Last Word

Pictured: Pete ShelleyMatthew Bannister onHarry Leslie Smith who grew up in poverty in Yorkshire. He became an outspoken campaigner for the welfare state and a social media star in his nineties.Pete Shelley, lead singer and songwriter of Buzzcocks.Monica Sims, the BBC executive who ran children's TV, then became Controller of Radio 4.Wendy Atkin, the epidemiologist who devised a breakthrough screening test for bowel cancer.Ivan March, the music critic who set up a record lending library and co-wrote the Penguin Stereo Record Guide.Interviewed guest: John Smith Interviewed guest: Owen Jones Interviewed guest: Gillian Reynolds Interviewed guest: Edward Barnes Interviewed guest: Dr Amanda Cross Interviewed guest: Martin Cullingford Reader: Tony Turner Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: Labour Party Conference, BBC Parliament 24/09/14; Harry Leslie Smith: Comment is Free, The Guardian 23/03/16; Afternoon Edition, 5 Live 07/10/14; 5 Live Breakfast, 07/12/18; The Seven Ages of Rock, 6 Music 05/04/18; The Buzz

Pictured: Baroness TrumpingtonMatthew Bannister onBaroness Trumpington, who worked for Lloyd George and at Bletchley Park during the war then became a government minister noted for her cheerfully unstuffy attitude. Roy Bailey the socialist folk singer who teamed up with Tony Benn in an award winning live act.Henry Stevens, the police officer who won the George Cross for repeatedly tackling a burglar who shot him in the face.Bernardo Bertolucci, director of the acclaimed film "The Last Emperor" and the controversial "Last Tango In Paris".Interviewed guest: Martin Simpson Interviewed guest: Stephen Stevens Interviewed guest: Simon Stevens Contributor: Angie Errigo Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: Have I Got News For You, BBC One 27/05/16; Profile, Radio 4 14/10/17; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 25/11/90; 5 Live Breakfast 27/11/18; Today, Radio 4 27/11/18; Mike Harding, Radio 2 Folk Show 08/10/08; Front Row, Radio 4 29/04/13; The Last Emperor directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, RPC/Hemdale/Yanco Films/TAO Fi

Pictured: William GoldmanMatthew Bannister onWilliam Goldman, the Hollywood screenwriter behind a string of hits including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All The President's Men and The Princess Bride.John Large, the respected nuclear engineer who highlighted the safety risks facing the industry.Richard Baker, the long serving BBC television newsreader who also presented classical music programmes, including the Proms, on radio.Dr. Sarah Ntiro, the first woman in East Africa to get a university degree.Patsy Rodgers who was known as the King of Tory - Ireland's most remote inhabited island.Correction: in this Last Word edition it was broadcast that Richard Baker was the first newsreader on BBC television. This is incorrect: Richard Baker in fact introduced the newsreader John Snagge, who was the first person to read a news bulletin for BBC television on 5th July 1954.Interviewed guest: Harlan Coben Interviewed guest: Ellin Stein Interviewed guest: Shaun Burnie Interviewed guest: Andrew Baker Interviewed g

Pictured: Stan LeeMatthew Bannister onThe naturalist and expert on animal evolution Aubrey Manning who presented the acclaimed BBC TV series Earth Story.The Jewish Communist campaigner Max Levitas who fought Oswald Moseley's fascist blackshirts.The singer Babs Beverley - one third of the close harmony singing group the Beverley Sisters.Janet Paisley the poet and novelist known for her work in the Scots language.Stan Lee - revered creator of comic book icons like Spiderman, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.Interviewed guest: Derwent May Interviewed guest: Julian Hector Interviewed guest: Stephanie Hilbourne Interviewed guest: Matthew Sweet Interviewed guest: Linda Jackson Interviewed guest: Michael Goldfarb Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: Sunday Morning with Richard Holloway, Radio Scotland 14/02/2010; The Poetry of Life, Radio Scotland 27/01/2008; The Language of Kings, BBC Scotland/Hopscotch Films 28/02/2006; PM, Radio 4 04/10/2006; Woman's Hour, Radio 4 14/08/1985; Richard Bacon, 5 Live 20/08/2009;

Pictured: Lord HeywoodMatthew Bannister on Lord Heywood, the senior civil servant who worked with four Prime Ministers: Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May.Pamela Lonsdale, the children's TV producer who brought us Rainbow.Sangharakshita, the British born Buddhist leader whose reputation was tarnished by allegations of sexual misconduct with his students.Tom Jago, the drinks marketeer who developed Bailey's Irish Cream, Malibu and Le Piat D'Or.And Francis Lai, the Love Story composer.Interviewed guest: Ed Balls Interviewed guest: Ronnie Le Drew Interviewed guest: Liz Crowther Interviewed guest: Dharmachari Vishvapani Interviewed guest: Rebecca Jago Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: Jeremy Vine, Radio 2 05/11/2018; Radio 4 News Flash, 16/09/1992; Westminster Hour, Radio 4 04/11/2018; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Ep. 8, Part 1, ITV 1967; Rainbow, Thames TV 01/11/1972; Midweek, Radio 4 05/07/1989; Matter of Fact: Going for Refuge, BBC East 12/11/1992.

