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
Lamont Dozier, Joan Lingard, Issey Miyake, Edana Minghella
John Wilson on
Lamont Dozier (pictured), who wrote dozens of hits for Motown Records.
Joan Lingard, the author of the popular Kevin and Sadie books set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Issey Miy…
James Lovelock, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Roy Hackett MBE, Dame Olivia Newton-John
Kirsty Lang on
James Lovelock (pictured), the scientist and inventor who came up with the Gaia theory.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Roy Hackett MBE, who led the Bristol…
Bernard Cribbins OBE (pictured), Diana Kennedy MBE, Sir Colin Blakemore, Nichelle Nichols
Matthew Bannister on
Bernard Cribbins OBE, the much-loved actor known for appearances in The Railway Children and Doctor Who as well as reading countless stories on Jackanory.
Diana Kennedy MBE, the Br…
Lord David Trimble (pictured), Susie Steiner, Uwe Seeler
John Wilson on
Lord David Trimble, Northern Irish politician who was an architect of the Good Friday Agreement and won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Susie Steiner, a British crime author who shared her experien…
Tony Sirico (pictured), José Eduardo dos Santos, Ann Shulgin, Ivana Trump
John Wilson on
Tony Sirico, the former armed robber turned actor who found fame playing the role of mobster Paulie Walnuts in ground-breaking television series The Sopranos.
José Eduardo dos Santos, wh…
Shinzo Abe (pictured), Mona Hammond OBE, Lorna de Smidt, Monty Norman
Kirsty Lang on
Shinzo Abe - Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who sought to end a wartime legacy of defeat and occupation and to tackle the economy through ‘Abenomics’.
Actor Mona Hammond is best …
Baroness Greengross OBE (pictured), Sonny Barger, Technoblade, Qin Yi
Matthew Bannister on
Baroness Greengross, who championed the rights of older people as Director General of the charity Age Concern.
Sonny Barger, the leading American Hell’s Angel who was arrested 21 t…
Dame Deborah James (pictured), Yves Coppens, Revel Guest OBE, Samuel Bhima
Matthew Bannister on
Dame Deborah James who raised millions of pounds for cancer research by talking openly about living with - and dying from - bowel cancer.
Yves Coppens, the charismatic French pala…
Dom Phillips (pictured), Stephen S. Thompson, Caroline Drummond, Maureen Hiron
Matthew Bannister on
Dom Phillips, the freelance journalist who was ambushed and shot dead on a trip into the Amazon rain forest.
Stephen S. Thompson, the novelist and screenwriter who won a BAFTA for…
Dame Paula Rego (pictured), Bruce Kent, Hilary Devey CBE
Matthew Bannister on
Dame Paula Rego, the acclaimed Portuguese-born artist who later made her home in the UK and was renowned for making vivid and disturbing work focussing on the subjugation of women…
Amanda Claridge, Sidhu Moose Wala (pictured), Mark Sykes, Paul Vance
Matthew Bannister on
Amanda Claridge, the archaeologist who was a leading expert on ancient Rome.
Sidhu Moose Wala, the acclaimed Indian rapper who was shot dead at the age of 28.
Mark Sykes, the upper-…
Dervla Murphy, Lester Piggott (pictured), Anne Howells
Matthew Bannister on
Dervla Murphy, the intrepid travel writer who cycled from her native Ireland to India.
Lester Piggott, the jockey who rode thousands of winners and broke many records, including wi…
Baroness Haleh Afshar, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kay Mellor, Vangelis (Pictured)
Matthew Bannister on
Baroness Haleh Afshar, the Iranian-born academic and activist who made her home in the UK and campaigned for women’s rights.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dha…
Shireen Abu Akleh, Robert Gillmor, Leonid Kravchuk (pictured), Carrie White
Matthew Bannister on
Shireen Abu Akleh, the respected Al Jazeera reporter who was shot dead while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Robert Gillmor, the wildlife arti…
Kathy Boudin, Dennis Waterman (pictured), Sidney Altman, Régine Zylberberg
Matthew Bannister on
Kathy Boudin, the American radical activist who was sent to prison for her part in the killing of a security guard and two police officers during a robbery. While serving her sent…
Colonel Alan Jenkins, Mary Monson, Elspeth Barker, Art Rupe (pictured)
Matthew Bannister on
Colonel Alan Jenkins, the Gurhka officer who was the last living Westerner to have travelled to independent Tibet.
Mary Monson, the solicitor who devoted her career to helping the …
Yvonne Blenkinsop (pictured), Dr Margaret Carswell, Mikhail Vasenkov, Denise Coffey
Matthew Bannister on
Yvonne Blenkinsop, one of the four so-called 'Headscarf Revolutionaries' from Hull who campaigned for better safety regulations on fishing trawlers after three were lost at sea in…
Mimi Reinhard, Sir Harrison Birtwistle (pictured), Sylvia Lancaster OBE, Letizia Battaglia
John Wilson on
Mimi Reinhard, the Holocaust survivor who typed Oskar Schindler’s famous list and later turned down an offer from Steven Spielberg.
Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the uncompromising British c…
Jordan Mooney (pictured), Jack Higgins, Robert Ashe, David McKee
John Wilson remembers the lives of those who have recently died including Jordan Mooney the punk icon known as ‘the original Sex Pistol’ who ended up as a veterinary nurse.
Jack Higgins, the thriller…
Derek Mack (pictured), June Brown, Doris Derby, Dave Sales
Matthew Bannister on
Derek Mack, the rocket engineer who helped Britain enter the space age
June Brown, the actor best known as Dot Cotton in Eastenders
Dr Doris A. Derby, the American civil rights act…