Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who shot dead a burglar and started a national debate about the rights of householders to defend themselves. Pete Wilkinson, the co-founder of Greenpeace UK, known for his high-profile direct-action campaigns. Loretta Ford, who pioneered the role of nurse practitioner in American health care. Marianne Faithfull, the singer and actress who came t...

Matthew Bannister on The Reverend Don Cupitt, the controversial theologian whose TV series “The Sea of Faith” asked in what form - if any - is Christian faith possible for us today? Phyllis Dalton, the Oscar winning costume designer who worked on classic films, including “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Doctor Zhivago” and “Oliver!”. Cecile Richards, the American activist who campaigned for women’s right to...

Matthew Bannister on Dame Joan Plowright, one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation who was married to Laurence Olivier. Dame Judi Dench pays tribute. Sir Jim Walker, who built up his family business from a small bakery in the North of Scotland to become a global food exporter. Barbara Clegg, the first woman to write a story for Dr Who. Denis Law – the Scottish born footballer who was...

Matthew Bannister on The comedian and actor Tony Slattery. Sir Stephen Fry reflects on his friend’s talent – and struggle with addiction and poor mental health. Dame Rosalind Savill, the respected director who brought new audiences to the Wallace Collection in London. Paddy Hill, one of six men wrongly convicted of carrying out pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974. Noreen Riols, who helped to train...

Tony Slattery was known for his quick-witted improvisations on the popular Channel 4 show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, from 1988 onwards. He also played comedic and serious roles in films such as crime thriller The Crying Game, Peter's Friends and the dark comedy How to Get Ahead in Advertising. Tony died on 14th January 2025. For Last Word, Matthew Bannister talks to Sir Stephen Fry about his friend...

Matthew Bannister on Jean-Marie Le Pen, who built up the French right wing National Front Party before being ejected from it by his daughter. Catherine Brown, the food writer who championed traditional Scottish cuisine. Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, the parliamentarian who fought for consumer rights. And the radio DJ Johnnie Walker, known for his passion for music and his rebellious attitude. Bob Har...

Kirsty Lang on Former US President Jimmy Carter whose time in office between 1976 and 1980 was beset by economic and diplomatic crises. Caroline Miller OBE, the former Chief Executive of Birmingham Royal Ballet who commissioned bold and experimental productions to great acclaim. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – considered to be the architect of the country’s economic liberalisation. C...

John Wilson on Nikki Giovanni, a leading poet in the 1960s Black Arts Movement who is hailed as one of the most important artist-intellectuals of the 20th century. Gerd Heidemann, the German journalist who found himself at the centre of one of the greatest journalist scandals of the 20th century, the Hitler diaries hoax. Cherry Hill, the award-winning model engineer who created detailed, functioni...

Matthew Bannister on Baroness Wilkins who became a wheelchair user after an accident aged 19 and went on to present TV programmes on disability issues and to campaign for the rights of disabled people. Charles Handy, the social philosopher and management theorist who predicted many changes to the world of work. Renee Bornstein who, as a child, survived being imprisoned by the Nazis. Tony Brignull,...

Matthew Bannister on Wolfgang Stange, the director and choreographer who founded the Amici Dance Theatre Company which integrates able bodied and disabled performers. Sir Ben Kingsley pays tribute. Lord Renfrew, the leading archaeologist who used scientific techniques to challenge the received wisdom in his chosen discipline. Julie Stevens, the actor who was also one of the earliest presenters of...

Matthew Bannister on Vicky Stone, the film maker who travelled to the remotest parts of Africa to make her award winning wildlife documentaries. Penny Chuter the medal winning rower who became coach of the GB team. Clifton Wharton Junior, the first black chancellor of a primarily white US university, the first African American to run a Fortune 500 company and the first to become Deputy Secretary o...

Matthew Bannister on Madeleine Riffaud, the French resistance fighter who was tortured by the Gestapo, became a journalist and was embedded with the Vietcong in Vietnam. Chris Topp, the blacksmith who restored ironwork at Buckingham Palace, York Minster and St Paul’s Cathedral. Barbara Taylor Bradford, the best-selling author of A Woman of Substance and many other novels. Dr Julian Litten, whose f...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Prescott, the working-class lad who became Deputy Prime Minister. Stephanie Collie, whose costume designs for “Peaky Blinders” and “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” inspired street fashion. Dame Janet “Jinty” Nelson, the leading mediaeval historian who wrote an acclaimed biography of the Frankish King Charlemagne. Frank Auerbach, one of the twentieth century’s finest a...

