Last Word

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

Radio 4,901 episodes

Episodes

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Albert Reynolds, Ronnie Stonham, Norman Cornish, Gerry Anderson, Licia Albanese
Remembering a former Taoiseach, a BBC vetter, a painter, a broadcaster and a soprano.
22 Aug 2014,28 mins
Lauren Bacall, Prof Sir Alan Peacock, Robin Williams, Peter Sculthorpe
Andrea Catherwood on a Hollywood legend, a comic genius, a composer and an economist.
15 Aug 2014,28 mins
Chapman Pincher, Mike Smith, Lettice Curtis, Karl Albrecht, Kenny Ireland
Matthew Bannister on a journalist, a businessman, a broadcaster, a pilot, an actor
08 Aug 2014,28 mins
Sir Richard MacCormac, Eileen Ford, Nigel Ryan, Zohra Sehgal, Frank Mumford
Matthew Bannister on an architect, a modelling agent, an editor, an actress, a puppeteer
01 Aug 2014,28 mins
James Garner, Joep Lange, Alan Alan, Philip Wayre, Dora Bryan
Julian Worricker on an actor, a physician, a naturalist, an actress and an escapologist
25 Jul 2014,28 mins
Elaine Stritch, Nadine Gordimer, Michael Scudamore and Lorin Maazel
Matthew Bannister on an actress, a writer, a jockey and a conductor.
18 Jul 2014,28 mins
Alfredo Di Stefano, Eduard Shevardnadze, Ultra Violet, Chester Nez and Horace Silver
Matthew Bannister on a footballer, a Georgian politician, an artist and a code talker.
11 Jul 2014,28 mins
Bobby Womack, Stephanie Kwolek, Dermot Healy, Viktor Sukhodrev, Delia Craig
Julian Worricker on a singer, a chemist, a writer, an interpreter and a conservationist.
04 Jul 2014,28 mins
Felix Dennis, Norman Willis, Josephine Pullein-Thompson, Gerry Conlon, Eli Wallach
Matthew Bannister on a publisher, a TUC leader, an author and one of the Guildford Four.
27 Jun 2014,28 mins
Gerry Goffin, Freydis Sharland, Alexander Shulgin, Francis Matthews
Matthew Bannister remembers a songwriter, a pilot, a chemist and an actor.
20 Jun 2014,28 mins
Rik Mayall, Dr Lorna Wing, Eric Hill, Billie Fleming, Alan Douglas
Matthew Bannister remembers a comedian, a psychiatrist, a children's writer and a cyclist.
13 Jun 2014,28 mins
Prof Colin Pillinger, Antony Hopkins, Bev Evans, Sir Ben Gill and Stan Kelly-Bootle
Matthew Bannister on a space scientist, a musician, a farmers' leader, a computer pioneer.
16 May 2014,28 mins
Sir George Christie, Leslie Thomas, Elena Baltacha, Sir William Benyon and Deborah Rogers
Matthew Bannister remembers Glyndebourne's owner, an author, a Tory MP and a tennis player
09 May 2014,28 mins
Bob Hoskins, U Win Tin, Ian McIntyre, Gailene Stock
Matthew Bannister on an actor, a Burmese activist, a BBC executive and a ballet teacher.
02 May 2014,28 mins
Mark Shand, Mrs Pilkington Garimara, Derek Cooper, Wally Olins, Julian Wilson
Matthew Bannister on a conservationist, a writer, a broadcaster and a branding consultant.
25 Apr 2014,28 mins
Gabriel García Márquez, Edna Doré, Richard Hoggart, Gerardo D'Ambrosio, John Shirley-Quirk
Julian Worricker remembers an author, an actress, a commentator, a magistrate and a singer
18 Apr 2014,28 mins
Sue Townsend, Lord Kimball, Peaches Geldof, Prof Lorna Casselton, Mickey Rooney
Matthew Bannister on an author, an MP, a TV presenter, a fungal biologist and a film star.
11 Apr 2014,28 mins
Margo MacDonald, Frankie Knuckles, Lorna Arnold, Kate O'Mara, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Matthew Bannister remembers a politician, a DJ, a historian, an actress and a president.
04 Apr 2014,28 mins
Mickey Duff, John Tyson, Jill Sinclair, Adolfo Suarez, Oswald Morris
Matthew Bannister on a boxing promoter, an explorer, a music exec and a cinematographer.
28 Mar 2014,28 mins
Clarissa Dickson Wright, Lord Ballyedmond, L'Wren Scott, Mohammed Fahim, Peter Callander
Julian Worricker remembers a chef, an entrepreneur, a lyricist, a statesman and a designer
21 Mar 2014,28 mins
Tony Benn, James Ellis, Peter Rona, Marion Thorpe, Bob Crow
Julian Worricker on a politician, an actor, an oceanographer, a pianist and a union leader
14 Mar 2014,28 mins
Paco de Lucia, Frank Rushbrook, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Logan Scott-Bowden, Alain Resnais
Aasmah Mir remembers a guitarist, a firefighter, an artist, a soldier and a director.
07 Mar 2014,28 mins
Alison Jolly, Alice Herz-Sommer, Valery Kubasov, Mavis Gallant, Harold Ramis
Aasmah Mir remembers a primatologist, a pianist, a cosmonaut, a writer and a director.
28 Feb 2014,28 mins
Sir Tom Finney CBE, Sid Caesar, Ian McNaught-Davis, Els Borst, Louise Brough
Matthew Bannister on a footballer, a comedian, a climber, a politician and a tennis player
21 Feb 2014,28 mins
Prof Stuart Hall, Jean Babilée, Tony Crook, Shirley Temple Black
Matthew Bannister remembers a sociologist, a dancer, a car maker and a child star.
14 Feb 2014,28 mins
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jose Sulaiman, Anna Gordy Gaye, Ron Hall, Peter Austin
Matthew Bannister recalls an actor, a journalist, a Motown exec and a boxing administrator
07 Feb 2014,28 mins
Pete Seeger, Kathryn Findlay, Sir Robert Scholey, Sir Run Run Shaw
A singer and activist, an architect, a British Steel chairman and a movie mogul.
31 Jan 2014,28 mins
Lord McAlpine, Jocelyn Hay, Amiri Baraka, Sir Christopher Chataway, Claudio Abbado
Matthew Bannister on a Tory fundraiser, a broadcasting campaigner, a poet and a runner.
24 Jan 2014,28 mins
Roger Lloyd Pack, Prof Julian B Rotter, Hiroo Onoda, Rae Woodland, Ariel Sharon
Remembering an actor, a psychologist, an opera singer and a former Israeli prime minister.
17 Jan 2014,28 mins
Simon Hoggart, Prof Janet Rowley, Saul Zaentz, Terry Biddlecombe, Phil Everly
A journalist, a cancer researcher, a film producer, a jockey, and an Everly Brother.
10 Jan 2014,28 mins