Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Dame Cleo Laine, whose glorious voice was equally at home singing jazz, pop and classical music. Her daughter Jacqui Dankworth shares her memories. Hulk Hogan, who spearheaded the transformation of American wrestling from niche activity to global phenomenon. Professor Margaret Boden, whose expertise in cognitive science helped to shape the future of artificial intelligence. To...

Matthew Bannister on Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath lead singer known for his outrageous antics, many while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Jacqui Browne, the Thalidomide survivor who campaigned for the rights of disabled people in Ireland. Professor Douglas Chamberlain, the cardiologist who pioneered the use of defibrillators by ambulance crews, saving many lives. Connie Francis, the...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Blair the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Jennie Street who helped to rehabilitate people on her suburban farm. Dr Anna Ornstein, a psychoanalyst and survivor of the Holocaust. Muhammudu Buhari, the former President of Nigeria. Interviewee: Sean O’Neill Interviewee: Anita Ollerenshaw Interviewee: Dr Sharone Ornstein Interviewee: Mayeni Jones Producer: Ed P...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Tebbit, who as Norman Tebbit was a member of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet, introducing trade union reform and privatisation. Daphne Boden, the harpist who played for the Queen and taught for more than fifty years at the Royal College of Music. James Leprino who built a multi-billion-dollar business by supplying cheese to pizza chains. And the former Astronomer Royal, Sir F...

Matthew Bannister on Courtney Griffiths, one of the first black lawyers to become a Queen’s Counsel. Sara Venn, who turned unloved spaces in Bristol into community gardens growing food for low-income families. Nina Kuscik, the American marathon runner who broke down barriers to women participating in long distance running. Sergeant Mohammed Hussain, one of the last surviving Muslim veterans of the...

Matthew Bannister on The TV director Michael Lachmann who made some of the most acclaimed documentaries about science. Professor Brian Cox and Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock pays tribute. Pik-sen Lim who became one of the most recognisable East Asian actors on British TV. Leon Krier, the master planner behind King Charles’s controversial Poundbury development. David “Syd” Lawrence, the fast bowler who...

John Wilson on Sir Godfrey “Geoff” Palmer, the scientist whose discovery of a new brewing method revolutionized the industry and saved them millions of pounds Barbara Holdridge, the entrepreneur who co-founded a new record label that paved the way for the audiobook industry Kim Woodburn, the reality TV Star who made gained popular recognition through the TV show How Clean Is Your House? Sly Stone...

Kirsty Lang on Brian Wilson, the driving force behind The Beach Boys who were one of the most successful bands of the 1960s. Fredrick Forsyth, the writer and former Mi6 agent who books included The Day of the Jackal and The Fourth Protocol. Uriah Rennie who made history as the Premier League’s first black referee. And the author Edmund White whose semi-autobiographical books A Boys Own Life and Th...

Kirsty Lang on Wildlife conservationist Valmik Thapar who spent five decades trying to protect India’s tigers Nancy Blaik, the driving force behind the creation of Scotland’s first children’s hospice Norma Meras Swenson, the co-author of the influential book ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ Doctor Stuart Farrimond who became a popular science writer after being diagnosed with a brain tumour Producer: Ed Pr...

Matthew Bannister on Alan Yentob, the BBC’s only Creative Director, who commissioned many successful TV programmes, was known as an impresario of talent and also presented Imagine. Richard Garwin, the American physicist who developed the Hydrogen bomb, but then devoted his life to nuclear disarmament. Dr. Joy Shaverien, the psychoanalyst who identified “boarding school syndrome” suffered by some w...

Matthew Bannister on Hannah Deacon who ran a successful campaign to allow her son – and many others – to be treated with cannabis after he was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. Andrew Norfolk, the journalist who exposed the Rotherham grooming gang scandal. Dame June Clark, the President of the Royal College of Nursing who argued for more education to increase the skills of the nursing profes...

Matthew Bannister on: Sir Tom Farmer, the Edinburgh born businessman who built up the tyre and exhaust company Kwik Fit. Elaine Wynn, who worked with her husband Steve to create a casino empire in Las Vegas. Sue Stapely, who transformed the way the legal profession communicates with the public and the media. Joseph Nye, the American political analyst who came up with the concept of “soft power” in...

