Last Word

Sam Neill starred in over fifty films and numerous television series, playing often wildly different roles, from a palaeontologist in Jurassic Park to a repressed husband in The Piano. When he was seven years old the family moved from Northern Ireland to his father’s native New Zealand, a country which Sam grew to love, and, as his friend and fellow actor Oscar Kightley told Matthew, which also came to love Sam. We also hear from writer and journalist Hadley Freeman.

Phyllis Kinney became known as one of the most influential figures in traditional Welsh music, although she was born many miles from Wales in Michigan, USA. She moved to London to further her training as an opera singer, when on a trip to Wales, she met and fell in love with folk musician Meredydd Evans. The two married and together performed and edited collections of Welsh songs that came to be regarded as the definitive reference works of Welsh traditional music. Her friend, poet Arwel Jones, tells her story.

Acclaimed chef Bill Poon brought authentic Chinese cooking to the UK and set about changing the negative perception of Chinese food across the country. In 1980 his was only the second Chinese restaurant in Britain to be awarded a Michelin Star. His daughter Amy Poon remembers him.

For almost seventy years Patricia “Paddy” Greene, starred as Jill Archer, the matriarch of the central farming family. As a trainee actor Paddy had been told that her mic technique would never pass muster. Then In 1957, as she was about to go on tour with a theatre company, she got a call to audition for a role in The Archers. They were looking for a temporary cast member to be a love interest for Philip Archer. As the current editor of The Archers, Jeremy Howe explains – the audition went well.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

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Bonnie Tyler, went from a Welsh council house to topping the international charts with songs like: ”Lost In France”, “Holding out for a Hero” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Born Gaynor Hopkins in South Wales she grew up in a passionately religious family, which is where young Gaynor’s first experience of performing came – singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at her local chapel. Fellow Welsh musician and broadcaster Mal Pope tells Matthew about her life. 

Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee was arrested and held for more than four hundred days by the Chinese authorities. They were investigating the publications sold at his Causeway Bay Bookstore, some of which were critical of the Communist regime on the mainland. He became a symbol of freedom of speech after he revealed his incarceration at a news conference. The journalist and author Emily Feng interviewed him. 

In 1988 Colonel Abdul Ahad Momand became the first, and so far only, Afghan citizen to travel into space. He was part of the three-person crew that launched from Kazakhstan on board the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft. During the trip, Colonel Momand, who was a Muslim, became the first person to read from the Koran on TV while in orbit. General Khyan Zadran was a friend and colleague of Colonel Momand.

TV and radio director Kay Patrick was best known for her work on Coronation Street, where she oversaw 250 episodes in 20 years. During that time, she steered some of the show’s most memorable storylines including the death of Hayley Cropper, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh - Julie remembers her sensitive and talented director.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

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Dame Penelope Keith became a household name for her performances in two classic TV comedy shows of the 1970s and early 80s: The Good Life and To The Manor Born. We share her story through her own words, with interviews from the BBC Archives.

David Hencke was an award-winning investigative journalist who worked for the Guardian newspaper for over thirty years. His scoops brought to light wrongdoing in many spheres of public life. His friend and colleague Francis Beckett reveals where his drive to uncover the truth came from.

The solitary nun, Sister Maggie Ross, born Martha Reeves, extolled the virtues of silence. A renowned theologian, she spent part of her time in the wilderness of Alaska with a tamed raven. Her bishop protector, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, pays tribute.

Marion Fossett was an Irish contortionist, and Eurovision hopeful, who became a fourth generation circus performer by joining the family business. She started young, brought in to the circus ring as an 18 month old baby, by an elephant. Marion became one of the industry’s few ringmistresses. Her niece, Sonya Fossett, takes us inside the world of Fossett's Circus.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

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A giant of American economics, former US Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, was an economic pioneer who shaped the modern American economy and believed in free markets and light touch regulation. A world financial crisis after he left the job, however, forced him to question some of his economic assumptions. We hear from Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders.

Tulsi Vagjiani survived the plane crash which killed her family, but it left her with burns over much of her body. She went on to be a legendary camapigner for better treatment for people who have visible differences. Phil Gorf from Changing Faces and broadcaster model and fellow campaigner Katie Piper pay tribute to her work.

French sailor Charlie Dalin, smashed the record in the non-stop round-the-world Vendée Globe race. It was only afterwards that he revealed that he had taken part in the gruelling competition with a rare cancer. We hear from friend and Vendée Globe competitor Pip Hare.

Teddie Beverley was the last surviving member of the original girl group, The Beverley Sisters. The trio found huge fame in the 1950s, with hits such as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Teddie's daughter Sasha Felix tells us how they became the highest-paid female entertainers in the UK, and why some of their tracks were banned from the airwaves.

Presenter: John Wilson

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Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute.

Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband was killed by an IRA bomb. He had inspired her to become a speech therapist and after his death she set up one of the first specialist schools for dyslexia and other special educational needs. She named it Fairley House, after her husband. Her daughter Diana Hamilton-Fairley shares her memories.

Roger Cook was the intrepid investigative journalist who pioneered the technique known as “doorstepping” - challenging those he suspected of wrongdoing face to face with the camera or tape recorder running. First on Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme Checkpoint and then on ITV’s The Cook Report he took on criminals and fraudsters on behalf of listeners and viewers. Matthew talks to his colleague Tim Tate.

Sterling Betancourt was a pioneer of steel pan music from Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of the first to bring the instrument to Britain in the 1950s and went on to play a big role in the early days of the Notting Hill Carnival. Sterling’s wife Beatrice Elokbi tells his story.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

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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 to protect the 2012 Olympics and led Britain’s response to the Salisbury Novichok poisoning.

Diane Carlson Evans served as a nurse with the US Army during the Vietnam War and led the campaign for a memorial to the women who had served alongside her.

And Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian graphic novelist and film maker who created Persepolis, a story of growing up in 1980s Iran. The book, that was designed to make western readers reflect on the humanity of Iranian people, sold millions of copies around the world before being made into an Oscar nominated film in 2007.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

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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 male artists by exhibiting her own form for controversial performances.

Archive used: Women’s Tennis Association, 03/2024; VisNews, 01/05/1981; BBC News, 12/09/1985; Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game, BBC Two, 08/05/2024; BBC Parliament, 02/12/2015; The Money Programme, BBC Two, 14/02/1988; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 01/06/2000

Presenter: Matthew Bannister

Matthew Bannister on

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 world’s first business computer - at the Lyons catering company.

Interviewee: Mark Durden Smith

Producer: Catherine Powell

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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 mental health charities, following the death of his wife after her long battle with depression.

And Beverley Martyn, the singer songwriter, a star of the British folk scene, who was signed by Beatles producer George Martin aged 16, but her career was not a smooth ride.

Please note this programme references suicide. Support and information is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Interviewee: Dame Judi Dench

Producer: Catherine Powell

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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 ambush in Somaliland and played a role in the Northern Ireland peace talks.

Crown prosecutor, Russel Tyner KC, was a pioneer in the prosecution of cyber-crime.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

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