Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers, revealing the US government’s secret approach to the Vietnam War. Glenda Jackson, the Oscar winning actor and Labour MP Melanie Phillips, who helped to change embedded racial prejudice in the social work system Sir Ben Helfgott, who survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and went on to become capt...

John Wilson on Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's flamboyant and controversial media mogul and four-time Prime Minister. Kathryn Harries, The soprano sang in more than 60 major operatic roles and raised millions of pounds by doing sponsored charity walks. Francoise Gilot, A celebrated painter and printmaker whose career spanned 8 decades. She was also known for a turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso,...

Matthew Bannister on Mel Parry, the SAS veteran who was part of the team that stormed the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. Professor Alice Coleman, the geographer whose modifications to modernist high rise estates won the support of Margaret Thatcher. Hugh Callaghan, the labourer who was one of six men arrested after the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974. He served 16 years in prison for a crime h...

Matthew Bannister on Jeremy Clarke, who chronicled his experiences of living a “low life” in the Spectator magazine for more than 20 years. We have a tribute from Eric Idle. The women’s rights campaigner Dr. Moira Woods, who set up the Irish Republic’s first dedicated sexual assault treatment unit. Iain Johnstone, the film critic and documentary maker who told the stories of stars like Dustin Hoff...

Matthew Bannister on Tina Turner, the singer who overcame an abusive relationship to become an international superstar Martin Amis, one of the literary giants of his generation Leroy Cooper, the photographer who captured the social history of his area of Liverpool Rolf Harris, the entertainer who was imprisoned for sexually assaulting young girls Marlene Bauer Hagge, the last surviving founding me...

Matthew Bannister on Newton Minow, who was just 35 when he was appointed chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission by President John F. Kennedy. He gave a famous speech describing TV as a “vast wasteland” and helped to set up the Public Broadcasting Service. Vicky Neale, the mathematician who responded to her diagnosis with cancer by launching a podcast discussing the role of maths in c...

Matthew Bannister on The opera singer Grace Bumbry who broke down barriers by becoming the first black performer at the Bayreuth Festival. Don Short, the showbusiness journalist who coined the term “Beatlemania” and became good friends with the Fab Four. Dame Rosemary Cramp, the archaeologist who deepened our understanding of the Anglo Saxon period. And Wee Willie Harris, the flamboyant rock’n’rol...

Matthew Bannister on Harry Belafonte, the singer and actor who was also a leading civil rights campaigner. Jerry Springer, whose TV talk show was once voted the worst in history – but was watched by millions around the world. Valerie Winn, the runner who became the face of a campaign to allow women to compete in top level middle distance races. Kate Saunders, the novelist, journalist and critic wh...

Matthew Bannister on Barry Humphries, best known for his comic creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. We have tributes from Rob Brydon and John Humphrys. Len Goodman, who went from working as a welder to international fame as head judge of Strictly Come Dancing. Professor Elizabeth Murray, a pioneer in the use of digital technology in health care. And Jah Shaka, dub reggae star, produc...

Matthew Bannister on Anne Perry, the best-selling crime novelist who committed a murder when she was a teenager. Dame Mary Quant, the influential fashion designer at the heart of the swinging 60s. Pattie Boyd recalls the coat Mary designed for her wedding to George Harrison. Jean Argles, who – with her sister - served as a codebreaker during the second world war. Ahmad Jamal, the jazz pianist and...

Matthew Bannister on Ben Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He devoted his life to campaigning for an international system of justice for the victims of such crimes. Seymour Fortescue, the banker who pioneered the credit and debit card revolution. Valerie Elliott, the respected journalist who reported on politics and then rural affairs. Rachel Pollack, the a...

Matthew Bannister on Nigel Lawson – Baron Lawson of Blaby, the reforming Chancellor of the Exchequer under Margaret Thatcher. He cut income tax, led the campaign of privatisation and paved the way for the Big Bang in the City of London. Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian-born nun acclaimed for her unique musical compositions. Ken Buchanan, the Scottish boxer who became World Lightweight C...

Matthew Bannister on Paul O’Grady, who made his name as the drag queen Lily Savage, and went on to become a much-loved TV and radio star. Gordon Moore, the tech entrepreneur who founded the chip maker Intel and came up with Moore’s law which says that computer processing power doubles every two years. Vera Selby who challenged sexist prejudice to become the women’s world snooker champion – twice....

