Last Word

John Wilson on the celebrated sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby, responsible for numerous well known commissions around the country. Lord Patrick Cormack the politician, historian and prolific author. Wendy Mitchell, the author and blogger who was diagnosed with young onset dementia and worked tirelessly to help improve the understanding of the condition. Eleanor Fazan, the theatre director, choreographe...

John Wilson on Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and leading opponent of President Vladimir Putin, who has died in a Russian state prison. Dr Brooke Ellison, an American academic and disabilities rights advocate who drew on her own experience of living with quadriplegia. Gertrude Wright, who survived the bombing of her German home city during World War Two and went on to become a tran...

Matthew Bannister on Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue who overcame a traumatic childhood to become one of Australia’s leading campaigners for the rights of indigenous people. Ian Lavender, the actor best known for playing Private Pike in Dad’s Army. Robie Harris, whose book explaining sex to children made her one of America’s most banned authors. Barry John, the Welsh and British and Irish Lions fly-half kno...

Matthew Bannister on Frank Farian, the German music producer behind the hugely successful group Boney M, who caused controversy when it was revealed that his duo Milli Vanilli had been miming at all their live shows. We hear from Boney M singer Liz Mitchell. Medical journalist Caroline Richmond who founded the Campaign Against Health Fraud, now known as HealthSense. Professor Phil Baines, the resp...

Matthew Bannister on Norma Barzman, the screenwriter from the Golden Age of Hollywood who fled to Europe after facing being blacklisted from the House Un-American Activities Committee for her Communist views. Lord Saye and Sele, the aristocrat who served in the army during the Second World War, then worked to restore the historic family seat Broughton Castle. James 'Jim' Hobson, the Assistant Chie...

Matthew Bannister on Annie Nightingale who was Radio 1’s first female presenter and its longest serving DJ. Her son remembers meeting Jimi Hendrix over breakfast in her kitchen and the 72-hour-party at her home featuring some of the biggest names of the dance music scene. Isca Salzberger-Wittenberg, the psychoanalyst who changed the approach to treating young people’s mental health. Bryan Ansell,...

Matthew Bannister on Camila Batmanghelidjh who founded the charity Kids Company to help disadvantaged children. The charity collapsed amidst controversy, although she was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Sir Roy Calne, the surgeon who carried out the UK’s first successful liver transplant operation. He was also a talented artist. Glynis Johns, the actor best known for playing the suffragette Winif...

Matthew Bannister on John Pilger, the campaigning journalist who made award winning films about human rights abuses and was an outspoken critic of British and US foreign policy. K.M. Peyton, the author of many “pony” books for children and adolescents, including the “Flambards” trilogy. Paula Murphy, the American racing driver once described as “the fastest woman on wheels”. Michael Blakemore, the...

Kirsty Lang on Jacques Delors, the politician and architect of the modern EU. Nancy Pearce, the founder of a charity to help people with eating disorders. Elinor Otto, the American factory worker who was one of the original 'Rosie the Riveters'. Tony Allen, one of the pioneers of the alternative comedy scene. Producer: Ed Prendeville

Matthew Bannister on Maureen Sweeney, the postmistress from the west of Ireland whose weather forecast postponed D-Day by 24 hours. Sir Tim Brighouse, the educationalist credited with transforming the performance of London’s schools. Shirley Anne Field, the actor who appeared in classic 1960s films like The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Alfie. Juanita Castro, younger sister of...

Matthew Bannister on The dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah who overcame childhood trauma to become an acclaimed performer and writer. Laura Lean, who volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, helping to support distressed families after The Grenfell Tower fire and greeting Afghan evacuees. Stacy Marking, one of the first women directors in documentary television whose work focused on social issues...

Matthew Bannister on Shane MacGowan the lead singer of The Pogues who was famous for his song writing but also his abuse of drugs and alcohol. His sister joins us to discuss the roots of his talent and his excesses. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court. Lord Darling, the Labour politician who was Chancellor during the financial crash of 2008. Joan Ja...

Matthew Bannister on Henry Kissinger, a towering figure in international diplomacy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize but was condemned by some as a war criminal. Also, Terry Venables, the colourful manager who took the England Football team to the semi-finals of Euro 96. Paul Watson, the pioneer of reality TV whose “fly on the wall” techniques caused controversy. Sir Peter Bazalgette pays tribute. An...

