Last Word

Pictured: Kirk Douglas Julian Worricker on: Terry Hands, long serving artistic director of the RSC, who co-founded the Liverpool Everyman theatre and revived the Clwyd theatre Cymru... The wine marketer, Hazel Murphy, who's credited with spearheading Australia's wine invasion of Europe.... The nationalist Northern Ireland politician, Seamus Mallon, whose negotiating skills helped secure the Good F...

Pictured: Nicholas Parsons Matthew Bannister on The Just A Minute host, TV presenter and actor Nicholas Parsons. Sheila Hancock and Tony Hawks pay tribute - in just a minute! Mary Craig who wrote the best selling book "Blessings" after struggling to care for her severely disabled son. Lord Maclennan of Rogart, formerly the MP for Caithness and Sutherland, who negotiated the merger between the SDP...

Pictured: Terry Jones Matthew Bannister on Tony Garnett, the TV and film producer whose tragic childhood inspired him to make influential films like Up The Junction, Cathy Come Home and Kes. Joy Rainey, the racing driver whose restricted growth meant she needed specially adapted cars. Professor Cuchlaine King, the geomorphologist known for her studies of beaches, coasts and glaciers. Terry Jones,...

Pictured: Sir Roger Scruton Matthew Bannister on Sir Roger Scruton, the leading conservative philosopher of his generation, known for his work on aesthetics. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure for some on the left. Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman who overthrew his father in a coup and transformed his country. Bobby Neame, the Chairman of Shepherd Neame - the country's oldest brewin...

Pictured: General Qasem Soleimani Matthew Bannister on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by an American drone strike. We try to uncover the motivation of the man who spread Iran's military influence throughout the Middle East. M.C. Beaton who wrote more than 250 books which sold in their millions, including romantic fiction and murder mysteries featuring PC Hamish Macbeth and Agatha...

Pictured: Neil Innes Matthew Bannister on Neil Innes, the talented musician who was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, worked with Monty Python and satirised the Beatles. Roger McGough and Michael Palin pay tribute. Steve Sawyer, the Greenpeace activist who helped to evacuate the Pacific Islanders of the Rongelap Atoll after they were affected by nuclear testing. Sheila Mercier, the actress b...

Julian Worricker on: The journalist, Andrew Graham-Yooll OBE, who risked his life to tell the story of the so-called 'disappeared' in Argentina in the 1970s. The writer Andrea Newman, best known for 'Bouquet of Barbed Wire', the sexually charged family drama that pushed the boundaries of television. Ornithologist and conservationist, Peter Davis, who dedicated much of his working life to saving th...

Pictured: Kenny Lynch OBE Matthew Bannister on Chris Moncrieff, the journalist who covered parliament for the Press Association for more than 50 years. He even has a bar named after him in the House of Commons. Kate Figes, the writer who captured the nuances of human relationships in books like "Couples" and "Our Cheating Hearts". Branko Lustig, the holocaust survivor who won an Oscar as the produ...

Pictured: David Bellamy Matthew Bannister on David Bellamy, the botanist who became a household name through his popular TV programmes, but fell from prominence after describing man-made global warming as "poppycock". Nell Gifford, who founded and ran a circus company known for its retro styling and creativity. Yasuhiro Nakasone, the Japanese Prime Minister who formed a strong bond with US Preside...

Pictured: Bob Willis Matthew Bannister on Bob Willis, the former England cricket captain, who was seen as one of the finest fast bowlers of his generation. Gary Rhodes, the spiky-haired TV chef who won Michelin stars for his re-invention of classic British recipes. Shuping Wang, the Chinese doctor who lost her job and her marriage after blowing the whistle on a trade in blood products that was spr...

Pictured: Jonathan Miller Matthew Bannister on Sir Jonathan Miller, who hated the term polymath - but undoubtedly was one. He came to fame in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe, was a celebrated opera and theatre director and sometimes regretted his decision not to concentrate on his first calling as a doctor. Field Marshal Lord Bramall, the Chief of the Defence Staff who saw action in the D Da...

Pictured: Vladimir Bukovsky Matthew Bannister on The Russian dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, a long term opponent of the Soviet regime who revealed the use of psychiatric hospitals as political prisons. Alison Prince, the children's writer who scripted Trumpton. Keith Schellenberg, the eccentric millionaire who was a bobsleigh champion and keen powerboat racer. He bought the Scottish Isle of Eigg - a...