Matthew Bannister on Jacqueline Gold CBE – the businesswoman who turned Ann Summers from a couple of seedy sex shops into a multi-million pound high street success. Lance Reddick, the American actor best known for playing Cedric Daniels in The Wire. Traute Lafrenz, the last known survivor of the White Rose Group that actively resisted the Nazis in Germany during the second world war. Lynn Seymour,...

Matthew Bannister on The actor and singer Chaim Topol (pictured), best known for his performances in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Zandra Flemister, the first African American woman to work as a Secret Service special agent. The prolific cartoonist Bill Tidy MBE who created the Cloggies and The Fosdyke Saga. Avis Fawcitt, the Leicestershire music teacher who devoted her life to the Orphean Yout...

Matthew Bannister on Judith Heumann (pictured), the American disability rights campaigner who led the longest non-violent occupation of a Federal building in US history. Brian Tufano, the cinematographer who shot films like Quadrophenia, Trainspotting and Billy Elliot. Sir David Elliott, a key figure in the negotiations that created the European single market. Elizabeth Foulkes, who helped to defi...

Kirsty Lang on The extraordinary Lady Betty Boothroyd (pictured) who went from humble beginnings in a Yorkshire mill town to becoming Westminster’s first female Speaker. John Motson OBE - the BBC’s voice of football for half a century, The pioneering New York publisher Marianne Mantell who paved the way for audio books... And Lithuanian pianist Sulamita Aronovsky who founded London’s International...

Kirsty Lang on Dorothy Pitman Hughes who brought black women into the 70s Feminist movement and inspired Gloria Steinem. Raquel Welch (pictured), the Hollywood actor who became a Sixties sex symbol after playing a cavewoman in the film 'One Million Years BC'. The aeronautical engineer Ralph Hooper OBE who designed the revolutionary Harrier jump jet. And Dickie Davies, the sports presenter best kno...

Matthew Bannister on Professor David Vaughan OBE, who was a leading expert on the effects of climate change on glaciers in the Antarctic. Burt Bacharach (pictured), who wrote scores of hit songs including 'I Say A Little Prayer', 'Do You Know The Way To San José' and 'Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head'. Janet Anderson, the Labour MP who wrote entertaining reports of proceedings in parliament for Q...

Matthew Bannister on Frene Ginwala (pictured), one of the leading figures in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, who became Speaker of the country’s first democratically elected parliament. Lady Martha Bruce OBE, governor of Scotland’s first purpose built prison for women. General Pervez Musharraf, who took power as President of Pakistan in a military coup and supported George Bush’s War...

Matthew Bannister on Ralph Ehrmann, the German-born businessman behind the success of the Airfix model kits that delighted a generation of young boys in the 1960s and 70s. Sylvia Syms (pictured), the actor whose roles ranged from beautiful heroines in the 1950s and 60s to Margaret Thatcher and The Queen Mother later in life. Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy, the leader of the UK’s oldest Jewish community who...

Matthew Bannister on Howard Baderman, the hospital consultant who transformed the discipline of emergency medicine and treated casualties from high profile events like the Kings Cross Tube Fire and the sinking of the Thames river boat The Marchioness. David Crosby (pictured), the singer and songwriter with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young whose life went through periods of chaos thro...

Matthew Bannister on Jeff Beck (pictured), who was acclaimed as one of the most influential and innovative rock guitarists of all time. Alice Mahon, the left wing Labour MP who often rebelled against her own party. Tom Karen OBE, the designer who came up with the Raleigh Chopper Bike, the Bond Bug, the Reliant Robin and the Popemobile. Gina Lollobrigida, the first post war Italian actress to gain...

Matthew Bannister on Gianluca Vialli (pictured), the Italian footballer who won many major trophies with Sampdoria and Juventus before moving to Chelsea as a player and then manager. Fay Weldon, the author who told stories of women taking control of their own destinies, including ‘The Life and Loves of A She Devil’. Michael Dower, the former Director General of the Countryside Commission who devot...

Matthew Bannister on Pope Benedict XVI, the religious conservative who was the first Pontiff to resign from the job in almost 600 years. Dame Vivienne Westwood (pictured), punk pioneer, high fashion designer and eco warrior. James Caan, the American actor best known for playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Georgia Holt, the singer who enjoyed success late in life thanks to her daughter Cher. P...