Last Word

Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently

Radio 4,900 episodes

Episodes

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Part-time punk turned professional provocateur - columnist Rod Liddle
Also, music manager Vicki Wickham, artist Simone Forti and director Justin Hardy.
07 Aug 2026,28 mins
The life of "Dr Death" - Body Worlds founder Gunther von Hagens
Also, businessman Sir Ian Wood, historian Juliet Gardiner, and dancer Dinkie Flowers.
31 Jul 2026,28 mins
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Also, journalist David Willey, horticulturalist David Austin and aviator Wally Funk.
24 Jul 2026,28 mins
Sam Neill: the silent child with a stutter who became a movie star
Matthew Bannister on two actors, a musician and a chef.
17 Jul 2026,28 mins
Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl
Matthew Bannister on an iconic singer, dissident bookseller, cosmonaut and a TV director.
10 Jul 2026,28 mins
The Good Life of Dame Penelope Keith
Matthew Bannister on an acting icon, crusading journalist, silent sister, ringmistress.
03 Jul 2026,28 mins
"He became one of the most powerful men in the world” - the story of the man who shaped modern economics
John Wilson on an economist, a visible difference campaigner, a sailor and a singer.
26 Jun 2026,28 mins
A “bone marrow love for the Labour party” Lord Kinnock remembers Lord Hattersley
Matthew Bannister on a politician, a speech therapist, a journalist and a musician.
19 Jun 2026,28 mins
Founder of the ‘MOBOs’ and champion of black music – Kanya King
Matthew Bannister on a black music champion, a spy, a Vietnam War nurse and an author.
12 Jun 2026,28 mins
Larry King: The man behind Billie Jean King’s feminist tennis revolution
Matthew Bannister on a sport disruptor, Cold War spy, media innovator and art provocateur.
05 Jun 2026,28 mins
Clarence B Jones, Judith Chalmers, Dr Anna Ritchie, Professor Frank Land
Matthew Bannister on a lawyer, a broadcaster, an archaeologist and a computer pioneer.
29 May 2026,28 mins
Michael Pennington, Cynthia Shange, Scott Hastings, Beverley Martyn
Kirsty Lang on an actor, an activist, a rugby player and a singer.
22 May 2026,28 mins
Ruth Slenczynska, Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Tony Worthington, Russell Tyner KC
Kirsty Lang on a virtuoso pianist, leading scientist, peace-seeking MP and legal pioneer.
15 May 2026,28 mins
Dr Ittai Gradel, Dame Shirley Porter, Professor Nigel Dunnett, María Nieves Rego
Matthew Bannister on an antiquities dealer, a politician, a horticulturalist and a dancer.
08 May 2026,28 mins
Xia De-hong, Lord Hunt of Chesterton, Joan Burstein, Bill Leader
Matthew Bannister on a mother, a meteorologist, a retail pioneer and a recording engineer.
01 May 2026,28 mins
Andy Kershaw, Dame Averil Cameron, Dr Judith Rapoport, Desmond Morris
Matthew Bannister on a DJ, a historian, a psychiatrist and a zoologist.
24 Apr 2026,28 mins
Asha Bhosle, Sir Neil Cossons, Professor Harold Ellis, Daphne Selfe
Matthew Bannister on a singer, a curator, a surgeon and a model.
17 Apr 2026,28 mins
Sir Craig Reedie, Bronwen Naish, Geoff Yeadon, Margareta Magnusson
Matthew Bannister on a sports administrator, a musician, a cave diver and an author.
10 Apr 2026,28 mins
Robert Fox, Mary Rand MBE, Sir Tony Hoare, Biruté Galdikas
John Wilson on theatre producer, an athlete, a computer scientist, a primatologist.
03 Apr 2026,28 mins
Dame Jenni Murray, Len Deighton, Lynda Hale, Jurgen Habermas
Matthew Bannister on a broadcaster, an author, a footballer and a philosopher.
27 Mar 2026,28 mins
Yanar Mohammed, MP Phil Woolas, Professor Robin Weiss, Jane Lapotaire
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a politician, a virologist and an actor.
20 Mar 2026,28 mins
Paul Conroy, Kenith Trodd, Astrid Llewellyn, Jo Purvis
Matthew Bannister on a photojournalist, a TV producer, a sailor, a DJ.
13 Mar 2026,28 mins
Neil Sedaka, Drusilla Beyfus, Professor Dame Carole Jordan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Matthew Bannister on Neil Sedaka, Drusilla Beyfus, Carole Jordan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
06 Mar 2026,28 mins
Martyn Butler, Allan Massie, Professor Nicola Fear, Willie Colón
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, an epidemiologist, an author and a trombonist.
27 Feb 2026,28 mins
Reverend Jesse Jackson, Diane Munday, Philippe Gaulier, Lady Jean Wilson
Kirsty Lang on a civil rights leader, a campaigner, a clown and a charity worker.
20 Feb 2026,28 mins
Meredith Hooper, David Young, Dorothy Solomon, Derek Kelly
Matthew Bannister on an author, a lawyer, an agent and a farmer.
13 Feb 2026,28 mins
Sir Nicholas White, Lord Wallace, Professor Deborah Cameron, Sly Dunbar
Matthew Bannister on a physician, a politician, a linguist and a drummer.
06 Feb 2026,28 mins
Sir Mark Tully, Dame Gillian Wagner, Dr Gladys West, Richard Larn OBE
Matthew Bannister on a journalist, a campaigner, a mathematician and a shipwreck expert.
30 Jan 2026,28 mins
Molly Burkett, Sir James Munby, Edith Flanigen, Aldrich Ames
Matthew Bannister on a conservationist, a judge, a chemist and a spy.
23 Jan 2026,28 mins
Claudette Colvin, Ian Balding, Gerry Gable, Bob Weir, Juliet Robertson
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a racehorse trainer, an activist and an educationalist.
16 Jan 2026,28 mins