Last Word
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 531
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Sir Archie Lamb (pictured), John Boyden, Ida Nudel, Abolhassan Banisadr
Matthew Bannister on
Sir Archie Lamb who rose from Foreign Office filing clerk to become one of the UK’s most distinguished ambassadors.
John Boyden, the record producer who founded the Classics For Pl…
Sir Michael Rutter (pictured), Christopher Wenner, Sister Megan Rice, Jeanette Altwegg
Matthew Bannister on
Sir Michael Rutter who was known as the 'father of child psychiatry'. He pioneered research into many aspects of child development.
Christopher Wenner - also known as Max Stahl - …
Bernard Haitink (pictured), Victor Gregg, Ruthie Tompson, Paddy Moloney
Matthew Bannister on
Bernard Haitink, one of the greatest orchestral conductors of his generation, known for his interpretations of Mahler, Bruckner and Wagner.
Victor Gregg, the British soldier who wa…
Colin Powell (pictured), Brendan Kennelly, Myriam Sarachik, John Clunies-Ross
Kirsty Lang on
Colin Powell, who rose from an impoverished childhood in Harlem to become US Secretary of State
A much loved Irish poet: Brendan Kennelly who learnt his storytelling skills growing up in…
Abdul Qadeer Khan (pictured), R. Allen Gardner, Joyce Jackson, Beresford King-Smith
Matthew Bannister on
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, once described as the world’s most dangerous man - but hailed as a hero in his native Pakistan for leading the country’s development of nuclear weapons.
Dr. …
Antony Hewish (pictured), Roger Michell, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Jane Powell
Matthew Bannister on
Antony Hewish, the radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for his work on discovering pulsars.
Roger Michell, the film, theatre and TV director who brought us Notting Hill, The B…
Lord Gowrie, Kamla Bhasin (pictured), Shirley Metherell MBE, Roger Hunt MBE
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Gowrie, the Tory peer who served as Northern Ireland minister and Arts minister under Margaret Thatcher. He was also a poet and went on to chair Sotheby’s and the Arts Counci…
Jimmy Greaves (pictured), Sir Clive Sinclair, Olivia Jordan, Carolyn Shoemaker
Julian Worricker on:
One of the greatest attacking footballers of all time, Jimmy Greaves, who later became a successful and often very funny TV presenter...
The inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, who made h…
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Jean-Paul Belmondo (pictured), Angela Milner, Inge Ginsberg
Datshiane Navanayagam on Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, the army officer who led the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, the unconventional film star who made his name in the film Brea…
Sergei Kovalev (pictured), Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Abebech Gobena, Ed Asner
Matthew Bannister on
Sergei Kovalev, the scientist and leading dissident, who spoke out against human rights abuses under the Soviet Union and the Yeltsin and Putin regimes. He was sent to a labour …
Jill Murphy (pictured), Len Gibson, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, Nanci Griffith
Matthew Bannister on:
The children’s author Jill Murphy who based her best-selling stories of the Worst Witch on her own schooldays.
Len Gibson, the former prisoner of war from Sunderland who worked on…
Charlie Watts (pictured), Austin Mitchell, Hugh Wood, Sean Lock
Matthew Bannister on
The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. We have a tribute from the boogie woogie pianist who played with Charlie in his other band.
The maverick Labour MP and TV presenter Austin…
Una Stubbs (pictured), Gino Strada, Mo Hayder
Matthew Bannister on
Una Stubbs, the actor who first came to fame in the 1960s TV sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part', then attracted a new generation of fans as Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge. She was also…
Jean 'Binta' Breeze MBE (pictured), Sir Nicholas Goodison, Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, Joyce Shrubbs
Matthew Bannister on
The Jamaican-born poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE, who was known for her compelling performances. We have a tribute from Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Sir Nicholas Goodison, chairman of the …
Sir Graham Vick (pictured), Carmel Budiardjo, Piers Plowright, Dusty Hill
Julian Worricker on:
The opera director, Sir Graham Vick, who challenged people's perceptions by discovering new performers and new audiences.
Carmel Budiardjo, the human rights campaigner whose work w…
Jackie Mason (pictured), John Woodcock, Dinah Murray, Billy Lacey
Matthew Bannister on
Jackie Mason, the comedian and former rabbi whose observations of Jewish life took him from the Borscht Belt to Broadway.
John Woodcock, the veteran cricket writer who reported on…
Gillian Sheen (pictured), William 'Twink' Allen, Lawrence 'Benny' Goodman, Alan Lewis
Matthew Bannister on
Gillian Sheen, the first and only British person to win an Olympic Gold Medal for fencing.
Professor William 'Twink' Allen, the equine fertility expert whose request for permission…
Jehan Sadat (pictured), Michael Horovitz, Richard Ernst, Dilip Kumar
Matthew Bannister on
Jehan Sadat, the wife of president Anwar Sadat of Egypt, who campaigned for women’s rights, supported the disabled and disadvantaged people and forged an academic career.
Michael …
Donald Rumsfeld (pictured), Menelik Shabazz, Elizabeth French
Matthew Bannister on
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defense who challenged the military bureaucracy, advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was blamed for many of the failings of that operat…
John McAfee (pictured), Trần Thiện Khiêm, Karla Burns, Horace 'Lyle' Hutley
Matthew Bannister on
The controversial American businessman John McAfee who made his first fortune selling anti-virus software, retreated into a compound in Belize where he was suspected of links wit…