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
Nicholas Dimbleby, Lord Patrick Cormack, Wendy Mitchell, Eleanor Fazan
John Wilson on the celebrated sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby, responsible for numerous well known commissions around the country.
Lord Patrick Cormack the politician, historian and prolific author.
Wendy …
Alexei Navalny, Dr Brooke Ellison, Gertrude Wright, Steve Brown
John Wilson on
Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and leading opponent of President Vladimir Putin, who has died in a Russian state prison.
Dr Brooke Ellison, an American academic and disa…
Steve Wright, Baroness Flather, Alan Mills, Angela Peberdy
Matthew Bannister on
The much-loved Radio 1 and 2 DJ Steve Wright. We have a tribute from his former colleague Simon Mayo.
Baroness Flather, who was the first Asian woman to sit in the House of Lords.
A…
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, Ian Lavender, Robie Harris, Barry John
Matthew Bannister on
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue who overcame a traumatic childhood to become one of Australia’s leading campaigners for the rights of indigenous people.
Ian Lavender, the actor best known fo…
Frank Farian, Caroline Richmond, Phil Baines, Norma Izard
Matthew Bannister on
Frank Farian, the German music producer behind the hugely successful group Boney M, who caused controversy when it was revealed that his duo Milli Vanilli had been miming at all t…
Norma Barzman, Lord Saye and Sele, Jim Hobson, Susan Campbell
Matthew Bannister on
Norma Barzman, the screenwriter from the Golden Age of Hollywood who fled to Europe after facing being blacklisted from the House Un-American Activities Committee for her Communis…
Annie Nightingale, Isca Salzberger-Wittenberg, Bryan Ansell, Charlie Allan
Matthew Bannister on
Annie Nightingale who was Radio 1’s first female presenter and its longest serving DJ. Her son remembers meeting Jimi Hendrix over breakfast in her kitchen and the 72-hour-party a…
Camila Batmanghelidjh, Sir Roy Calne, Glynis Johns, J.P.R. Williams
Matthew Bannister on
Camila Batmanghelidjh who founded the charity Kids Company to help disadvantaged children. The charity collapsed amidst controversy, although she was later cleared of any wrongdoi…
John Pilger, KM Peyton, Paula Murphy, Michael Blakemore
Matthew Bannister on
John Pilger, the campaigning journalist who made award winning films about human rights abuses and was an outspoken critic of British and US foreign policy.
K.M. Peyton, the author…
Jacques Delors, Nancy Pearce, Elinor Otto, Tony Allen
Kirsty Lang on Jacques Delors, the politician and architect of the modern EU. Nancy Pearce, the founder of a charity to help people with eating disorders. Elinor Otto, the American factory worker w…
Maureen Sweeney, Sir Tim Brighouse, Shirley Anne Field, Juanita Castro
Matthew Bannister on
Maureen Sweeney, the postmistress from the west of Ireland whose weather forecast postponed D-Day by 24 hours.
Sir Tim Brighouse, the educationalist credited with transforming the …
Benjamin Zephaniah, Laura Lean, Stacy Marking, Eric Freeman
Matthew Bannister on
The dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah who overcame childhood trauma to become an acclaimed performer and writer.
Laura Lean, who volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, helping …
Shane MacGowan, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Lord Darling, Joan Jara
Matthew Bannister on
Shane MacGowan the lead singer of The Pogues who was famous for his song writing but also his abuse of drugs and alcohol. His sister joins us to discuss the roots of his talent an…
Henry Kissinger, Terry Venables, Paul Watson, Rachel Heller
Matthew Bannister on
Henry Kissinger, a towering figure in international diplomacy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize but was condemned by some as a war criminal.
Also, Terry Venables, the colourful manag…
Captain Don Walsh, Dame A.S. Byatt, Rosalynn Carter, Dr Finlay Macleod
Matthew Bannister on
Captain Don Walsh, the American submariner who made the first descent to the deepest place in the ocean – the Mariana Trench. His friend and fellow deep sea explorer Victor Vescov…
Peter Betts, Audrey Salkeld, Heather Rogers KC, Louise Meriwether
Matthew Bannister on Peter Betts, who was the UK’s lead negotiator at international climate change summits.
Audrey Salkeld, the mountaineering historian best known for her work on the ill-fated Mallor…
Ken Mattingly, Anne Wright, Mary Gallacher, David Kirke
Matthew Bannister on
Ken Mattingly, the astronaut who missed flying into space on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission because he had been exposed to German measles. We have a tribute from Fred Haise who d…
Matthew Perry, Benedict Birnberg, Field Marshall Muthoni Wa Kirima, Professor Jose Harris
Matthew Bannister on
Benedict Birnberg, the radical lawyer who fought the cases of the far-left Angry Brigade and the Mangrove Nine and got the murder conviction of Derek Bentley quashed.
Professor Jos…
Sir Bobby Charlton, Dr Evelyn Fox Keller, Julian Bahula, Haydn Gwynne
Matthew Bannister on
Sir Bobby Charlton, who is hailed as England’s greatest ever footballer.
Dr. Evelyn Fox Keller, who explored the effects of gender on the study of science.
Julian Bahula, the South …
Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney, Phyllis ‘Pippa’ Latour, Florence Fisher, Dr Nicholas Arnold
Kirsty Lang on
Charles ‘Chuck’ Feeney, the secret billionaire who gave most of his money away to good causes. Phyllis ‘Pippa’ Latour, the fearless secret agent who was parachuted into Nazi occupied…