Last Word

Presenter Lucy Ash remembers:

Khaled Al-Asaad, the Syrian archaeologist beheaded by Islamic State who was famous for his in depth knowledge and love of the ancient city of Palmyra;

Jazz Summers, the m…

Last Word is presented by Reeta Chakrabarti this week. She will be remembering:

The comic writer and novelist David Nobbs - we speak to his friend and fellow writer Jonathan Coe about the man who inve…

Matthew Bannister on

The singer and TV presenter Cilla Black - we go behind the scenes to discover the secret of her success on Saturday night TV.

Michael Kidson who taught history at Eton for thirty y…

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The Reverend Owen Chadwick, the distinguished ecclesiastical historian who was vice Chancellor of Cambridge University during student protests in the 1970s and chaired an influent…

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Joyce Bennett who was the first English woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest. It happened in Hong Kong in 1971.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, who was the world's longest serving for…

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Actor Omar Sharif

Flying squad detective Stanley Moore - always known as Steve, he helped to catch some of the Great Train Robbers.

Theatre Director Jules Wright who co-founded th…

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Sir Nicholas Winton who saved 669 children from the advancing Nazis in Czechoslovakia.

Also the Irish singer Val Doonican - known for his cardigans and rocking chair - he was some…

Matthew Bannister on:

The controversial Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Chris Woodhead who said he was paid to challenge "mediocrity, failure and complacency".

The actor Patrick Macnee, best known for p…

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Morris Beckman - the East End Jewish activist who co-founded the 43 Group to fight against post-war British fascists.

Ornette Coleman - the pioneering saxophonist who developed fre…