Last Word

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

Radio 4,901 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

Michael Lachmann, Pik-sen Lim, Leon Krier, David 'Syd' Lawrence
Matthew Bannister on a director, an actor, an architect and a cricketer.
27 Jun 2025,28 mins
Sir Geoff Palmer, Barbara Holdridge, Kim Woodburn, Sly Stone
John Wilson on a scientist, an entrepreneur, a reality TV star and a musician.
20 Jun 2025,28 mins
Brian Wilson, Frederick Forsyth, Uriah Rennie, Edmund White
Kirsty Lang on a musician, a writer, a referee and an author.
13 Jun 2025,28 mins
Valmik Thapar, Nancy Blaik, Norma Meras Swenson, Dr Stuart Farrimond
Kirsty Lang on a conservationist, a charity fundraiser, an author, a science communicator.
06 Jun 2025,28 mins
Alan Yentob, Richard Garwin, Dr Joy Schaverien, Anne Merriman
Matthew Bannister on a BBC executive, a physicist, a psychoanalyst and a doctor.
30 May 2025,28 mins
Hannah Deacon, Andrew Norfolk, Dame June Clark, Martin Graham
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a journalist, a nurses’ leader and a businessman.
23 May 2025,28 mins
Sir Tom Farmer, Elaine Wynn, Sue Stapely, Joseph Nye
Matthew Bannister on a businessman, a casino owner, a solicitor and a political analyst.
16 May 2025,28 mins
Jane Gardam, Sir Roger Birch, Mike Peters, Francoise Hampson
Kirsty Lang on an author, a chief constable, a musician and a lawyer.
09 May 2025,28 mins
Virginia Giuffre, Rosy Bremer, LJ Smith, Wizz Jones
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, an activist, an author and a musician.
02 May 2025,28 mins
Pope Francis, Paddy Higson, David Sassoon
Matthew Bannister on a pope, a producer and a designer.
25 Apr 2025,28 mins
Anne Scargill, Ronnie Appleton, Cecil Wright, Mario Vargas Llosa
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a lawyer, a cricketer and a writer.
18 Apr 2025,28 mins
Lord Kalms, Melissa Llewallyn-Davies, Rex Cowan, Wilma Finla
Matthew Bannister on a businessman, an anthropologist, a shipwreck hunter and a farmer.
11 Apr 2025,28 mins
Val Kilmer, Jane Reed, Sir Torquil Norman, Dr Marika Sherwood
Matthew Bannister on an actor, an editor, a businessman and a historian.
04 Apr 2025,28 mins
Oleg Gordievsky, Renee Goddard, Professor Richard Fortey, Sofia Gubaidulina
Matthew Bannister on a spy, a TV commissioner, a palaeontologist, a composer.
28 Mar 2025,28 mins
Group Captain John Allman ‘Paddy’ Hemingway DFC, Dame Julie Kenny, Tuppy Owens, Dick McTaggart
Matthew Bannister on a pilot, a businesswoman, a campaigner and a boxer.
21 Mar 2025,28 mins
Athol Fugard, Janet Pharaoh, Alison Halford, Johnny Green
Kirsty Lang on a playwright, a dancer, a senior police officer and a roadie.
14 Mar 2025,28 mins
Bill Dare, Clint Hill, Valérie André, Gene Hackman
Matthew Bannister on a comedy producer, a Secret Service agent, a French general, an actor
07 Mar 2025,28 mins
Roberta Flack, Dr D G Hessayon, Keith Dewhurst, Rose Hanks
John Wilson on a musician, an author, a playwright and a sidecar passenger.
28 Feb 2025,28 mins
Rick Buckler, Margaret Miles-Bramwell, Harry Stewart Jr, Maureen Halton
John Wilson on a musician, a businesswoman, a fighter pilot and an entrepreneur.
21 Feb 2025,28 mins
Nigel McCrery, Andrée Dumon, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Diana Melly
Matthew Bannister on a writer, a wartime courier, a politician and an author.
14 Feb 2025,28 mins
Tony Martin, Pete Wilkinson, Loretta Ford, Marianne Faithfull
Matthew Bannister on a farmer, a campaigner, a nurse practitioner and a singer.
07 Feb 2025,28 mins
Rev Don Cupitt, Phyllis Dalton, Cecile Richards, Michael Longley
Matthew Bannister on a theologian, a costume designer, an activist and a poet.
31 Jan 2025,28 mins
Dame Joan Plowright, Sir Jim Walker, Barbara Clegg, Denis Law
Matthew Bannister on an actress, a businessman, a script writer and a footballer.
24 Jan 2025,28 mins
Tony Slattery, Rosalind Savill, Paddy Hill, Noreen Riols
Matthew Bannister on a comedian, a curator, a campaigner and an SOE agent.
17 Jan 2025,28 mins
Special Edition: Tony Slattery
Stephen Fry pays tribute to comedian and actor Tony Slattery
17 Jan 2025,24 mins
Jean-Marie Le Pen, Catherine Brown, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Johnnie Walker
Matthew Bannister on a French politician, a food writer, a parliamentarian and a DJ.
10 Jan 2025,28 mins
Jimmy Carter, Caroline Miller, Manmohan Singh, Jean Adamson
Kirsty Lang on a president, a ballet company CEO, a prime minister and an author.
03 Jan 2025,28 mins
Nikki Giovanni, Gerd Heidemann, Cherry Hill, Sir Richard Carew Pole
John Wilson on a poet, a journalist, a model engineer, and a fundraiser.
27 Dec 2024,28 mins
Baroness Wilkins, Charles Handy, Renee Bornstein, Tony Brignull
Matthew Bannister on a campaigner, a philosopher, a holocaust survivor and a copywriter.
20 Dec 2024,28 mins
Wolfgang Stange, Lord Renfrew, Julie Stevens, Mary McGee
Matthew Bannister on a choreographer, an archaeologist, a TV presenter and a racing driver
13 Dec 2024,28 mins