Pictured: Wanda FerragamoMatthew Bannister onWanda Ferragamo - who took over her husband's successful Italian shoe making business and turned it into a global fashion brand. Wim Kok, the Dutch prime minister whose career was overshadowed by the Srebrenica massacre.The writer Ntozake Shange, best known for her choreopoem "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf".The Algerian diplomat Mohamed Sahnoun who played a key role in ending several conflicts in Africa.Keith Killby, the pacifist who served unarmed with the Special Boat Service during the war.Interviewed guest: Luisa Zargani Interviewed guest: Suzy Menkes Interviewed guest: Dan van der Vat Interviewed guest: Rohan Preston Interviewed guest: Paul T. Williams Jr Interviewed guest: Jill Turner Interviewed guest: Letitia Blake Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: Radio 4 News, 28/11/2000; Radio 4 News, 10/04/2002; Ntozake Shange - The Lost Interview, Reelblack, 08/03/2016; Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC 23/09/2014; A Journey Th

Pictured: Baroness HollisMatthew Bannister onAnthea Bell who translated the works of Freud and Kafka into English - but was even better known for making Asterix the Gaul funny in his second language.Captain Michael Howard, the intelligence officer who was part of T-Force which was set up after the second world war to seize German assets and bring them back to the UK. Baroness Hollis, the Labour peer who campaigned for the poor and disadvantaged.Cicely Berry, the voice coach who trained a generation of British actors.And Tony Hiller who wrote 1,500 songs, including the Brotherhood of Man's Eurovision hit "Save Your Kisses For Me".Interviewed guest: Oliver Kamm Interviewed guest: Aubyn Howard Interviewed guest: Major John Bendit Interviewed guest: Julia Langdon Interviewed guest: Michael Quinn Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: The Verb, Radio 3 08/05/2004; Open Book. Radio 4 14/07/2002; Front Row, Radio 4 14/05/2004; Open Book, Radio 4 04/09/2008; Woman's Hour, Radio 4 18/07/2003; Victoria Derbyshire,

Pictured: Paul AllenMatthew Bannister onPaul Allen who teamed up with his school friend Bill Gates to found the computer software company Microsoft. After he left, he used his billions to support medical research, education and an American football team.Mary Midgley, the philosopher who wrote about the relationship between humans and animals and enjoyed lively debates with her colleagues.Leon Lederman, the physicist who won the Nobel prize for his work on the neutrino and described the Higgs boson as "the God particle".Roger Mainwood, the animator who helped to bring Raymond Briggs' The Snowman to the screen, then directed the critically acclaimed animated film about Briggs' parents, "Ethel and Ernest".Interviewed guest: Glenn Fleishman Interviewed guest: David Midgley Interviewed guest: Professor Malcolm Fairbairn Interviewed guest: Nigel Lockyer Interviewed guest: Jez StewartArchive clips from: Horizon: The Six Billion Dollar Experiment, BBC TV 01/05/07; Origins: Where We and Our World Came From, BBC TV 18

Pictured: Montserrat CaballéMatthew Bannister on Ray Galton, who, with his writing partner Alan Simpson, created Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son. Paul Merton pays tribute. Gerald Russell, the psychiatrist who was the first to describe the eating disorder bulimia nervosa.Evelyn Anthony, the novelist whose historical romances sold millions of copies.The financier Sir Roger Gibbs, who transformed the fortunes of the Wellcome Trust. And the Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé, who had a global hit with Barcelona - a duet with Freddie Mercury.Interviewed guest: Paul Merton Interviewed guest: Professor Janet Treasure Interviewed guest: Ewan Ward-Thomas Reader: Alexandra Constantinidi Interviewed guest: Baroness Eliza Manningham-BullerArchive clips from: Read All About It, Radio 4 04/01/76; Woman's Hour, Radio 4 27/11/74; Woman's Hour, Radio 4 15/08/88; The Tamarind Seed, ITC/Jewel Productions/Pimlico Films/Lorimar Productions, directed by Blake Edwards 1974; The Wellcome Trust (https://wellcome.ac.uk/

