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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Bamber Gascoigne (pictured), Norma Waterson, Claire Tomlinson, Thich Nhat Hanh
Matthew Bannister on a broadcaster, a singer, a polo player and a Buddhist monk.
11 Feb 2022,28 mins
Sir Crispin Tickell, Barry Cryer (pictured), Darlene Hard, Elza Soares
Julian Worricker on a diplomat, a comedian, a sportswoman and a singer
04 Feb 2022,28 mins
Meat Loaf (pictured), André Leon Talley, Jana Bennett, Kristin Baybars
Matthew Bannister on a singer, a fashion editor, a BBC executive, a toymaker
28 Jan 2022,28 mins
Lord Sainsbury, David Stuart, Elizabeth Selby, Ronnie Spector (pictured)
Matthew Bannister on a businessman, an LGBT support worker, a photo agent, a singer
21 Jan 2022,28 mins
Sidney Poitier (pictured), EO Wilson, Sarah Weddington, Assunta 'Pupetta' Maresca
Matthew Bannister on an actor, a biologist, a lawyer and a mafia boss.
14 Jan 2022,28 mins
Lord Rogers (pictured), April Ashley MBE, Joan Didion, Ray Illingworth
Matthew Bannister on an architect, a transgender pioneer, a writer, a cricketer
07 Jan 2022,28 mins
Janice Long (pictured), Marvin Hagler, Esther Bejarano, Leslie Bricusse
Julian Worricker on a DJ, a boxer, a Holocaust survivor and a songwriter.
31 Dec 2021,28 mins
bell hooks (pictured), Shirley McGreal, Lionel Blair, Melvin Van Peebles
Julian Worricker on a writer, a conservationist, an entertainer, a film director.
24 Dec 2021,28 mins
Mary Maher, Robbie Shakespeare (pictured), Anwar Ditta, Anne Rice
Matthew Bannister on a journalist, a bass player, a campaigner and an author.
17 Dec 2021,28 mins
Sir Antony Sher (pictured), Roger Phillips, Judy Totton
Matthew Bannister on an actor, a mushroom expert and a publicist.
10 Dec 2021,28 mins
Stephen Sondheim (pictured), Sir Frank Williams, Jo-Carroll Dennison
Matthew Bannister on a composer, a motor racing team owner and a beauty queen.
03 Dec 2021,28 mins
Ian Wallace, Rossana Banti, Ivy Nicholson (pictured), Cedric Robinson MBE
Matthew Bannister on an ornithologist, a partisan, a model, a guide
26 Nov 2021,28 mins
Aaron Beck, Joan Carlyle (pictured), Etel Adnan, Anne Bradford
Kirsty Lang on a psychiatrist, a soprano, a writer and a crossword solver.
19 Nov 2021,28 mins
Sir Archie Lamb (pictured), John Boyden, Ida Nudel, Abolhassan Banisadr
Matthew Bannister on a diplomat, a record producer, a 'refusenik' and a president.
12 Nov 2021,28 mins
Sir Michael Rutter (pictured), Christopher Wenner, Sister Megan Rice, Jeanette Altwegg
Matthew Bannister on a psychiatrist, a film maker, a campaigner, a figure skater
05 Nov 2021,28 mins
Bernard Haitink (pictured), Victor Gregg, Ruthie Tompson, Paddy Moloney
Matthew Bannister on a conductor, a soldier, an animator, and a piper.
29 Oct 2021,28 mins
Colin Powell (pictured), Brendan Kennelly, Myriam Sarachik, John Clunies-Ross
Kirsty Lang on a General, a poet, a scientist and the ruler of the Cocos Islands
22 Oct 2021,28 mins
Abdul Qadeer Khan (pictured), R. Allen Gardner, Joyce Jackson, Beresford King-Smith
Matthew Bannister on a metallurgist, an ethologist, a centenarian, an orchestra manager.
15 Oct 2021,28 mins
Antony Hewish (pictured), Roger Michell, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Jane Powell
Matthew Bannister on an astronomer, a director, a president and an actor.
08 Oct 2021,28 mins
Lord Gowrie, Kamla Bhasin (pictured), Shirley Metherell MBE, Roger Hunt MBE
Matthew Bannister on a politician, a feminist, a charity founder, a footballer
01 Oct 2021,28 mins
Jimmy Greaves (pictured), Sir Clive Sinclair, Olivia Jordan, Carolyn Shoemaker
Julian Worricker on a footballer, an inventor, a translator and an astrophysicist.
24 Sep 2021,28 mins
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Jean-Paul Belmondo (pictured), Angela Milner, Inge Ginsberg
Datshiane Navanayagam on a revolutionary, an actor, a palaeontologist and a singer.
17 Sep 2021,28 mins
Sergei Kovalev (pictured), Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Abebech Gobena, Ed Asner
Matthew Bannister on a dissident, a reggae pioneer, a humanitarian, an actor
10 Sep 2021,28 mins
Jill Murphy (pictured), Len Gibson, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, Nanci Griffith
Matthew Bannister on an author, a prisoner of war, an artist, a country singer
03 Sep 2021,28 mins
Charlie Watts (pictured), Austin Mitchell, Hugh Wood, Sean Lock
Matthew Bannister on a drummer, a Labour MP, a composer and a comedian.
27 Aug 2021,28 mins
Una Stubbs (pictured), Gino Strada, Mo Hayder
Matthew Bannister on an actor, a surgeon, a writer
20 Aug 2021,28 mins
Jean 'Binta' Breeze MBE (pictured), Sir Nicholas Goodison, Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, Joyce Shrubbs
Matthew Bannister on a poet, a stockbroker, a Muslim teacher, a military observer
13 Aug 2021,28 mins
Sir Graham Vick (pictured), Carmel Budiardjo, Piers Plowright, Dusty Hill
Julian Worricker on an opera director, a campaigner, a radio producer and a musician.
06 Aug 2021,28 mins
Jackie Mason (pictured), John Woodcock, Dinah Murray, Billy Lacey
Matthew Bannister on a comedian, a cricket writer, a campaigner, a marshman
30 Jul 2021,28 mins
Gillian Sheen (pictured), William 'Twink' Allen, Lawrence 'Benny' Goodman, Alan Lewis
Matthew Bannister on an Olympian, a horse fertility expert, a Squadron Leader, a publisher
23 Jul 2021,28 mins