Last Word

Kirsty Lang on Jean-Luc Godard (pictured), the critic and filmmaker who revolutionised French cinema. The writer and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, whose bestseller 'Nickel and Dimed', is considered a classic in social justice literature. Captain Dennis Wilson, the Normandy veteran whose war poems were ranked alongside Wilfred Owen’s... And Mavis Nicholson, the Welsh broadcaster with a knack for m...

Matthew Bannister on Bill Turnbull (pictured), the journalist and BBC Breakfast presenter who was also a beekeeper and committed fan of Wycombe Wanderers. Anne Sutton, whose detailed studies of the life and times of King Richard III transformed his reputation. Norah Vincent, who wrote a best-selling book about her experience of living as a man for eighteen months and then suffered a mental breakdo...

Matthew Bannister on The last President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev (pictured), who was feted in the West but often derided in his own country. We follow his journey from a collective farm in Stavropol to momentous times in the Kremlin, including the introduction of Perestroika and Glasnost, the end of the Cold War and the coup that toppled him from power. Stella 'Jaye' Edwards, who was...

Matthew Bannister on Margaret Keane (pictured), the American artist whose paintings of children with 'Big Eyes' became hugely popular in the 1960s. Her identity as the painter was kept secret by her husband who claimed the works as his own. Keith Smith, the market trader who co-founded the Poundland chain of shops. Mario Fiorentini, Italy’s most decorated partisan, who risked torture and death to...

John Wilson on Lamont Dozier (pictured), who wrote dozens of hits for Motown Records. Joan Lingard, the author of the popular Kevin and Sadie books set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Issey Miyake, the Japanese fashion designer who survived the atomic bomb. Edana Minghella, the mental health researcher and jazz singer. Producer: Emily Finch Interviewed guest: Eddie Holland Interviewed gue...

Kirsty Lang on James Lovelock (pictured), the scientist and inventor who came up with the Gaia theory. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Roy Hackett MBE, who led the Bristol bus boycott in 1963. Dame Olivia Newton-John, the singer and actor who starred in Grease. Producer: Emily Finch Interviewed guest: Bryan Appleyard CBE Interviewed guest: Paul Martin Interviewed gue...

Matthew Bannister on Bernard Cribbins OBE, the much-loved actor known for appearances in The Railway Children and Doctor Who as well as reading countless stories on Jackanory. Diana Kennedy MBE, the British-born food writer who dedicated her life to promoting the diversity of Mexican cuisine. Sir Colin Blakemore, the neuroscientist who received death threats after speaking out in defence of experi...

John Wilson on Lord David Trimble, Northern Irish politician who was an architect of the Good Friday Agreement and won a Nobel Peace Prize. Susie Steiner, a British crime author who shared her experience of living with a brain tumour. Uwe Seeler, captain of the West German football team in 1966 and a hero for his home team of Hamburg. Producer: Sofie Vilcins Interviewed guest: Lord Dean Godson Int...

John Wilson on Tony Sirico, the former armed robber turned actor who found fame playing the role of mobster Paulie Walnuts in ground-breaking television series The Sopranos. José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola as president for 37 years, steering the country through a bloody civil war, and reaping the benefits of an oil boom while being accused of huge levels of corruption. Ann Shulgin, a the...

Kirsty Lang on Shinzo Abe - Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who sought to end a wartime legacy of defeat and occupation and to tackle the economy through ‘Abenomics’. Actor Mona Hammond is best known for her TV role in Eastenders. Lorna de Smidt, the anti-apartheid and anti-racist activist who cut her political teeth in the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in the late 1960s. And...

Matthew Bannister on Baroness Greengross, who championed the rights of older people as Director General of the charity Age Concern. Sonny Barger, the leading American Hell’s Angel who was arrested 21 times and spent 13 years in prison. Technoblade, the young Youtuber who amassed millions of followers for his commentaries on the video game Minecraft. Qin Yi, the leading Chinese film star whose care...

Matthew Bannister on Dame Deborah James who raised millions of pounds for cancer research by talking openly about living with - and dying from - bowel cancer. Yves Coppens, the charismatic French palaeontologist who led the team that discovered hominid remains estimated to be 3.2 million years old. Revel Guest OBE, the documentary film producer who became chair of the Hay Literary Festival. Samuel...