Pictured: Charles AznavourMatthew Bannister onCharles Aznavour, the French singer who "made despair popular". The lyricist Don Black, who worked with him, pays tribute. Dr. Charles Kao, the Nobel prize winning physicist who developed fibre optic technology, so paving the way for the world wide web. Elizabeth de Mauny Wainwright, the pioneering foreign correspondent who helped to smuggle an interview with Solzhenitsyn out of Soviet Russia.John Cunliffe, the writer who delighted generations of children by creating Postman Pat and Rosie and Jim.Interviewed guest: Don Black Interviewed guest: Jeff Hecht Interviewed guest: Marc de Mauny Interviewed guest: Rachel Feldberg Interviewed guest: Nigel P. HarrisArchive clips from: The Typically French Armenian, Radio 4 02/02/1977; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 01/01/1978; Aznavour at Eighty, Radio 2 12/03/2004; Treasure Islands, Radio 4 05/04/1992; Postman Pat’s Finding Day, BBC One 16/9/1981; Bookshelf, Radio 4 20/03/1986; Rosie and Jim, ITV 1991; Postman Pat Takes the

Pictured: Chas HodgesMatthew Bannister onChas Hodges, the session musician who became one half of the cockney duo Chas and Dave and had hits like Gertcha and Rabbit. M.J. Long the American-born architect who co-designed the British Library, the National Maritime Museum and studios for some of the UK's best known artists. Arthur Mitchell, the first African American principal dancer in a major ballet company and founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem. Rick Turner, the archaeologist who recovered the 2,000-year-old Lindow Man, Britain's best preserved bog body.And Rachid Taha, the singer who mixed Algerian music with rock, techno and punk.Interviewed guest: Michael Hann Interviewed guest: Rolfe Kentish Interviewed guest: Rachel Pugh Interviewed guest: Robin DenselowArchive clips from: Piano Tales - A Social History of the Piano, Radio 3 23/09/2012; Outlook, World Service 24/01/2018; QED - The Body in the Bog, BBC One 10/04/1985; The African Rock 'N' Roll Years - North Africa, BBC Four 09/08/2005.

Pictured: Denis NordenAndrea Catherwood on Denis Norden, the television presenter and comedy writer who made Britain laugh for half a century. Diane Leather, the first woman in the world to break the 5-minute mile, just 23 days after Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier, but achieved much less acclaim. Johnny Kingdom, the poacher turned filmmaker who enthralled TV audiences with his love and knowledge of wildlife in his native Exmoor and beyond, and became an unlikely celebrity in the process. And Fenella Fielding, the femme fatale with a throaty drawl and come-hither stare best known for her roles in the Carry On and Doctor comedy capers.Interviewed guest: Russell Davies Interviewed guest: Lindsey Armstrong Interviewed guest: Anna Kessel Interviewed guest: Richard Taylor Jones Interviewed guest: Robert ChalmersArchive clips from: Gabby Logan, Radio 5 Live 12/10/2008; The Original Godfathers, Radio 4 27/03/2007; The Robert Peston Interview Show, Radio 4 07/09/2015; Midlands Today 06/05/2004; Midweek,

Pictured: Jacqueline PearceMatthew Bannister onLady Coleridge, the nurse and adventurer who explored the Congo river with Colonel John Blashford-Snell. He pays tribute.Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Afghan warlord who was backed by the CIA to fight the Soviets but sided with the Taliban after the civil war.Jacqueline Pearce, the actor best known for playing villains in "Blake's Seven" and "Dr Who".Lord Thomas, the Chief Executive who introduced ethical banking at the Co-op.And Stan Brock , the cowboy and pilot who provided free health care to thousands in the USA.Producer: Neil George.

Pictured: Burt ReynoldsMatthew Bannister onThe prolific career of the movie star Burt Reynolds. The 'Deliverance' director John Boorman pays tribute. The environmental campaigner Lord Melchett who, as executive director of Greenpeace, was arrested during a protest against GM crops. The Italian anti-mafia campaigner Rita Borsellino who took up the cause after her brother was killed by a car bomb.And the Indian cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, who led the national side to victory against the West Indies and England in the 1970s.Archive clips from: Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 30/01/2000; Outlook, World Service 16/03/2017; Test Match Special: Seasons To Savour, Radio 4 1971.

