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
Darcus Howe, Andy Coogan, Dr Sylvia Moody, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Peter Shotton
Matthew Bannister on
the Black Power activist and journalist Darcus Howe. He was a leading campaigner for equal rights in the 1970s and 80s.
Athletics coach Andy Coogan who spent three and a half year…
David Storey, Ahmed Kathrada, Barbara Buss, Aloysius 'Lucky' Gordon
Matthew Bannister on
Playwright and novelist David Storey who drew on his experiences as a professional rugby league player in some of his work.
The South African anti apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrad…
Martin McGuinness, Chuck Berry, Sir Derek Walcott, Salome Karwah, Colin Dexter
Matthew Bannister on
Martin McGuinness, who went from being a violent IRA commander to a peace making politician.
Chuck Berry, hailed as the father of rock n roll by musicians from Keith Richards to Jo…
John Surtees, Gordon Thomas, Sir Howard Hodgkin, H. Boyd Woodruff, Joni Sledge
Matthew Bannister on
The racing driver John Surtees who won world championships on two wheels and four.
Gordon Thomas who wrote best selling books about espionage and religion.
Sir Howard Hodgkin - one …
Sir Nigel Rodley, Sir Cosmo Haskard, Louise Hulton, Pete Overend Watts
Matthew Bannister on
The human rights lawyer Sir Nigel Rodley. He helped to draft the United Nations Convention Against Torture and became its special rapporteur on the issue.
Pete Overend Watts, the…
Gerald Kaufman, Dick Bruna, Desmond Connell, Rita Barberá, Frank Delaney
Julian Worricker on:
The long-serving Labour MP and former minister, Gerald Kaufman
The prolific Dutch illustrator and author Dick Bruna
Cardinal Desmond Connell, who as Archbishop of Dublin presided ov…
Stanley Bard, Norma McCorvey, Michael Ember, Peter Skellern
Kate Silverton on
Stanley Bard, the enigmatic proprietor of New York's Chelsea Hotel who created a haven for artists, writers and rock stars and presided over one of the greatest experiments in bohem…
Al Jarreau, Betty Tebbs, Sir Peter Mansfield, Dame Jennifer Jenkins, Hans Rosling
Matthew Bannister on
Betty Tebbs who devoted her life to fighting for women's rights and nuclear disarmament.
Sir Peter Mansfield, the Nobel Prize winning physicist who led the development of MRI scann…
Alan Simpson, Brunhilde Pomsel, Sir Ken Morrison, Buchi Emecheta
Matthew Bannister on
The comedy writer Alan Simpson. With his partner Ray Galton, he created classic sitcoms including Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son.
Brunhilde Pomsel who was the secretary to…
Sir John Hurt, Margaret Pereira CBE, Sir Christopher Bland, Emma Tennant, Mary Tyler Moore
Matthew Bannister on Sir John Hurt, the actor whose outstanding roles included Quentin Crisp, the Elephant Man and Caligula.
Margaret Pereira, the pioneering forensic scientist who was known as "Miss …
Tam Dalyell MP, Victor Lownes, Babette Cole, Zhou Youguang, Gorden Kaye
Matthew Bannister on
The Labour MP Tam Dalyell who asked the West Lothian Question and pursued Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Belgrano.
Victor Lownes who ran Playboy's clubs in the UK - and…
Baroness Heyhoe Flint, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Una Kroll, William Peter Blatty, Sir James Mancham
Matthew Bannister on
Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint who captained the England women's cricket team to victory in the World Cup.
Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the key players in the …
Lord Snowdon, Graham Taylor, Jill Saward, Peter Sarstedt, Clare Hollingworth
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Snowdon - renowned photographer and Princess Margaret's former husband.
Graham Taylor - the football manager who had success with Watford and Aston Villa, but was lampooned fo…
John Berger, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, Henry Heimlich, Patsy Crampton, Brian Widlake and George Michael
Julian Worricker on:
The writer and art critic John Berger
Mother and daughter actresses, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher
The surgeon who came up with the life-saving heimlich manoeuvre, Henry Heimlic…
Michael Nicholson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lord Prior, Rabbi Lionel Blue, Pauline Oliveros
Julian Worricker on:
The journalist and TV correspondent, Michael Nicholson, who covered numerous conflicts for ITN
The actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor, famous for her one-liners and nine husbands
J…
Peter Gibson, AA Gill, Coral Atkins, William Chaloner, Ian McCaskill
Matthew Bannister on
Peter Gibson the master glazier who devoted his life to the care of the stained glass windows in York Minster.
AA Gill, who overcame alcoholism and dyslexia to become one of the UK…
John Glenn, Peter Vaughan, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, Greg Lake
Matthew Bannister on
John Glenn, the astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth and later the oldest man ever to be sent into space.
The actor Peter Vaughan, best known for his roles in P…
Andrew Sachs, Fidel Castro, Mose Allison, The Honourable Margaret Rhodes
Matthew Bannister on
Andrew Sachs, the actor who was so much more than Manuel in Fawlty Towers. We hear about his acclaimed radio career.
Also the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - brutal dictator or benevol…
Martin Aitchison, Sir Mota Singh QC, William Trevor, Ruth Gruber, David Mancuso
Kate Silverton on:
Martin Aitchison who worked with Barnes Wallis on the bouncing bomb but made his name illustrating the Peter and Jane ladybird books.
Sir Mota Singh, the Kenyan born Barrister who be…
Robert Vaughn, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Carolyn Hardy OBE, Ewen Whitaker, Claude 'Curly' Putman
Matthew Bannister on
Robert Vaughn - the actor who made his name as Napoleon Solo in "The Man From Uncle" TV series and also appeared in films like "The Magnificent Seven", "Bullitt" and "The Towering…