Matthew Bannister on Dom Phillips, the freelance journalist who was ambushed and shot dead on a trip into the Amazon rain forest. Stephen S. Thompson, the novelist and screenwriter who won a BAFTA for his TV drama telling the story of his brother’s experiences during the Windrush scandal. Caroline Drummond, who campaigned for greater links between farming and environmental protection – and oversaw...

Matthew Bannister on Dame Paula Rego, the acclaimed Portuguese-born artist who later made her home in the UK and was renowned for making vivid and disturbing work focussing on the subjugation of women. We talk to her son Nick Willing. Bruce Kent, the Catholic priest who became a leader of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Hilary Devey CBE, who founded a multi-million pound freight distribution...

Matthew Bannister on Amanda Claridge, the archaeologist who was a leading expert on ancient Rome. Sidhu Moose Wala, the acclaimed Indian rapper who was shot dead at the age of 28. Mark Sykes, the upper-class gambler, con man, gun smuggler and playboy. Paul Vance, who wrote the song 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' and whose death was announced prematurely in 2006. Producer: Neil...

Matthew Bannister on Dervla Murphy, the intrepid travel writer who cycled from her native Ireland to India. Lester Piggott, the jockey who rode thousands of winners and broke many records, including winning the Derby 9 times. Anne Howells, the acclaimed mezzo soprano known for her beautiful voice and sense of mischief. Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Antonia Quirke Interviewed guest: Hila...

Matthew Bannister on Baroness Haleh Afshar, the Iranian-born academic and activist who made her home in the UK and campaigned for women’s rights. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates who led the transformation of his country and was a key ally of the West. Kay Mellor, the TV writer best known for series like 'Band of Gold', 'Fat Friend...

Matthew Bannister on Shireen Abu Akleh, the respected Al Jazeera reporter who was shot dead while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Robert Gillmor, the wildlife artist best known for his striking paintings of birds. Leonid Kravchuk who oversaw Ukraine’s transition to independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and became its President. Carrie White, the...

Matthew Bannister on Kathy Boudin, the American radical activist who was sent to prison for her part in the killing of a security guard and two police officers during a robbery. While serving her sentence she became a campaigner for penal reform. Dennis Waterman, the actor best known for his roles in TV series 'The Sweeney', 'Minder' and 'New Tricks'. Sidney Altman, the American biologist who won...

Matthew Bannister on Colonel Alan Jenkins, the Gurhka officer who was the last living Westerner to have travelled to independent Tibet. Mary Monson, the solicitor who devoted her career to helping the poor and disadvantaged. Elspeth Barker, the novelist and critic who lived a colourful life surrounded by animals in a Norfolk farmhouse. Art Rupe, the American record producer who helped to launch th...

Matthew Bannister on Yvonne Blenkinsop, one of the four so-called 'Headscarf Revolutionaries' from Hull who campaigned for better safety regulations on fishing trawlers after three were lost at sea in 1968. Margaret Carswell, the doctor and ornithologist who treated survivors of the Ugandan civil war and in her spare time compiled the definitive guide to the country’s bird population. Mikhail Vase...

John Wilson on Mimi Reinhard, the Holocaust survivor who typed Oskar Schindler’s famous list and later turned down an offer from Steven Spielberg. Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the uncompromising British composer of contemporary classical music who once caused panic at the Proms. Sylvia Lancaster, the mother of Sophie Lancaster who was brutally murdered in 2007. Sylvia set up a foundation with the aim...

John Wilson remembers the lives of those who have recently died including Jordan Mooney the punk icon known as ‘the original Sex Pistol’ who ended up as a veterinary nurse. Jack Higgins, the thriller writer who hit the jackpot with The Eagle Has Landed, and sold more than 250 million books. Robert Ashe, an aid worker who spent most of his working life supporting refugees all over the world. And Da...

Matthew Bannister on Derek Mack, the rocket engineer who helped Britain enter the space age June Brown, the actor best known as Dot Cotton in Eastenders Dr Doris A. Derby, the American civil rights activist and photographer who took historic pictures of the struggle for equality Dave Sales, the Dorset fisherman who fought a 23 year campaign to protect the sea bed in Lyme Bay. Producer: Neil George...

Matthew Bannister on The first female US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was a leading advocate of the NATO bombing campaign aimed at stopping ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. Peter Padfield, the naval historian who as a young man took part in the reconstruction of the voyage of the Mayflower from the UK to the USA. Christina Smith, the colourful entrepreneur known as “the queen of Cove...