Last Word

Matthew Bannister on

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the most influential Muslim scholars of his generation. He reached a vast audience through his show on the TV channel Al Jazeera.

'Ma' Smith MBE, who ran a celebrated soup kitchen in Oxford for thirty years.

Mike Burrows, the pioneering cycle designer who came up with the Lotus 108 bike ridden by Chris Boardman when he won Olympic Gold in Barcelona.

Loretta Lynn (pictured), the American country singer whose songs told the stories of working class women.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Dr. Usaama al-Azami

Archive clips used: MEMRI TV Production, Friday Sermon with Dr. Yusef al-Qaradhawi 15/04/2005; BBC Two, Newsnight 07/07/2004; BBC Radio 4, PM 07/07/2004; BBC News Online, Ma Smith wins Pride of Britain Award 01/11/2018; BBC One, Songs Of Praise – Interview with Ma Smith 08/03/2020; BBC Sport, Barcelona 1992 – Chris Boardman qualifying 28/07/1992; BBC Radio 4, Eureka – Mike Burrows 16/01/1994; BBC One, Tomorrow’s World - Mike Burrows interview 01/10/1993; BBC Radio 2, Loretta Lynn – In Conversation 07/03/2016.

Matthew Bannister on

Dame Hilary Mantel (pictured), the Booker prize winning novelist best known for the Wolf Hall trilogy.

John McVicar, the former armed robber who studied sociology in prison and became a writer and broadcaster.

Joyce Reynolds, the eminent Cambridge classicist who specialised in the study of epigraphs and taught Dame Mary Beard who joins us to remember her.

The multi-instrumentalist and singer Paul Sartin, a key figure on the English folk scene and member of the band Bellowhead. His band mate Sam Sweeney pays tribute.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Laurie Taylor

Archive clips used: Company Pictures/ Playground Entertainment/ BBC, Wolf Hall – E01 Three Card Trick 21/01/2015; BBC News, interview with Hilary Mantel 03/05/2020; BBC Radio 4, Front Row – extended interview with Hilary Mantel 05/06/2012; BBC Radio 4, The Reith Lectures – Hilary Mantel 13/06/2017; Polytel/ The Who Films, McVicar (1980) UK TV Trailer; BBC One, Straight Talk – John McVicar interview 09/05/1980; BBC Radio 4, Six Men – John McVicar interview 20/04/1986; Loftsingers Andover, Andover Museum Loft Singers Promo 13/10/2018.

Kirsty Lang on Jean-Luc Godard (pictured), the critic and filmmaker who revolutionised French cinema.

The writer and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, whose bestseller 'Nickel and Dimed', is considered a classic in social justice literature.

Captain Dennis Wilson, the Normandy veteran whose war poems were ranked alongside Wilfred Owen’s...

And Mavis Nicholson, the Welsh broadcaster with a knack for making her subjects talk about matters that they had never previously confronted in public.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Ian Christie

Archive clips used: Les Films de la Pléiade/ Pathé Consortium Cinéma, Vivre Sa Vie (1962) - Trailer; Daphne Productions Inc/ WNET/ Thirteen, The Dick Cavett Show – Interview with Jean-Luc Godard 23/10/1980; Les Films Impéria/ Les Productions Georges de Beauregard/ Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC), À bout de souffle (1960) - Trailer; Rome Paris Films/ Les Films Concordia/ Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Le Mépris (1963) - Clip; BBC Radio 3, Night Waves 30/01/2003; BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour – Barbara Ehrenreich interview 22/09/2008; BBC Radio 4, Today Programme – Captain Dennis Wilson interview 19/11/2013; Thames TV/ Pineapple Productions, Mavis catches up with Kenny Everett – jingle 15/11/1989; Thames TV/ Channel 4 , Mavis on 4 – Elizabeth Taylor interview 10/02/1988; Thames TV, Afternoon Plus – David Bowie interview 16/02/1979; BBC Wales, Being Mavis Nicholson: TV’s Greatest Interviewer 25/08/2016.