Pictured: Lindsay KempJulian Worricker on:The dancer and choreographer, Lindsay Kemp, who worked alongside David Bowie and Kate Bush.John Calder, the influential publisher, who championed avant-garde authors and battled censorship.The record-breaking sailor, Hilary Lister, who became the first quadriplegic person to sail across the English Channel.John Calcutt, who shaped the contemporary visual art scene in Scotland at the Glasgow School of Art.And the award-winning American playwright, screenwriter and author, Neil Simon.Interviewed guest: David Haughton Interviewed guest: Kate Bush Interviewed guest: Bill Swainson Interviewed guest: Pauline Rudd Interviewed guest: Francis McKee Interviewed guest: Matt WolfArchive clips from: Woman's Hour, Radio 4 22/01/1969; Private Passions, Radio 3 25/03/2000; Censorship In Modern Britain: Radio 4 Reports, 12/12/68; Radio 2 Arts Programme: Simply Simon, 27/04/1997; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 14/05/1995; A Race Against Time: Hilary Lister's Round Britain Dream, BBC Tw

Pictured: Kofi AnnanJulian Worricker on:Diplomat Kofi Annan, who rose through the ranks of the United Nations, to serve as its secretary-general for nine years....Janice Tchalenko, a ceramicist, designer and artist, who bridged the gap between art and large-scale production...The botanist, Hugh Synge, voted one of the 20 most influential British conservationists....One of the finest harp players of her generation - Helen MacLeod - a champion of the music of the West Highlands of Scotland...And Hettie Williams, who at 23, led her class of terrified pupils to safety during the Aberfan disaster.Archive clips from: Night Waves, Radio 3 10/10/2012; Surviving Aberfan, BBC Four 20/10/2016; Saturday Review, BBC TV 02/11/1985; See Hear, BBC TV 01/02/2012.

Pictured: Aretha FranklinMatthew Bannister onSir VS Naipaul, the Nobel prize winning author of acclaimed books including "A House For Mr Biswas" and "A Bend in The River". He was a controversial figure who fell out with some of his fellow writers and was accused of cruelty in his relationships. Nan Joyce, who campaigned for the rights of Ireland's travelling people.Winston Ntshona,, the South African actor who won a Tony award for his Broadway performance in Athol Fugard's play "Sizwe Banze Is Dead" but was arrested by the apartheid government on his return home. And the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin.Producer: Paul WatersArchive clips from: African and Caribbean Writing: A House for Mr Biswas, Radio 4 03/05/1981; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 05/07/1980; Profile, Radio 4 11/05/1984; Omnibus, Radio 1 21/04/1988; Paul Gambaccini: Aretha Franklin Interview, Radio 1 01/01/2000; Night Waves, Radio 3 19/03/2007.

Pictured: Barry ChuckleMatthew Bannister onTony Bullimore, the self styled "Del Boy of yacht racing" who was trapped under the hull of his boat for 4 days during a solo round the world race.Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, the Japanese American woman who was interned in the USA during the World War Two and later fought for and won a presidential apology and compensation for her fellow inmates.Barry Chuckle - one half of the Chuckle Brothers who entertained a generation of children on TV.June Jacobs, the Jewish activist who caused controversy by meeting members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.Tommy Peoples, the award winning Irish fiddle player of the Bothy Band.Producer: Paul WatersArchive clips from: BBC News 20/06/73; ChuckleVision, BBC TV.

Pictured: Mary EllisMatthew Bannister on Mary Ellis - a leading pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary who risked her life to deliver fighters and bombers during the war. Shinobu Hashimoto, the screenwriter who teamed up with the director Akira Kurosawa to make great classics of Japanese cinema, including the Seven Samurai and Rashomon. Dr William McBride, the Australian obstetrician who raised the alarm about the terrible side effects of the drug Thalidomide.Lincoln Brower who devoted his life to the study and protection of the Monarch butterfly.Mahendra Kaul, the pioneering Indian TV and radio broadcaster who was the face of the BBC's Asian Programmes Unit for 20 years. Archive clips from: 'Spitfire Women', BBC Four 18/09/2010; 'Supersense', BBC TV 23/01/1989; Sonia Deol, Asian Network 27/12/2011; 'Ten Million Wings', Radio 4 16/03/2004.

Pictured: Anne Olivier Popham BellJulian Worricker on:Charles Gimingham, an environmentalist, described as the foremost expert on heather and moorland landscapes....Human rights lawyer, Felicia Langer, who represented many Palestinians in the Israeli courts....Campaigning doctor, Julian Tudor Hart, who pioneered the regular monitoring of blood pressure in patients....Art historian, Anne Olivier Bell, who edited the five volumes of Virginia Woolf's diaries....And the real-life Good Morning Vietnam DJ, Adrian Cronauer, inspiration for the film starring Robin Williams...Archive clips from: Assignment: A Report From The Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights, Radio 4, 07/04/1982; On Behalf of the Working Class, BBC Wales, 07/11/1982; The Good Doctor, BBC TV/Worldwide, 07/10/1996; Newsnight, BBC Two, 23/01/2008; George Orwell Back at the BBC, Radio 4, 05/11/2017; Panorama: Life at 100, BBC One, 23/10/2017; Dear Diary, Episode 2, BBC Four, 11/01/2010; Good Morning Vietnam Revisited, Radio 2, 13/04/2015.