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
Kenneth Kaunda, Janet Malcolm, Penny Kemp, Bob Swash
Pictured: President Kenneth Kaunda
Matthew Bannister on
The Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda who fought for independence then ruled his country for nearly thirty years, but was voted out of office in t…
Edward de Bono, Paul Van Doren, Alastair Hanton OBE, Violetta Elvin
Pictured: Edward de Bono
Matthew Bannister on
Edward De Bono, the psychologist who advocated lateral thinking – and sold the concept to companies around the world.
Paul Van Doren, the American businessm…
Lee Evans (pictured), Yuan Longping, Bill McCall, Alix Dobkin
Matthew Bannister on
Lee Evans, the world-record-breaking American sprinter who took part in black power protests at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Yuan Longping, the plant scientist who developed hybrid v…
Eric Carle (pictured), Helen Murray Free, Michael Parsons, Evelyn McNicol
Matthew Bannister on
The children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle, best known for creating The Very Hungry Caterpillar which has sold fifty-five million copies.
Helen Murray Free, the American chem…
Sir Paul Cosford, Max Mosley (pictured), Dr Frances Rotblat, Norman Lloyd
Julian Worricker on:
Sir Paul Cosford, who - as medical director of Public Health England - took on a prominent role during the Ebola outbreak and the Salisbury poisonings.
The Formula One boss, Max Mo…
Spencer Silver, Kevin Jackson, Patricia Brown, Asfaw Yemiru
Matthew Bannister on
Dr. Spencer Silver, the American chemist who invented the adhesive used in Post It Notes.
Kevin Jackson, the writer, broadcaster and critic described as a “21st century man of lett…
Olympia Dukakis (pictured), Eric McGraw MBE, Anthony Thwaite
Matthew Bannister on:
Olympia Dukakis, the Greek-American actor who won an Oscar for playing Cher’s mother in Moonstruck and became an LGBT icon after playing Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City. Its a…
Baroness O'Cathain, Michael Collins, Sharon Matola, Jim Steinman (pictured, with Meat Loaf)
Matthew Bannister on
Baroness O’Cathain, the successful businesswoman who became Managing Director of the Barbican Arts Centre in London but left after losing the confidence of staff and artists.
Micha…
Geoff Crowther, Isamu Akasaki, June Newton, Les McKeown (pictured)
Matthew Bannister on:
Geoff Crowther, the global traveller, writer and map maker whose work helped to build the success of the Lonely Planet guide books.
Isamu Akasaki, the Nobel prize winning physicis…
Helen McCrory (pictured), Hans Küng, Eric Gordon, George Reynolds
Matthew Bannister on
Helen McCrory, the actor best known for playing the matriarch Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, but equally acclaimed for her classical stage performances. David Hare pays tribute.
Han…
Baroness Shirley Williams (pictured), Glynn Lunney, Lyn Macdonald
Matthew Bannister on:
The Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Williams of Crosby. As Shirley Williams she was a Labour cabinet minister who abolished the 11-plus exam in many parts of the UK, then a member…
Doreen Lofthouse OBE, Dr Chris Doake, Barbara Hosking CBE, Bernice Cohen
Matthew Bannister on
Doreen Lofthouse, the Lancashire businesswoman who took Fisherman’s Friends lozenges from a Fleetwood chemist’s shop to a multi-million pound international company.
Dr Chris Doake…
Bob Davey MBE; George Segal (pictured); Lady Violet Aitken; Tony Hendra
Matthew Bannister on
Bob Davey, the retired water board superintendent who made it his mission to restore an ancient church in Norfolk – and in the process made a remarkable archaeological find.
Georg…
Nawal El Saadawi (pictured), Brigadier Jack Thomas, President John Magufuli, Ion Mihai Pacepa
Matthew Bannister on:
The Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi who faced persecution and imprisonment but never wavered from her commitment to campaigning for women’s rights.
Brigadier Jack Thomas…
Murray Walker (pictured), King Goodwill Zwelithini, Mary Asprey, Bunny Wailer
Julian Worricker on: One of the best known sports commentators of his generation, motor racing's Murray Walker The woman who co-founded what became the charity, Missling People, Mary Asprey
King G…
Nicola Pagett (pictured), Stan Shaw, Prof John Mallard, Rupert Neve
Matthew Bannister on
Nicola Pagett, the acclaimed actor who made her name on TV in Upstairs Downstairs and as Anna Karenina but also excelled in classical stage roles. Later in life she suffered sever…
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (pictured), Sidney Alford, Alison Lurie, Chris Barber
Matthew Bannister on
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Saudi oil minister who presided over the 1970s embargo that caused crises for Western economies.
Sidney Alford, the maverick explosives expert who cr…
Sir William Macpherson (pictured), Margaret Snyder, Eleanor Wadsworth, Iain Pattinson
Matthew Bannister on
Sir William Macpherson, the retired judge whose report on the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence accused the Metropolitan Police of “institutional racism”.
Margaret Sn…
Carlos Menem (pictured), Mary Wilson, Robin Pooley, Larry Flynt
Matthew Bannister on:
Carlos Menem, the flamboyant President of Argentina during the 1990s who transformed the country’s economy, but was dogged by allegations of corruption.
Mary Wilson, a founding me…
George Shultz, Yvonne Conolly, Maureen Colquhoun, Christopher Plummer (pictured)
Matthew Bannister on
George Shultz, the US Secretary of State during the Reagan years who came close to brokering a deal to abolish all US and Soviet nuclear weapons.
Yvonne Conolly, Britain’s first bl…