Last Word

For thirty years, Kanya King was a champion of Black music. She was the founder and guiding light of the Music of Black Origin Awards, the ‘MOBOs’. Launched in 1996, the awards became a highly successful annual event.

Sir Alex Younger was one of the longest serving chiefs of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. He held the role known as “C” from 2014 to 2020. In that time, he headed the security operation t...

Larry King teamed up with his wife Billie Jean King to start the women’s professional tennis circuit in the USA.

Baroness Ramsay was MI6 Head of Station in Helsinki during the Cold War and then became a leading figure in Labour politics.

Caroline Marland transformed the financial fortunes of The Guardian newspaper as a senior executive in the 1980s and 90s.

Valie Export challenged centuries of misuse of the female body from mal...

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Clarence B Jones the American lawyer and civil rights campaigner who helped Martin Luther King to write his famous I Have A Dream speech.

Judith Chalmers, the TV and radio presenter best known for her globetrotting holiday series Wish You Were Here.

Dr Anna Ritchie, the archaeologist who excavated some of Orkney’s most revealing ancient sites.

And Frank Land, one of the prime movers in the development of the ...

Kirsty Lang on Michael Pennington, the Shakespearean actor who preferred a life on stage to the glamour of Hollywood. For Dame Judi Dench, he was her 'Mr Plum', she recalls his life.

Cynthia Shange defied apartheid to become the first Black woman to represent South Africa at Miss World.

Scott Hastings the rugby legend, who was once Scotland’s most capped player. He went on to become a well-known commentator and campaigner for ...

The virtuoso pianist, Ruth Slenczynska was the last living student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. She began performing at the age of four, and was once reputed to be the greatest child prodigy since Mozart.

From the Australian outback to the forefront of British science, Dame Bridget Ogilvie was the daughter of sheep farmers who went on to help make the UK a leader in biomedical research.

Labour MP, Tony Worthington, survived a violent ambu...

Dr Ittai Gradel, the Danish antiquities dealer who uncovered the theft of hundreds of artefacts from the British Museum. Katie Razzall recalls how he helped her report the story.

Dame Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of Westminster Council who had a spectacular fall from grace over the 'homes for votes' scandal.

Professor Nigel Dunnett, the horticulturalist and garden designer, known for his ambitious public planting displays ...

Xia De-hong, inspired her daughter Jung Chang to write the best selling book Wild Swans about her trials and tribulations at the hands of the Chinese government.

Lord Hunt, the meteorologist and former Director General and Chief Executive of the Met Office, who was an expert in turbulence.

Joan Burstein, ran the influential Browns boutique in London’s South Molton Street, backing the careers of many leading designers.

Bill Leade...

Matthew Bannister on Andy Kershaw, the radio DJ who championed world music, traversing the globe to bring new and eclectic sounds to a mainstream audience. For a time he was roadie to Billy Bragg who recalls their life on the road together. Dame Averil Cameron, the leading historian who re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire. Her friend, Professor Mary Beard, pays tribute. Dr Judith Rapoport, the child psychiatri...

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The Indian singer Asha Bhosle who soundtracked countless Bollywood films and collaborated with Boy George, Michael Stipe and Damon Albarn.

Sir Neil Cossons, a leading light in the development of the UK’s museums.

Professor Harold Ellis, the respected surgeon whose long career began at the same time as the foundation of the NHS.

Daphne Selfe, the elegant model who was rediscovered in her seventies and transfor...

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Sir Craig Reedie, the sports administrator who led London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and went on to become President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Lord Coe pays tribute.

Bronwen Naish, the musician who devoted her life to promoting the joys of the double bass.

Geoff Yeadon, the world record breaking cave diver from Yorkshire.

And Margareta Magnusson, best known as the author of the book &ldquo...

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Robert Fox the producer who had a career that spanned theatre, film and television. We have tributes from Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Robert’s brother, the actor Edward Fox.

Mary Rand MBE, the first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Sir Tony Hoare, one of the world’s leading computer software designers who developed algorithms and languages which have...

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The Woman’s Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray. Mark Steel joins us to recall her triumphant debut as a stand-up comedian.

Len Deighton who created “anti-James Bond” novels including The Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain and Horse Under Water.

Lynda Hale, the footballer who battled against sexism to play in the first official England women’s international in 1972.

Jurgen Habermas, the Germa...

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Yanar Mohammed who campaigned for women’s rights in Iraq and set up a secret network of shelters for those fleeing abusive relationships. She was shot dead on 2nd March.

Phil Woolas, a key figure in the New Labour project who became MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

Professor Robin Weiss, the eminent virologist who carried out important work to understand HIV.

Jane Lapotaire, the classical actor who won a T...

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Paul Conroy, the photojournalist who worked extensively in war zones in the Middle East and the Balkans. He was with the Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin when she was killed in Syria.

Kenith Trodd, the TV producer best known for his work with Dennis Potter on series like Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Stephen Poliakoff pays tribute.

Astrid Llewellyn who skippered the first all-female crew to ta...

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Neil Sedaka the prolific songwriter who had Sixties hits with Oh Carol and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and made a Seventies comeback with Solitaire and Love Will Keep Us Together. Graham Gouldman pays tribute.

Drusilla Beyfus, the journalist best known for her books on etiquette. Her daughter Alexandra Shulman shares her memories.

Professor Dame Carole Jordan, the leading astronomer who was an authority on the c...

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Martyn Butler who was a central figure in the UK’s early response to HIV and AIDS. He was a co-founder of the Terrence Higgins Trust and gave his own home phone number as a helpline.

Allan Massie, the Scottish author and critic whose hero was Sir Walter Scott. Sir Ian Rankin pays tribute.

Professor Nicola Fear, the epidemiologist who studied the effects on military personnel of serving in the Iraq War and A...

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Reverend Jesse Jackson the leading American civil rights campaigner.

Diane Munday who fought to make abortion legal and co-founded the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

Philippe Gaulier whose internationally renowned clown school which helped to shape the careers of many leading actors.

Lady Jean Wilson who travelled the world building a charity that cured millions of avoidable blindness

Interviewee: Lord Woolley of ...

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Meredith Hooper, the prolific author who wrote several books about Antarctica. We have a tribute from her son, the Oscar winning film director Tom Hooper.

David Young, the American lawyer who was in charge of a team known as “The Plumbers” who tried to stop leaks of sensitive information from the Nixon White House.

Dorothy Solomon, the manager and agent who steered the careers of The Dubliners, The Ba...

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Sir Nicholas White, whose research on tropical diseases saved millions of lives.

Lord Wallace, the Liberal Democrat who served in the Scottish and Westminster parliaments and was Deputy to three First Ministers.

Professor Deborah Cameron who studied the use of language from a feminist perspective.

Sly Dunbar, the Jamaican drummer who played on hundreds of hit records and teamed up with bass player Robbie Shakespear...