revolution. Dr. Una Kroll, a tireless campaigner for the ordination of women. William Peter Blatty who wrote the book and the film "The Exorcist" And Sir James Mancham, the first President...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Snowdon - renowned photographer and Princess Margaret's former husband. Graham Taylor - the football manager who had success with Watford and Aston Villa, but was lampooned for his performance with England. Jill Saward, the rape survivor who campaigned for the rights of those who suffer sexual violence. The singer and songwriter Peter Sarsdedt, best known for the song "Wh...

Julian Worricker on: The writer and art critic John Berger Mother and daughter actresses, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher The surgeon who came up with the life-saving heimlich manoeuvre, Henry Heimlich The linguist Patsy Crampton, who worked at the Nuremberg trials before going on to translate more than 200 children's books Broadcaster Brian Widlake, well known for the Money Programme and the Wo...

Julian Worricker on: The journalist and TV correspondent, Michael Nicholson, who covered numerous conflicts for ITN The actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor, famous for her one-liners and nine husbands James Prior, who served in government under Margaret Thatcher despite her regarding him as a 'wet' Rabbi Lionel Blue, a regular presenter on Thought for the Day on Radio 4 and the composer Pauline Ol...

Matthew Bannister on Peter Gibson the master glazier who devoted his life to the care of the stained glass windows in York Minster. AA Gill, who overcame alcoholism and dyslexia to become one of the UK's best known critics. Coral Atkins who gave up a career as an actress to run homes for disadvantaged children. William Chaloner, an authority on fossil plants who used pollen from the past to recons...

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...