Matthew Bannister on

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Sian Williams

Archive clips used: BBC One, BBC Breakfast 27/04/2001; BBC News, London Bombs at Kings Cross 08/07/2005; BBC Three, Strictly Dance Fever on Three 01/04/2006; BBC One, BBC Breakfast - Bill Turnball talks about cancer 21/12/2018; WeTalkWycombe/ YouTube Channel, Best Wycombe Wanderers Chants! 06/07/2020; BBC One, BBC Breakfast 23/01/2007; BBC One, Celebrity Mastermind 01/01/2008; London Film Production/ L.O.P., Richard III (1955) film; Quite Frankly Productions/ BBC Hardtalk Extra, Norah Vincent 21/04/2006; ABC News, Self-Made Man: Norah Vincent 2006; Elephant House Studios/ Tribute, Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert 11/06/1988.

Matthew Bannister on

The last President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev (pictured), who was feted in the West but often derided in his own country. We follow his journey from a collective farm in Stavropol to momentous times in the Kremlin, including the introduction of Perestroika and Glasnost, the end of the Cold War and the coup that toppled him from power.

Stella 'Jaye' Edwards, who was the last surviving British woman pilot who delivered planes from factories to front line bases during the second world war.

Jerry Allison, the drummer and songwriter with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, whose girlfriend inspired their hit song 'Peggy Sue'.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Bridget Kendall

Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, Today programme 31/08/2022; BBC Two, Newsnight 30/08/2022; CNN - Larry King, Mikhail Gorbachev interview November 1993; UVA Miller Center, President Ronald Reagan speech on the Geneva Summit 21/11/1985; Pizza Hut, Gorbachev TV spot commercial January 1998; Juno Beach Centre / YouTube Channel, Jaye Edwards interview 19/02/2019; British Pathé, Sir Stafford Cripps and the A.T.A. (1943); Geoff Barker Archives, Jerry Allison interview.

Matthew Bannister on

Margaret Keane (pictured), the American artist whose paintings of children with 'Big Eyes' became hugely popular in the 1960s. Her identity as the painter was kept secret by her husband who claimed the works as his own.

Keith Smith, the market trader who co-founded the Poundland chain of shops.

Mario Fiorentini, Italy’s most decorated partisan, who risked torture and death to fight the German occupation of his country.

Brenda Fisher, the long distance swimmer from Grimsby who became an international celebrity after breaking the women’s speed record for swimming the English Channel.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Larry Karaszewski

Archive clips used: Westinghouse Broadcasting Company / Mike Douglas Entertainments, The Mike Douglas Show - Interview with Margaret Keane 1972; BBC World Service, Outlook - Margaret Keane interview 30/12/2014; Duane Anderly, 1964 Lost Interview with Walter and Margaret Keane from YouTube; The Weinstein Company / Silverwood Films / Tim Burton Productions, Big Eyes (film clip) 2014; Express & Star YouTube Channel, Founder of Poundland, Keith Smith opens his grounds up for a festival 25/06/2015; BBC One, Antiques Roadshow: Series 41 - Pioneering Women Special 10/06/2018; BBC Sound Archive, Swim The Channel 17/08/1951.

John Wilson on

Lamont Dozier (pictured), who wrote dozens of hits for Motown Records.

Joan Lingard, the author of the popular Kevin and Sadie books set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Issey Miyake, the Japanese fashion designer who survived the atomic bomb.

Edana Minghella, the mental health researcher and jazz singer.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Eddie Holland

Archive clips used: Radio 4, Front Row - Brian and Eddie Holland interview 25/12/2019; BBC Radio 1, David Jensen Show - Lamont Dozier interview 29/02/1984; Radio 4, Joan Lingard interview 01/01/1984; BBC Two, Maggie episode 1 17/02/1981; British Pathé, Atomic Bomb Destruction in Japan (1945); INA Société/YouTube Channel, Mai 68 et l'éducation (1968).

Kirsty Lang on

James Lovelock (pictured), the scientist and inventor who came up with the Gaia theory.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

Roy Hackett MBE, who led the Bristol bus boycott in 1963.

Dame Olivia Newton-John, the singer and actor who starred in Grease.