Matthew Bannister on the versatile actor Timothy West whose roles ranged from Shakespeare to soap operas. Sir Ian McKellen pays tribute. Sir John Nott, the Conservative politician who was Defence Secretary at the time of the Falklands War. June Spencer who played the matriarch of Ambridge, Peggy Wooley. She was the last original cast member. Nadia Cattouse, who was born in what is now Belize. She...

Matthew Bannister on Quincy Jones, the music producer, composer and arranger who worked with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. Janey Godley, the comedian who used her challenging childhood and youth in Glasgow as material for her shows. Lyudmila Trut, the Russian geneticist who dedicated her life to a revolutionary – and evolutionary - experiment investigating the domesticatio...

Matthew Bannister on Dick Pope, the cinematographer who worked closely with Director Mike Leigh on films like “Secrets and Lies” and “Mr Turner”. Mike pays tribute. Sister Sally Butler, the American nun who blew the whistle on historic child sex abuse in her New York parish. Professor Tim Darvill OBE, the archaeologist best known for his work on the history of Stonehenge. Patti McGee, the first wo...

Matthew Bannister on General Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff at the time of the Iraq War. Lily Ledbetter, whose campaign for equal pay led to an Act of Congress. Safeya Binzagr, the pioneering Saudi Arabian artist whose career flourished despite the cultural restrictions on women in her society Steve Piotrowski, the ornithologist who ringed 100,000 birds and helped to increase the...

Kirsty Lang on Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland. Ethel Kennedy, wife of Robert F Kennedy who went onto become a campaigner for Human Rights. Ratan Tata, the businessman who led the Tata Group for more than two decades. Fleur Adcock, the poet who's conversational, irreverent style made her one of the most popular voices in British poetry. Interviewee: Brian Taylor Interviewee: Mi...

John Wilson on Lord Ouseley, the co-founder of the anti-racism football campaign ‘Kick it Out’ and former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality. The landscape artist and printmaker Norman Ackroyd whose work celebrates some of the most remote and inhospitable areas of the UK. Lore Segal, the author whose book ‘Other People’s Houses’ told the story of her fleeing the Nazis on a Kindertransport...

John Wilson on Kris Kristofferson, the singer, songwriter and actor who appeared with Barbra Streisand in ‘A Star is Born’ Camilla Carr, the aid worker who along with her partner was kidnapped and held hostage for 14 months in Chechnya. Hassan Nasrallah, for over 30 years he was the leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah. The group was designated as a terror organisation by...

Matthew Bannister on Peter Jay, who was economics editor at the Times and the BBC and also Britain’s Ambassador to the United States. Ed Johnson, the CIA agent who played a key role in the Argo operation to smuggle US diplomats out of Iran – but kept his involvement secret until his death. His wife tells us she had no idea what his work involved. Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, who made controversial...

Matthew Bannister on Dr George Berci, the surgeon who pioneered the use of miniature cameras in operations to minimise cutting and accelerate patients’ recovery times. Olga Craig, the respected journalist from Northern Ireland who reported from war zones and covered the aftermath of the bombing in Omagh. Michaela Mabinty DePrince, the orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone who realised her dreams of be...

Matthew Bannister on James Earl Jones, the versatile actor whose roles ranged from the voice of Darth Vader to Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare. Adrian Lester pays tribute. Dr. Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist who researched the science behind romantic love. Sergio Mendes, who introduced the world to his unique style of Brazilian music. His friend Herb Alpert shares memories of creati...

Matthew Bannister on Claire Lomas MBE, who was paralysed from the chest down after a riding accident and went on to complete the London Marathon wearing a bionic suit. Phil Swern, the music producer known as “The Collector” because he owned millions of records. Ken Bruce pays tribute. Countess of Airlie, the American heiress who married into the aristocracy and became a Lady of the Bedchamber to Q...

Matthew Bannister on Mike Lynch, who was one of the UK’s most successful tech entrepreneurs. Nell McCafferty, the Irish journalist and feminist campaigner who took part in the “contraceptive train” protest in 1971. Ruth Colvin, who founded the American “Literacy Volunteers” organisation to help adults who couldn’t read or write Sven-Göran Eriksson, the Swedish born football manager who became the...