Kirsty Lang on The author Jane Gardam, whose works included The Queen of the Tambourine and Old Filth. Sir Roger Birch, the former Chief Constable of Sussex Police who oversaw the investigation following the IRAs' Brighton bomb attack in 1984. Mike Peters, the lead singer of the band The Alarm, whose own battle with cancer saw him become a campaigner and fundraiser for cancer treatment. Professor...

Matthew Bannister on Virginia Giuffre, who waived her anonymity to accuse the billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his friend Ghislaine Maxwell of sex abuse and trafficking. Rosy Bremer, a leading campaigner against nuclear weapons at the women’s protest at Greenham Common airbase. LJ Smith, author of the best-selling “Vampire Diaries” series of novels And the influential folk and blues guitarist Wizz...

Matthew Bannister on Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pope who was noted for his humility and modest lifestyle. Paddy Higson, the TV and film producer once described as “the mother of the Scottish film industry”. Jed Mercurio and Clare Grogan pay tribute. And David Sassoon, the fashion designer who dressed royalty and film stars. Dame Zandra Rhodes tells us about his life. Interviewee: David...

Matthew Bannister on Anne Scargill, who founded the Women Against Pit Closures group when her husband Arthur was leading the Miners Strike of the 1980s. The actor Maxine Peake pays tribute. Ronnie Appleton who was Chief Crown Prosecutor for Northern Ireland during the height of the troubles. Cecil Wright, the Jamaican born cricketer who made his mark playing alongside some of his countrymen in the...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Kalms, who turned his family’s camera shop into the multi-million-pound Dixons electronics chain. Melissa Llewellyn-Davies, the anthropologist who made an acclaimed TV series about Kenya’s Masai tribe before turning her camera on the UK. Rex Cowan, the lawyer who changed career to become one of the world’s most successful shipwreck hunters. Wilma Finlay, who worked with h...

Matthew Bannister on The Hollywood actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors. Jane Reed, the media executive who made Woman’s Own magazine a powerful voice for its readers at a time of changing roles for women in society. Sir Torquil Norman, who used the proceeds from the sale of his successful toy business to restore the fortunes of the Roundhouse Arts Ce...

Matthew Bannister on Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB agent who defected to Britain and became a valued source of secret intelligence during the 1970s and 80s. Renee Goddard, the actress and TV commissioner who fled Nazi persecution only to be interned in Britain. Professor Richard Fortey, the palaeontologist who used his expertise in trilobites to tell stories about the origins of life on earth. Bill Bry...

Matthew Bannister on: Group Captain John Allman ‘Paddy’ Hemingway DFC , the last surviving pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain during the second world war. Dame Julie Kenny, the successful businesswoman from Rotherham who led the regeneration of one of Britain’s largest stately homes. Tuppy Owens, who campaigned for greater openness about sex – and set up charities to help disabled people en...

Kirsty Lang on: Athol Fugard, the playwright whose art became synonymous with exposing the inequities of the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Janet Pharaoh, the dancer from Yorkshire who became the artistic director at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Alison Halford who rose through the ranks to become the first female Assistant Chief Constable. Johnny Green, the former roadie and tour manager for The...

Matthew Bannister on Bill Dare, the writer and producer behind some of Radio 4’s best loved comedies, including “The Now Show” and “Dead Ringers”. Jan Ravens pays tribute. Clint Hill, the American Secret Service agent who threw himself across President John F. Kennedy’s body after he was shot in Dallas. Valérie André, the first woman General in the French military who was also a field surgeon and...

John Wilson on: Musician Roberta Flack, best known for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly. Dr David Hessayon, the author of a series of gardening books known as The Expert guides. His one word advice to keen gardeners was 'mulch'. Keith Dewhurst whose work for television and stage included the National’s unconventional adaptation of Lark Rise to Candleford. And Rose Hanks th...

John Wilson on Rick Buckley, the drummer in The Jam, one of the most popular and influential British bands of the 70s and 80s. Margaret Miles-Bramwell who founded Slimming World in response to what she saw as humiliation tactics by weight loss groups. World War Two fighter pilot Harry Stewart Jr, part of the all-African American Tuskegee Airmen who despite huge successes in aerial combat, faced di...

Matthew Bannister on Nigel McCrery, the former police officer who created the popular TV series “Silent Witness” and “New Tricks”. Andrée Dumon, who rescued many allied service men during the Second World War by escorting them along “The Comet Line” from Brussels to Paris. Lord Elis-Thomas, the former leader of Plaid Cymru and the first Presiding Officer of the National Assembly. Diana Melly, the...