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
John Ashdown-Hill, Anne Coates OBE, Dr Davida Coady, Samuel F 'Ted' Dabney, Brendan Ingle
Photo: Anne Coates OBE
Matthew Bannister on the prolific film editor Anne Coates, who worked on Laurence of Arabia, The Elephant Man and Fifty Shades of Grey.
John Ashdown-Hill, the historian who helpe…
Beth Chatto, Philip Roth, Doreen Simmons, Khurshid Drabu, June Milne.
Photo: Philip Roth
Julian Worricker on:
Beth Chatto, the gardener and writer regarded as one of the most influential horticulturists of the past 50 years
The multiple award-winning American novelist, Ph…
Baroness Jowell, Will Alsop, Tom Wolfe, Dennis Nilsen
Matthew Bannister on
Baroness Jowell - the former Labour Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell - who led the campaign to bring the Olympic Games to London and supported the survivors of the 7/7 bombings.
Tom …
Bruce Tulloh, Emma Smith, Professor Peter Waddington, Dowager Countess of Harewood, Ronald Chesney
Matthew Bannister on
Bruce Tulloh, who ran across the United States in record time and became European 5,000 metres champion barefoot.
Emma Smith the author of an acclaimed novel based on her travels …
Lord Martin of Springburn, Gustav Born, Valerie Riches, Caroline Brown, Michael Anderson
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Martin of Springburn: the former House of Commons speaker Michael Martin. He resigned after MPs lost confidence in his handling of the row over their expenses.
Caroline Brown…
Avicii (Tim Bergling), Ruth Nussenzweig, Anita Shreve, Guy Playfair, Bob Bura
Matthew Bannister on
Avicii, the Swedish DJ whose songs became anthems for millions of festival goers around the world. He was found dead aged 28 in Oman.
Dr. Ruth Nussenzweig the medical researcher w…
Barbara Bush, Milos Forman, Dame Daphne Sheldrick, Livia Gollancz, Dale Winton
Matthew Bannister on
Barbara Bush, the first woman in history to see both her husband and son sworn in as President of the USA.
Milos Forman, the film director who made Amadeus and the multi Oscar win…
Gillian Ayres, Efraín Ríos Montt, David Cobham, Nikki Sievwright, Fergus Anckorn
Photo: Gillian Ayres
Matthew Bannister on
The artist Gillian Ayres, known for her large, exuberant abstract paintings, which reflected her exuberant character.
General Efraín Ríos Montt, the Guatemalan …
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Drue Heinz DBE, Ray Wilkins MBE, Eric Bristow, Steven Bochco
Photo: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Matthew Bannister on
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who was one of the leading anti apartheid campaigners in South Africa, but also faced allegations of being involved in vi…
Charles P Lazarus, Marielle Franco, John Brookes, Zena Skinner, Oskar Groning
Photo: Zena Skinner
Julian Worricker on:
Charles P Lazarus, the founder of Toys 'R' Us - a store chain which, for decades, captured the hearts of consumers around the world
Brazilian political activist …
Brenda Dean, William McAlpine, Keith O'Brien, Katie Boyle, Garech Browne
Photo: Lady Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde
Matthew Bannister on
Lady Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde who, as Brenda Dean, was the leader of the print union Sogat during the bitter Wapping dispute of 1986.
Sir Will…
Professor Stephen Hawking, Hubert de Givenchy, Michele Hanson, Sir John Sulston, Sir Ken Dodd
Photo: Professor Stephen Hawking
Matthew Bannister on
Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the world's best known scientists who carried out pioneering research into black holes. The Astronomer Royal, Sir…
Trevor Baylis, Lerone Bennett Jr, Penny Vincenzi, Ian Aitken, Sir Roger Bannister
Photo: Sir Roger Bannister
Matthew Bannister on
Trevor Baylis, the eccentric inventor who came up with the wind up radio.
Lerone Bennett, the American academic who wrote many influential books on black …
Sir Lawrence Byford, Sridevi Kapoor, Dame Beulah Bewley, Ernest Hecht, Lewis Gilbert
Photo: Sridevi Kapoor
Matthew Bannister on
Ernest Hecht, who founded the Souvenir Press, which published books from Nobel prize winners like Pablo Neruda, academics like Noam Chomsky and best sellers o…
Billy Graham, Laura Lee, John Morris, John Bosco McAtasney, John Pitman
Photo: Billy Graham
Matthew Bannister on
The evangelist Billy Graham who preached to millions around the world and offered spiritual advice to 12 American Presidents.
Laura Lee, the sex worker who campa…
Morgan Tsvangirai, Douglas Botting, Professor Patricia Lindop, Asma Jahangir, Vic Damone
Photo: Morgan Tsvangirai
Matthew Bannister on
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change and Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.
Douglas Botting, film maker, author …
John Mahoney, Hannah Hauxwell, Professor Kenneth Richard Seddon OBE, Sir John Cotterell, Naomi Parker Fraley
Photo: John Mahoney
Julian Worricker on:
The actor John Mahoney who played Marty Crane in one of America's best-loved sitcoms, Frasier.
Hannah Hauxwell, whose solitary life as a farmer in the Yorkshire …
Ingvar Kamprad, Elizabeth Hawley, Robert Mann, Jon Castle, Dorothy Malone
Photo: Dorothy Malone
Julian Worricker on:
Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish entrepreneur who founded Ikea and changed the way we furnish our homes
Elizabeth Hawley, journalist turned chronicler, who document…
Hugh Masekela, Ursula K Le Guin, Mary Lee Berners-Lee, John Barton, Mark E Smith
Photo: Hugh Masekela
Matthew Bannister on
Hugh Masekela the South African jazz trumpeter and anti apartheid activist.
Ursula K. Le Guin whose science fiction and fantasy books sold millions of copies.
Ma…
Rick Jolly, Dolores O'Riordan, Cyrille Regis, Jenny Joseph, Peter Wyngarde
Matthew Bannister on
Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly, the navy doctor who set up a makeshift field hospital during the Falklands War to treat both British and Argentine casualties.
Dolores O'Riordan, lead s…