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
Dr Ruth Westheimer, Mike Corfield, Shelley Duvall, Veronica Smith
Matthew Bannister on Dr Ruth Westheimer who offered frank advice about sex on TV and radio.
Mike Corfield, the conservator who developed new methods of preserving archaeological artefacts in the place…
Dr Richard Taylor, Jack Rowell, Claudia Williams, Christophe Deloire
Matthew Bannister on
Dr Richard Taylor, the retired hospital consultant who became the independent MP for Wyre Forest.
Jack Rowell, the rugby coach who transformed the fortunes of Bath and took England…
Frank Duckworth, Leah Levin, Professor Mary-Lou Pardue, Joss Naylor
Matthew Bannister on
Frank Duckworth, the statistician whose name will forever be associated with the Duckworth-Lewis method of calculating scores for rain affected cricket matches.
Leah Levin, who ca…
Sir Oliver Popplewell, Lynn Conway, Tony Bramwell, Francoise Hardy
Kirsty Lang on the Judge and cricketer Sir Oliver Popplewell. His godson Stephen Fry pays tribute.
The computer pioneer and transgender advocate Lynn Conway.
The music mogul and friend to the Fab Four …
Nora Cortiñas, Belinda Belville, John Burnside, Roger Corman
Matthew Bannister on Nora Cortiñas, a founding member of Argentina’s “Mothers of the Disappeared” campaign group. Her son Gustavo was 24 when he was arrested by the country’s right-wing dictatorship.…
Richard M Sherman, Professor Wendy James CBE , Morgan Spurlock, June Mendoza OBE
Matthew Bannister on
Richard M Sherman who teamed up with his brother Robert to write some of Disney’s best loved songs.
Professor Wendy James CBE, the anthropologist who studied the Uduk tribes of Sud…
Sir Tony O'Reilly, President Ebrahim Raisi, Penny Simkin, Professor Alasdair Geddes
Matthew Bannister on
The Irish rugby star and businessman Sir Tony O’Reilly. He made billions but ended up bankrupt.
The hardline President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi.
Penny Simkin, who championed the role …
Dame Shirley Conran, Doreen Massey, Beverley LaHaye, Steve Albini
Matthew Bannister on
Dame Shirley Conran, the journalist and author best known for her books “Superwoman” and “Lace”.
Baroness Doreen Massey, the educator and former director of the Family Planning Ass…
Anne Dagg, Ross Anderson, Cecil Murray, Kris Hallenga
Matthew Bannister on Anne Dagg, the Canadian biologist known as The Woman Who Loves Giraffes for her lifelong study of the animals.
Professor Ross Anderson, the computer scientist who was a leading ex…
C.J.Sansom, Olga Fikotová-Connolly, Dr Jenny Vaughan OBE, Sir Andrew Davies
Matthew Bannister on an author, a campaigner, an Olympic medallist, a conductor
Terry Anderson, Trina Robbins, Lord Field, Ann Trevenen Jenkin
Matthew Bannister on
The American journalist Terry Anderson who was held captive in Lebanon for almost seven years. In an emotional interview, his daughter Sulome tells us how she followed in his foot…
“I was born while my father was a hostage”
Sulome Anderson first met her father – journalist Terry Anderson – at the American Embassy in Damascus. She was seven years old and he had just been released from nearly seven years as a hostage in L…
Sir Paul Fox, Lynne Reid Banks, Joan Hills, Amnon Weinstein
Matthew Bannister on:
Sir Paul Fox, the respected TV executive who commissioned some of the best loved programmes of the 1960s and 70s. We have a tribute from his former colleague Sir David Attenborou…
Peter Higgs, Trevor Griffiths, Hella Pick, Margaret Tynes
Matthew Bannister on Professor Peter Higgs, the physicist who won the Nobel prize for explaining why the building blocks of the universe have mass. Trevor Griffiths, the playwright whose stage a…
Joe Lieberman, Diana Baring, Lynn Kinnear, Kay Benbow
Matthew Bannister on Joe Lieberman, the US Democrat politician who fell out with his party over the Iraq War. Diana Baring, the respected literary agent. We have a tribute from her client Frederi…
Richard Taylor, Lisa Lane, Rose Dugdale, Ian Green
John Wilson on
Richard Taylor, who became a tireless campaigner against knife crime and supported disadvantaged young people.
Lisa Lane, the chess champion who was the first player to feature on the c…
John Boyega on campaigner Richard Taylor, father of Damilola Taylor
In this special edition of Last Word, John Boyega pays tribute to campaigner Richard Taylor, the father of Damilola Taylor who was killed 24 years ago.
Richard Taylor - a Nigerian civil servant - dedi…
Vince Power CBE, Olga Murray, Akira Toriyama, Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello
Matthew Bannister on Vince Power, the live music promoter whose Mean Fiddler group operated a string of London venues and built up the Reading and Leeds festivals. Olga Murray, the American lawye…
Audrey Adams, Nicola Trahan, Edward Bond, Eric Carmen
Matthew Bannister on
Audrey Adams who became a tireless campaigner for the rights of black people after her son was stabbed to death in a racist attack.
Nicola Trahan, who joined the French Resistance …
Iris Apfel, Colin Murray Parkes, Baroness Henig, Jim Lawrence
Matthew Bannister on
Iris Apfel the colourful fashion and interior designer whose own dress sense made an impact until her death aged 102.
Dr Colin Murray Parkes, the psychiatrist once described as “th…