Pictured: Nik Powell Matthew Bannister on James Le Mesurier, the former British Army Officer who set up the organisation that trained the White Helmet volunteers who rescue people from bomb sites in Syria. Nik Powell, the businessman who helped Richard Branson to start Virgin Records and went on to produce a string of acclaimed British films. Frank Dobson, the Labour M.P. who became Health Secreta...

Pictured: Gay Byrne Matthew Bannister on Gay Byrne, the Irish TV and radio presenter who occupied a unique place in the nation's culture and public life. He presented the Late Late Show for thirty-seven years, often causing controversy when he covered changing social issues. Sadako Ogata, the Japanese academic who served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the 1990s. She was noted for her fear...

Pictured: Charles Jencks Matthew Bannister on The architectural historian Charles Jencks, who was known as the godfather of postmodernism. He also involved leading architects in designing cancer treatment centres named after his wife Maggie. Lord Foster pays tribute. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the fanatical leader of ISIS who was behind the killing and torture of thousands of victims. Irene Shubik, the...

Pictured: Alicia Alonso Matthew Bannister on Alicia Alonso, the Cuban ballerina who went on dancing when her sight began to fail. She also set up the National Ballet Company of Cuba. Deborah Orr, the witty columnist who also edited the Guardian Weekend magazine. Joyce Cansfield, the British Scrabble champion and 1983 Brain of Mensa who set more than a thousand crossword puzzles for the Times. Clor...

Pictured: Alexei Leonov Matthew Bannister on The Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who was the first person to walk in space. Sally Soames, the photographer who made portraits of many leading politicians and celebrities as well as working in war zones. Her niece Claudia Winkleman and sister in law Eve Pollard pay tribute. Kary Mullis, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who invented PCR - a revolution...

Pictured: Ginger Baker Matthew Bannister on Su Beng, the activist known as the father of Taiwan independence. Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer with rock super group Cream who struggled with drug addiction and an unpredictable temper. John Haylett who was editor of the socialist paper the Morning Star at a crucial time in its history. Diahann Carroll, the African American actress who starred in...

Pictured: Jessye Norman Julian Worricker on: The multiple award-winning American soprano, Jessye Norman, whose performances wowed audiences around the world.... Peter Sissons, the acclaimed television journalist, who moved from ITN to the BBC to present Question Time and the main evening news.... The author, Al Alvarez, poetry editor of the Observer newspaper, and renowned poker player.... And Mar...

Pictured: Jacques Chirac Julian Worricker on: Jacques Chirac, mayor of Paris for eighteen years, who served twice as French Prime Minister and twice as French president.... The man who took on the toughest of managerial assignments - running British Leyland in the late 1970s - Sir Michael Edwardes.... US television journalist and presenter, Cokie Roberts, credited with changing the role of women i...

Pictured: Chester Williams Matthew Bannister on Sheikh Yusuf Motala who founded the first traditional Islamic seminary in the UK, and trained hundreds of Imams. Chester Williams, the only black rugby player in the South African team that won the World Cup in 1995. Jan Ruff O'Herne who was forced to work in a brothel by the Japanese army during the war. She kept her story secret for fifty years, bu...

Matthew Bannister on Hans Rausing, the Swedish-born industrialist who led the Tetra Pak company. In the 1990s he topped the Sunday Times Rich List ahead of the Queen. His daughter Sigrid pays tribute. Sir Dawda Jawara the first President of independent Gambia who faced two coup attempts. Sue Crockford, a feminist campaigner who made influential films about the social history of North London. Terra...

Pictured: Robert Mugabe Matthew Bannister on The former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. He was once hailed as a hero of the liberation struggle but later seen by many as a tyrant. Alla Verber, the Russian socialite who brought high fashion to the newly wealthy in the post-Soviet society. Ciaran McKeown, who joined Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams to found the Peace People of Northern Irela...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Bell, the advertising and public relations executive who helped Margaret Thatcher to win three elections. Paule Marshall, the novelist who wrote about the experiences of black Americans of Caribbean origin. David Koch, the American billionaire who poured money into right wing political causes. Richard Booth, the second hand bookseller who was the self-styled King of Hay-o...

Pictured: Peter Fonda Matthew Bannister on Peter Fonda, the actor who became a hero of the 1960s counterculture, by riding his Harley Davidson across America in the classic film Easy Rider. Princess Christina of the Netherlands who was born nearly blind. When her mother Queen Juliana consulted a soothsayer, a constitutional crisis followed. Geoffrey Paul the respected long serving editor of the Je...