Last Word

Reeta Chakrabarti on: The MP Jo Cox , who was brutally killed in the street, after meeting local people in the West Yorkshire constituency she represented The musician Dave Swarbrick, who found fame with the folk group Fairport Convention - and who celebrated the premature publication of his obituary by a newspaper, 17 years before his death. The chess player Viktor Korchnoi, a grandmaster of the...

Matthew Bannister on Carla Lane who wrote hit TV comedies including The Liver Birds, Bread and Butterflies. Wendy Craig pays tribute. The ICI Chairman Sir Denys Henderson, who fought off a takeover bid from Lord Hanson and split the company into two parts. Jane Fawcett, the former debutante who worked with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park and then fought to conserve many of Britain's greatest V...

Matthew Bannister on Professor Robert McNeill Alexander - the father of animal biomechanics, who revealed how fast dinosaurs could run. The Australian TV producer Reg Grundy who was behind a string of popular hits, including Neighbours, Wheel of Fortune and Prisoner Cell Block H. Sally Brampton, the founding editor of British Elle magazine who wrote a powerful book about her struggle with depressi...

Matthew Bannister on Gareth Gwenlan the TV producer and Head of BBC Comedy behind a string of hits including Only Fools and Horses. Sir David Jason pays tribute. Sir Harry Kroto, the Nobel prize winning chemist who helped to discover new forms of carbon. Michael 'Dandy Kim' Caborn-Waterfield, the charming, well dressed scoundrel who started the Ann Summers chain of sex shops and was imprisoned in...

Matthew Bannister on The Reverend Daniel Berrigan, the American Catholic priest who devoted his life to campaigning for peace. He was arrested many times for protests against the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons. Jenny Diski who wrote celebrated novels, essays including her travelogue Skating to Antarctica and her latest memoir In Gratitude. Lord Walton, the eminent neurologist who wrote an influen...

Matthew Bannister on The economist Lord Peston who advised the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. His son Robert Peston and Lord Hattersley pay tribute. The women's cricket coach Ruth Prideaux who steered England to victory at the 1993 World Cup. The Chilean President Patricio Aylwin who is credited with restoring democracy after nearly 17 years of military dictatorship. The physicist Professo...

Matthew Bannister on Rock superstar Prince - we recall his intimate gig for a handful of people here in Broadcasting House. Ray Fitzwalter the Editor of ITV's World In Action who championed investigative journalism. Victoria Wood - we have a tribute in song from the young comedian she inspired. The nurse June Jolly who transformed the treatment of children in hospital - she once brought a baby ele...

Matthew Bannister on The playwright Sir Arnold Wesker whose work celebrated working class life, Howard Marks, the convicted cannabis smuggler and raconteur who became a folk hero to some. Peggy Fortnum, the children's book illustrator who brought Paddington Bear to life. The country singer Merle Haggard whose music was steeped in traditional redneck America. And Rachel Johnson, last surviving resi...

Matthew Bannister on The American broadcasting nun Mother Angelica who founded the Eternal Word Television Network and dispensed traditional Catholic advice to viewers. The German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, one of the principal architects of his country's re-unification. Derek Serpell-Morris, who gave up his job as an accountant to become DJ Derek, playing reggae and ska and claiming...

Matthew Bannister on The internationally acclaimed architect Dame Zaha Hadid, known to some as "the queen of the curve". Ronnie Corbett, whose partnership with Ronnie Barker made him one of the UK's best loved comedians. General Meir Dagan, head of the Israeli secret service Mossad when it was credited with carrying out the assassination of five Iranian nuclear scientists. Joan Loraine who created...

Matthew Bannister on Cliff Michelmore who brought a relaxed informality to presenting TV programmes like Tonight and 24 Hours, without losing intelligence or authority. Sylvia Anderson who - with her husband Gerry - produced TV puppet series like Thunderbirds and Stingray. She was also the voice of Lady Penelope. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the composer and former Master of the Queen's Music who mad...

Reeta Chakrabarti on Sir George Martin, the legendary music producer who oversaw the Beatles' phenomenal success. Nancy Reagan, the US First Lady, who went from actor to political wife, to campaigner against drug abuse. Ray Tomlinson, one of the pioneers of the internet, and a founder of the email system. And Gillian Avery, historian and award-winning author of children's literature.