Producer: Emily Finch

Interviewed guest: Bryan Appleyard CBE

Archive clips used: Web of Stories - YouTube channel, James Lovelock - The Gaia Theory (11/17) 17/08/2017; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - James Lovelock 17/11/1997; AP Archive, USS Cole Attacked 12/10/2000; BBC News, Bombings in New York 11/09/2001; BBC Two, Newsnight - London Bombings 07/07/2005; BBC Radio 4, Six O'clock News 06/10/1981; AP Archive, Muslim Extremists Trial 15/12/1982; PBS News Hour, President George W. Bush - First US strikes in Afghanistan 07/10/2001; CBS News, Biden announces death of Ayman al-Zawahiri 02/08/2022; BBC Ideas, Why I'm still fighting racism at 90 24/01/2019; BBC One, Paul O'Grady's Working Britain 15/08/2013; BBC World Service, Witness - Bristol Bus Boycott 10/10/2019; BBC One, Parkinson - Olivia Newton-John interview 02/12/1978; Paramount Pictures/Robert Stigwood Organisation (RSO)/Allan Carr Production, Grease (Film clip) 1978.

Matthew Bannister on

Bernard Cribbins OBE, the much-loved actor known for appearances in The Railway Children and Doctor Who as well as reading countless stories on Jackanory.

Diana Kennedy MBE, the British-born food writer who dedicated her life to promoting the diversity of Mexican cuisine.

Sir Colin Blakemore, the neuroscientist who received death threats after speaking out in defence of experiments on animals.

Nichelle Nichols, the trailblazing African American actor who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek.

Producer: Sofie Vilcins

Interviewed guest: Jenny Agutter

Archive clips used: EMI Films, The Railway Children 1970; BBC One, Fawlty Towers - The Hotel Inspectors 10/10/1975; BBC, CBeebies - Storm in a Teacup 05/04/2015; Filmfair, The Wombles - One Pair of Feet 23/02/1973; BBC Radio 4, The Food Programme 30/06/2014; Greenwich Entertainment/Submarine Deluxe, Diana Kennedy - Nothing Fancy 2020; BBC Two, The Mind Machine 13/09/1988; BBC Radio 4, Today 08/11/2011; BBC Radio 4, The Life Scientific - Sir Colin Blakemore 08/11/2011; Desilu Productions/Norway Corporation, Star Trek S02E02 Who Mourns For Adonais 27/04/1970; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4 - Star Trek, The Undiscovered Future 03/09/2016; BBC Radio 1, Nicky Campbell - Nichelle Nichols interview 31/01/1995; NASA, Recruitment Film 1977; Yap Films, Building Star Trek (TV Movie) 2016.

John Wilson on

Lord David Trimble, Northern Irish politician who was an architect of the Good Friday Agreement and won a Nobel Peace Prize.

Susie Steiner, a British crime author who shared her experience of living with a brain tumour.

Uwe Seeler, captain of the West German football team in 1966 and a hero for his home team of Hamburg.

Producer: Sofie Vilcins

Interviewed guest: Lord Dean Godson

Archive clips used: British Pathé, 1966 World Cup Final: England vs Germany (Part 1) 1966; BBC Radio 4, Meeting Myself Coming Back - David Trimble 05/03/2017; BBC News Online, Good Friday agreement 10/04/1998; BBC Radio 4, Today - Tony Blair on David Trimble 26/07/2022; ITV.com, Michelle O'Neill on David Trimble's legacy of leadership 26/07/2022; BBC Radio Ulster, Doug Beattie and Sir Jefferey Donaldson on David Trimble 26/07/2022; BBC Radio 4, Great Lives - Elvis Presley 14/08/2007; Peter James TV / YouTube Channel, Susie Steiner interview 02/01/2018; BBC Radio 4, In Touch, Susie Steiner interview 12/04/2016; BBC Radio 4, Open Book - Susie Steiner interview 24/09/2020; BBC Archive, 1966 World Cup Final 30/07/1966; YouTube, Uwe Seeler scores against England - World Cup 1970; HSV / Hamburger SV YouTube Channel, The Life of Uwe Seeler 22/07/2022; YouTube, HSV Team Tribute in memory of Uwe Seeler.