Matthew Bannister on Captain Don Walsh, the American submariner who made the first descent to the deepest place in the ocean – the Mariana Trench. His friend and fellow deep sea explorer Victor Vescovo relives the experience for us. Dame A.S. Byatt, the author best known for her Booker Prize winning novel “Possession”. Rosalynn Carter, the former First Lady of the USA. Dr Finlay Macleod, the histo...

Matthew Bannister on Peter Betts, who was the UK’s lead negotiator at international climate change summits. Audrey Salkeld, the mountaineering historian best known for her work on the ill-fated Mallory and Irvine expedition. Heather Rogers KC, the lawyer who championed freedom of speech in many high profile cases Louise Meriwether, the author and journalist whose acclaimed novel “Daddy was a Numbe...

Matthew Bannister on Ken Mattingly, the astronaut who missed flying into space on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission because he had been exposed to German measles. We have a tribute from Fred Haise who did take part in that hazardous flight. Anne Wright, who devoted her life to conserving the wild animals of India. Mary “Tiny” Gallacher who worked behind the scenes at Rangers Football Club in Glasgow...

Matthew Bannister on Benedict Birnberg, the radical lawyer who fought the cases of the far-left Angry Brigade and the Mangrove Nine and got the murder conviction of Derek Bentley quashed. Professor Jose Harris, the historian best known for her acclaimed biography of William Beveridge. Field Marshall Muthoni Wa Kirima, the last Mau Mau fighter to lay down her arms after the rebellion against Britis...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Bobby Charlton, who is hailed as England’s greatest ever footballer. Dr. Evelyn Fox Keller, who explored the effects of gender on the study of science. Julian Bahula, the South African musician and anti- apartheid activist And Haydn Gwynne, the versatile actor known for her roles in Billy Elliott and The Audience on stage and The Windsors and Drop the Dead Donkey on screen...

Kirsty Lang on Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney, the secret billionaire who gave most of his money away to good causes. Phyllis ‘Pippa’ Latour, the fearless secret agent who was parachuted into Nazi occupied Normandy a month before D-Day. Florence Fisher, who was adopted as a child and later led a movement to help millions of others find their birth parents. Dr Nicholas Arnold, one of the world’s leading ex...

Kirsty Lang on The talented young scientist Kirsty Smitten who did pioneering work developing a new generation of antibiotics. Singer Kat Anderson who made pop history with Motown’s first Number One hit: Please Mr Postman. The architect Beverly Willis who devoted much of her career to promoting her female peers. Tony Wade who helped built Britain’s first black owned multi-million-pound business se...

Matthew Bannister on the acclaimed actor Sir Michael Gambon. His son Fergus reveals his love of cars, antique firearms – and lying to journalists. The peace campaigner Pat Arrowsmith, who went to prison a number of times for direct action protests. Treleven Haysom, the stone mason who devoted his life to working, quarrying and telling the history of Purbeck stone. Dianne Feinstein, the US Senator...

Matthew Bannister on Gita Mehta, the author who set out to reveal the truth about India to the West. Her friend the theatre director Sir Richard Eyre pays tribute. Matteo Messina Denaro, the Italian mafia boss who boasted he could “fill a cemetery” with his murder victims. Irma Brenman Pick, the psychoanalyst who investigated the emotional reactions between patient and therapist. John Stevenson, w...

Matthew Bannister on Sir Horace Ové, the director whose films told stories of the experiences of black people in Britain. Su Gorman, who campaigned for justice for the victims of the contaminated blood scandal, after her own husband was infected with hepatitis C. Roger Whittaker, the singer best known for his hits Durham Town and The Last Farewell, and his skill at whistling. Jean Combes, the natu...

Matthew Bannister on Mike Yarwood, whose impressions of famous people made him one of TV’s biggest stars in the 1970s and 80s. Ada Deer, the Native American campaigner who became head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs under President Clinton. Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, the embryologist who led the team that created Dolly the Sheep – the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Dorothy Purdew, wh...

Matthew Bannister on Mohamed Al-Fayed, the controversial businessman who owned Harrods department store and Fulham Football Club. His son Dodi died in the car crash that killed Princess Diana. Dorothy Goodman, the educationalist who helped to found the consumer affairs magazine that became known as “Which?”. Professor Anthony Bryceson, the tropical medicine expert who was kidnapped by guerrilla fo...