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
- 532
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Dick Gregory, Jeannie Rousseau, Wayne Lotter, Sean O'Callaghan, John Abercrombie
Matthew Bannister on
Dick Gregory, the African American comedian and civil rights activist who was also a dietician to stars like John Lennon and Mohammed Ali.
Jeannie Rousseau who spied on the Nazis' …
Abu Kifah, Sir Bruce Forsyth, Brian Aldiss, Blanche Blackwell, Jerry Lewis
Brian Aldiss - the gifted science fiction author who inspired the Hollywood movie AI artificial intelligence. Jerry Lewis the American comic who - with Dean Martin found fame as one of the most succe…
Barbara Cook, Sister Ruth Pfau, Richard Gordon, Prof UR Rao
Kate Silverton on the "Broadway Diva" Barbara Cook, the American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy and Candide…
Glen Campbell, Dame Helen Alexander, Prunella Briance, Clancy Sigal
Matthew Bannister on
Glen Campbell - the singer and guitarist best known for hits like Galveston and Witchita Lineman. We talk to the man who wrote them - Jimmy Webb.
Dame Helen Alexander, former Chief…
Robert Hardy, David Jones, Jeanne Moreau, Mark Wilkinson, Sam Shepard
Matthew Bannister on
The actor Robert Hardy, best known for his roles in All Creatures Great and Small and the Harry Potter films and for playing Winston Churchill.
David Jones who wrote the Daedalus …
Mary Turner, Chester Bennington, Scharlette Holdman, Orri Vigfusson and George A Romero
Matthew Bannister on
Mary Turner the President of the GMB Union who started her campaigning life by organising her fellow dinner ladies at a North London school.
Chester Bennington, lead singer of the …
Chuck Blazer, Maryam Mirzakhani, Bryan Avery, Peter McHugh, Martin Landau
Matthew Bannister on
Chuck Blazer who embezzled millions of dollars from the international football organisation FIFA, then turned whistle blower to incriminate his former colleagues.
Maryam Mirzakha…
Simone Veil, Graham Rose, Tom Isaacs, Liu Xiaobo, Ken Hirst
Matthew Bannister on
Simone Veil, the Holocaust survivor who became a leading French politician and President of the European Parliament.
Graham Rose who directed some of the best loved TV commercials,…
Barry Norman, Gordon Wilson, Geri Allen, John Thompson, Jack O'Neill
Matthew Bannister on
Barry Norman - best known for presenting the BBC television's Film programme,on radio he also fronted the Today Programme and the News Quiz.
Gordon Wilson, the leader who re-built …
Lord Joffe, Michael Bond, Ann Louise Gilligan, Carla Fendi, John Avildsen
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Joffe, the lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela at the infamous Rivonia trial. He went on to co-found the Allied Dunbar insurance company and sat as a Labour peer in the House …
Helmut Kohl, Anita Pallenberg, Professor Brian Bellhouse, Naseem Khan, Brian Cant
Julian Worricker on:
Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany at the time of the country's re-unification.
Anita Pallenberg, artiste and muse to three of the Rolling Stones.
Scientist, Brian Bellhouse, who in…
Adnan Khashoggi, Countess Mountbatten, Adam West, Kailash Puri, Vin Garbutt, Helen Dunmore
Matthew Bannister on
Arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, known for his lavish life style, he acted as a middle man between governments and arms suppliers.
Countess Mountbatten, godmother to Prince Charles, sh…
Miriam Rodriguez Martinez, Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, Peter Sallis, Lady Anne Piper, Jiri Belohlavek
Matthew Bannister on
Miriam Rodríguez Martínez- the Mexican woman whose daughter was killed by drug cartels - and who led a campaign for justice for thousands of missing people.
Lord Soulsby - the firs…
John Noakes, Manuel Noriega, Pat Stewart, Rex Sanders, Gregg Allman
Julian Worricker on:
The broadcaster, John Noakes, who was famous for his daredevil exploits on Blue Peter for thirteen years....
Manuel Noriega, who flirted with the Americans as leader of Panama, and…
Brendan Duddy, Nina Lowry, Roger Ailes, Osmund Reynolds, Roger Moore
Andrea Catherwood on
Brendan Duddy, the businessman from Derry who played a key but unsung role in the Northern Ireland peace process hosting secret talks between MI6 and the IRA.
Nina Lowry, the first…
Rhodri Morgan, Michael Wearing, Dr Helen Szamuely, Ian Brady, Robert Miles
Matthew Bannister on
Rhodri Morgan the former Welsh First Minister, known as the Labour Party's "Father of Welsh devolution".
Michael Wearing the TV producer behind award winning series like "Boys Fro…
Ueli Steck, Lord Williams of Baglan, Sylvia Moy, Captain James Dickson MBE, Jon Prinz
Matthew Bannister on
The Swiss climber Ueli Steck, famous for his daring high speed ascents of the world's most challenging mountains without the use of oxygen.
Lord Williams the human rights expert wh…
Robert Pirsig, Shobha Nehru, Michael Ballhaus, Leo Baxendale, Bruce Langhorne
Matthew Bannister on
Robert Pirsig, author of the best selling book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Shobha Nehru, the Hungarian woman who married into India's most powerful political dynasty…
Jonathan Demme, Robert Taylor, Cathy Hopkins, Peter Farrer, Dorothy Torry
Matthew Bannister on
The film director Jonathan Demme - best known for the multi Oscar winning films Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia.
Robert Taylor who helped to develop the first networked compu…
Michael Bogdanov, Louis Sarno, Sheila Abdus Salaam, Dick Potts, Don Rickles
Matthew Bannister on
The theatre director Michael Bogdanov, who co-founded the English Shakespeare Company. His National Theatre production of the Romans In Britain led to an obscenity trial.
The ethn…