Last Word

Matthew Bannister on

Rob Reiner, the film director, screenwriter and actor behind pictures like “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “When Harry Met Sally”.

Stanley Baxter, the Scottish comedian best known for his impersonations of Hollywood stars and royalty. The actor Bill Paterson pays tribute.

And Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella, two best-selling novelists who, in their different ways, told stories of modern life and rel...

Matthew Bannister on

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the zoologist who devoted his life to the study and conservation of African elephants.

Vera Weisfeld, the businesswoman whose chain of What Every Woman Wants stores offered fashion designs at bargain prices.

Frank Gehry, the architect best known for his flamboyant designs for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles

Martin Parr whose celebrated colourful...

Matthew Bannister has a star-studded cast on this week’s Last Word:

Sir David Hare pays tribute to his friend and fellow playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.

Boy George recalls the flamboyant fashion designer Pam Hogg.

Sir Mark Rylance gives an insight into the many talents of the actor, director and writer Jack Shepherd.

We also remember Yanxin He, one of the last surviving speakers in a village that spoke a secret language that helped women...

Kirsty Lang on:

Jimmy Cliff, who took reggae music onto the global stage. His former record producer and founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell pays tribute.

Charlotte Bingham, the writer who mined the experience of her upbringing and relationships to pen dozens of novels and screenplays.

Skye Gyngell, the Australian born chef whose devotion to fresh seasonal produce made a lasting impact on modern British cooking.

David Bellos, ...

Matthew Bannister on:

Baroness Newlove, who turned a tragic event in her own life into a powerful campaign for victims’ rights.

Zoe Wicomb, the South Africa-born author whose novels are set against the backdrop of the apartheid regime.

Sir Geoffrey Bindman, the lawyer who helped to shape equality legislation, represented Labour politicians and fought many human rights cases.

Roland Paxton, the civil engineer who campaigned to preserve ...

Matthew Bannister on

James Watson who shared the Nobel Prize for identifying the structure of DNA, but was widely condemned later in life for his racist and sexist views.

Pauline Collins, the comic actor who triumphed in the role of Shirley Valentine on stage and screen. The play’s director Simon Callow pays tribute.

Judith Vidal-Hall, who edited the Index on Censorship magazine and campaigned for freedom of expression around the worl...

Matthew Bannister on

Dick Cheney, the Republican politician who was Vice President under George W Bush and played key roles in both Gulf Wars.

Yvonne Brewster, the Jamaican-born director and actor who founded the Black British Theatre Company Talawa.

Mary ‘May’ McGee, the Irish woman who brought s successful legal challenge against the country’s ban on contraception.

Peter Watkins, the film maker whose powerful depiction of a nuclear a...

Matthew Bannister on

The actor Prunella Scales, best known for playing Sybil in the TV comedy Fawlty Towers. Her son Samuel West reflects on her long career and happy marriage to fellow actor Timothy West.

Gillian Tindall, the writer who pioneered the technique of exploring history through the portal of a particular house or area.

Roger Smith, who co-founded and ran the Great Outdoors Challenge, encouraging thousands to walk acros...

In this special edition of Last Word, Matthew Bannister talks to the actor Samuel West about his mother Prunella Scales.

Prunella died on the 27th October, aged 93.

Known for her work on stage and screen over many decades – Prunella was particularly renowned for her role as Sybil on Fawlty Towers. In addition to countless other roles, she appeared as Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution in the early 90s – ea...

Matthew Bannister on

The influential Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, who was detained for his pro-democracy campaigns, but went on to be the country’s Prime Minister.

Bill Colley, who designed and built traditional wooden racing boats.

Baroness Rosalind Howells of St Davids, who campaigned for racial equality and supported the family of Stephen Lawrence after his murder.

And Sister Marion Irvine, the American nun who took up marathon...

Matthew Bannister on

Peter Gurney, the George Medal winning bomb disposal expert who regularly risked his life to defuse explosive devices, including the mortars that were fired at 10 Downing Street by the IRA in 1991.

Diane Keaton, the actor best known for her collaboration with Woody Allen in Annie Hall and Manhattan.

Peter Hall, the pioneering English winemaker from Sussex who turned his Breaky Bottom grapes into acclaimed sparklin...

Matthew Bannister on

Patrick Bradley, the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles.

Dame Jilly Cooper, the best-selling author of the racy “Rutshire Chronicles”.

Sara Jane Moore, the political extremist who tried to assassinate US President Gerald Ford.

Dame Patricia Routledge, the actor best known for her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in the TV comedy Keeping Up Appearances.

Producer: Ed Prendeville

Arch...

Matthew Bannister on

Dame Jane Goodall, the primatologist and environmental campaigner who changed our understanding of animal behaviour. Chris Packham pays tribute.

Tony Harrison, the Yorkshire born poet who took his writing to new audiences through theatre and TV. Michael Rosen assesses his work.

Lord Menzies Campbell, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Danny Thompson, the upright bass player who blended folk and jazz and ...

Matthew Bannister on

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect who designed the international terminal at London’s Waterloo Station and the Eden Project.

John Stapleton, the TV presenter who fronted Watchdog with his wife and ITV’s breakfast and daytime shows. His friend Greg Dyke pays tribute.

Mary Elizabeth Dodd, the physiotherapist who pioneered new treatments for cystic fibrosis.

And the glamorous Italian film star Claudia Cardinale wh...

Matthew Bannister on:

Robert Redford, the film star who believed his striking good looks could be a curse as well as a blessing.

Barbara Harvey, the mediaeval historian who revealed fascinating details of the lives of the monks of Westminster Abbey.

Rosa Roisinblit, one of Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo who finally tracked down the grandson who had been abducted at birth and given up for adoption.

And the Oscar winning ...

John Wilson on:

The Duchess of Kent, who stepped back from royal duties to teach music in primary schools.

Giorgio Armani whose suit designs help define the look of the 1980s and beyond.

Valerie Pearlman who made legal history by being the first judge in the UK finish a trial via fax machine and video link from her hospital bed.

Rick Davies, who sold millions of records in the 70s and 80 as one of the two singers in the band Super...

John Wilson on

Joe Bugner, the heavyweight boxer who fought the titans of the sport from Henry Cooper, Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier.

Ann McManus, the writer for Coronation Street who went on to be one of the founders of Shed Productions that created hit drama series such as Bad Girls, Footballer Wives and Waterloo Road.

Angela Mortimer Barrett, the multiply Grand Slam winning tennis player – winner of the 1961 Wimbledon women’s sing...

John Wilson on: Broadcaster David Richardson who was for over 60 years a leading voice in the farming community Doris Lockhart Saatchi, the Art collector who along with her former husband Charles Saatchi transformed the UK art scene in the 80s and 90s Dame Annette Brooke who for 14 years was the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole Byron Rogers, the biographer and journalist who sought out and chronicled t...

John Wilson on:

Actor Terence Stamp, the Oscar nominated 60s screen icon who went onto play many villains in his later film career

Baroness Stephanie Shirley, the pioneering computer scientist and founder of her own software company

Kay Dunbar who founded the Ways with Words literary festival which ran in Devon for 30 years

Eric Midwinter was one of the three co-founders of u3a to encourage continued learning in retirement

Producer: ...