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
David Bellamy, Nell Gifford, Yasuhiro Nakasone, Mariss Jansons
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…
Bob Willis MBE, Gary Rhodes OBE, Dr Shuping Wang, Sir Stephen Cleobury CBE
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…
Sir Jonathan Miller, Field Marshal Lord Bramall, Clive James AO, CBE
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 ope…
Vladimir Bukovsky, Alison Prince, Keith Schellenberg, Robert Ponsonby
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.
Al…
Nik Powell OBE, James Le Mesurier OBE, Frank Dobson, Hazel Vincent Wallace OBE
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 Sy…
Gay Byrne, Sadako Ogata, Robert Evans
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-seve…
Charles Jencks, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Irene Shubik, Raymond Leppard
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 treatm…
Alicia Alonso, Deborah Orr, Joyce Cansfield, Clora Bryant
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 w…
Alexei Leonov, Sally Soames, Kary Mullis, Reg Watson
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 a…
Ginger Baker, Su Beng, John Haylett, Diahann Carroll
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 addi…
Jessye Norman, Peter Sissons, Al Alvarez, Marita Lorenz
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 j…
Jacques Chirac, Sir Michael Edwardes, Cokie Roberts, Pat Cavendish O’Neill
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 tough…
Chester Williams, Sheikh Yusuf Motala, Jan Ruff O’Herne, Ric Ocasek
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 pl…
Hans Rausing, Sir Dawda Jawara, Sue Crockford, Terrance Dicks
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.…
Robert Mugabe, Alla Verber, Ciaran McKeown, Bill Anderson MBE
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 …
Lord Bell, Paule Marshall, David Koch, Richard Booth
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…
Peter Fonda, Princess Christina of the Netherlands, Geoffrey Paul OBE, Jim Bouton
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 Chr…
Julia Farron OBE, Nuon Chea, June Fraser, Marcel Berlins
Pictured: Julia Farron
Julian Worricker on:
The Cambodian political leader, Nuon Chea, who was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during his time as a member of the Khmer Rouge....
Jul…
Toni Morrison, Hal Prince, Dr Elizabeth Killick, Li Peng, Barrington Pheloung
Pictured: Toni Morrison
Matthew Bannister on
The Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, acclaimed for her novels which put the experience of black women centre stage.
Hal Prince, the successful thea…
Russi Taylor, Beji Caid Essebsi, Jane Hubert, Iván Erőd
Pictured: Russi Taylor
Matthew Bannister on
Beji Caid Essebsi who became the first democratically elected President of Tunisia in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Russi Taylor the versatile voice art…