Reeta Chakrabarti on Tony Warren, who created the long-running TV soap Coronation Street, embedding a working-class north of England cast of characters in the national consciousness. Louise Rennison, comedian and author of young adult fiction, whose frank and funny books won her a loyal following amongst teenage girls. Lord Chorley, a parliamentarian and conservationist, whose many public roles in...

Matthew Bannister on Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the United Nations Secretary General who had to deal with genocide in Rwanda and the war in the Balkans. Edmonde Charles-Roux, the former resistance fighter who became editor of French Vogue magazine. Norman Hudis, the screenwriter of many of the Carry On comedy films. And Antonin Scalia, the conservative US Supreme Court Justice.

Matthew Bannister on Professor Marvin Minsky - the computer scientist who carried out pioneering work on artificial intelligence. Margaret Forster who wrote novels like Georgy Girl and acclaimed biographies including a life of Daphne Du Maurier. Peter Powell who invented the stunt kite and turned it into a global business, before it all came crashing down. Sir Brian Tovey who was director of the G...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Terry Wogan - we have a tale of two cities: memories from his home town of Limerick and accolades from his fantasy town of Leicester. Lord Lucan, finally declared dead this week after disappearing in the 1970s. Mystery still surrounds his involvement in the murder of his children's nanny. The actor Frank Finlay, who often played darker characters. His Bouquet of Barbed Wir...

Matthew Bannister on The Conservative politician Lord Parkinson. He masterminded the 1983 election victory but was forced to resign when his affair with his secretary was revealed. Bill Mitchell, who lived and breathed the Yorkshire Dales, editing the Dalesman magazine and writing hundreds of books. Paddy Doherty, the Irish Republican activist who played a leading role in Derry's 1969 Battle of th...

Matthew Bannister on Glenn Frey - singer, guitarist and songwriter with The Eagles - who sold millions of albums in the 1970s. Lord Weidenfeld, the influential publisher, party giver and networker - and, in later life, rescuer of Christians from Syria and Iraq. The writer and activist Jeanne Cordova - a former nun who campaigned for lesbian rights. Haskell Wexler, the cinematographer who won an Os...

Matthew Bannister on David Bowie, art expert, fashion icon and media manipulator. Alan Rickman, the actor most famous for playing villains from the Sheriff of Nottingham to Professor Snape. Olwyn Hughes, the sister of the poet Ted Hughes who fiercely guarded his literary legacy and that of his late wife Sylvia Plath. And Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, the Radio 1 and 2 DJ who presented Junior Choice.

Matthew Bannister on Robert Stigwood, the impresario who managed Eric Clapton and The Bee Gees, produced Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita and the movies Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Patricia Torrens the first adviser on diet to the Department of Health. Pierre Boulez, the avant garde French composer and conductor who pioneered serialism and the use of electronics. Lord Ezra who was chairman of...

Recording engineer, Eric Tomlinson, who worked on the score for Star Wars and added music to Charlie Chaplin's silent films. Elsie Tu, social campaigner, legislator and educationalist in Hong Kong. Author, Peter Dickinson, who twice received the prestigious Carnegie medal for his work. Entrepreneur, Lillian Vernon, whose catalogue business was the first company owned by a woman to be listed on the...

Matthew Bannister and Economist Obituary Editor Ann Wroe recall some of the most memorable lives of 2015, including a diver, a scientist and a singer. Producer: Edwina Pitman.

Matthew Bannister on The Irish cyclist, strong man and farm labourer Mick Murphy who won a famous victory in the 1958 round Ireland race. The Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi who boasted that he tricked the Americans into invading his country. The American soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs, who was the first black singer to appear at La Scala in Milan. Ther last surviving Indian king from the days of the Bri...

Matthew Bannister on The Israeli chemical weapons expert Marcus Klingberg, who was revealed to have been spying for the Soviet Union. The Scottish writer William McIlvanney, best known for his Jack Laidlaw crime novels. Val McDermid pays tribute. Setsuko Hara, one of Japan's most popular film actresses. Joel Elkes, the pharmacologist who pioneered the use of drugs to treat schizophrenia. And John...

Matthew Bannister on General Sir Robert Ford who was Commander Land Forces Northern Ireland at the time of the Bloody Sunday shootings. Hazel Adair, the TV scriptwriter behind hit series like Compact, Emergency Ward 10 and Crossroads. Professor Jane Wardle, the behavioural scientist who transformed our understanding of cancer screening and prevention. Gerry Byrne, the Liverpool left back who was p...