Last Word

Pictured: Albert Uderzo

Matthew Bannister on

Valerie Pettit OBE, the senior MI6 officer in charge of the daring operation to get Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky out of Russia after his cover was blown.

Albert Uderzo – the French cartoonist who created Asterix the Gaul.

Reverend Joseph Lowery – the leading American civil rights activist who worked alongside Martin Luther King in the campaign for black equality.

Julie Felix – the American-born singer who became known as the first lady of British folk.

Interviewed guest: Ben Macintyre

Producer: Neil George

Picture Betty Williams

Matthew Bannister on:

Interviewed guest: Abdul-Rehman Malik

Pictured: Michel Roux

Matthew Bannister on

Michel Roux, the French chef who, with his brother Albert, transformed the British restaurant scene in the 1970s

Sammy McCarthy, the British featherweight champion boxer who became an armed robber.

Lilian Mohin, the lesbian feminist activist who co founded the OnlyWomen Press.

Roy Hudd, the versatile entertainer whose career took him from the music hall stage to TV and radio stardom.

Interviewed guest: William Sitwell

Pictured: Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

Matthew Bannister on

The United Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. The Peruvian diplomat faced major challenges including the Iran-Iraq war and the Falklands War.

Max von Sydow the Swedish-born actor whose film roles ranged from Ingmar Bergman to James Bond and, more recently, Game of Thrones.

Professor Hannah Steinberg - a pioneer of psychopharmacology - the study of the effects of drugs on the human mind.

Charles Portis, the American writer best known for his novel "True Grit" which was twice adapted for the big screen.

Interviewed guest: Richard Gowan

Archive clips from: Witness, BBC World Service 12/01/2012; Interview with Cuellar, The Classic Sports 17/11/1991; Iran/Iraq War, TV Eye 1980; Meeting Of The U.N. Security Council (Falklands Conflict), BBC Sound Archive 23/05/1982; Perez De Cuellar Admits Defeat, BBC Sound Archive 31/05/1984; UN 40th Anniversary: J. Perez De Cuellar, BBC Sound Archive 31/05/1984; Virendra Dayal on Cuellar, UN News 05/03/2020; The Seventh Seal, directed by Ingmar Bergman, Svensk Filmindustri 1957; The Film Programme, Radio 4 19/02/2012; The Greatest Story Ever Told, directed by George Stevens, George Stevens Productions 1965; Never Say Never Again, directed by Irvin Kershner, TaliaFilm II Productions/Woodcote/Producers Sales Organization (PSO) 1983; The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, Warner Bros/Hoya Productions 1973; Liv Ullmann on Working with Max von Sydow, Criterion Collection 11/02/2019; The Simpsons: The War of Art, Fox Broadcasting Company 23/03/2014; Games of Thrones Season 6, HBO 24/04/2016; True Grit, directed by Henry Hathaway, Wallis-Hazen 1969; True Grit, Radio 4 Extra 26/09/2016; True Grit, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Paramount Pictures/Skydance Media/Scott Rudin Productions/Mike Zoss Productions 2010.

Pictured: Katherine Johnson

Matthew Bannister on

Nexhmije Hoxha, the wife of the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha. The couple ran a repressive Stalinist regime and she was known in the West as the Lady Macbeth of Albania.

Katherine Johnson, the best known of a small group of African American mathematicians who carried out crucial calculations for the American space programme. Their story was told in the 2017 film "Hidden Figures".

Sir Michael Berridge, whose pioneering research into the saliva of blowflies revealed the process of cell signalling, with major implications for humans.

And Diana Serra Cary, who, under the screen name "Baby Peggy" Montgomery, was a celebrated child star of silent cinema.

Interviewed guest: Professor James Pettifer

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Invasion Of Albania 1939, British Pathé 13/04/2014; Bugajksi Hour, Rezart Taci 23/03/2012; The World Tonight, Radio 4 11/04/1985; Newsnight, BBC Two 11/04/1985; President Obama Awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The Obama White House 24/11/2015; Hidden Figures, directed by Theodore Melfi, Fox 2000 Pictures/Chernin Entertainment/Levantine Films/TSG Entertainment 2016; Katherine Johnson: Math Interest, visionaryproject 08/03/2010; 5 Live Breakfast, Radio 5 Live 25/02/2020; What Matters - Katherine Johnson: NASA Pioneer and "Computer", WHRO Public Media 25/02/2011; John Glenn's Historic Space Flight 1962, CNN 08/12/2016; Lewis Wolpert Conversations, Radio 3 01/04/1993; Front Row, Radio 4 18/01/2006; Summer of Silents, Oscars 21/03/2014.

Matthew Bannister on

Andrew Weatherall, a hugely influential figure in the dance music scene of the 1990s, who revolutionised what a DJ could be and produced many hit albums and remixes. Radio 1's Annie Nightingale explains how he changed her life.

President Hosni Mubarak who ruled Egypt for thirty years before being ousted by mass protests.

The best selling mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark. Her fellow writers Harlan Coben and Alafair S. Burke pay tribute.

John Bevan, the record breaking deep sea diver who was a respected expert on the history of diving.

Interviewed Guest: Annie Nightingale CBE

Archive clips from: The First Time With..., 6 Music, 22/11/2017; Panorama, BBC One, 06/10/1981; BBC News, BBC One, 28/01/2011; BBC News, BBC One,03/08/2011; Woman's Hour, Radio 4, 14/06/2000; Woman's Hour, Radio 4, 31/05/2006;

Pictured: Heather Couper

Matthew Bannister on

Heather Couper, the astronomer who used her engaging media appearances to enthuse a generation about space. We talk to her co-author and business partner Nigel Henbest.

Leonard Woodley, the Trinidad-born barrister who played a leading role in many high profile race trials and became Britain's first Afro-Caribbean Queen's Counsel.

Joseph Shabalala, the South African musician who founded the singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They became global stars after collaborating with Paul Simon on his album Graceland.

Interviewed guest: Nigel Henbest

Archive clips from: Inside Parliament, Radio 4 31/03/1980; PM, Radio 4 25/09/1995; World Routes, Radio 3 18/03/2001; Under African Skies, directed by Joe Berlinger, RadicalMedia 2012; A Brief History of Infinity, BBC World Service 20/09/2006; With Great Pleasure, Radio 4 24/07/1987; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4 11/10/1995; The Planets: Are We Alone?, Channel 4 1985.

Pictured: Daniel arap Moi

Julian Worricker on:

Daniel arap Moi, who led Kenya for 24 years, but did so amidst corruption scandals and the repression of political opponents...

The teacher Feng Huiyan, who taught millions of Chinese people how to speak English via textbooks and broadcasting...

The pioneering criminologist and clinical scientist Donald West, who wrote a ground-breaking study of homosexuality in the 1950s...

And the mercenary leader, known as 'Mad Mike' Hoare, who inspired the film 'The Wild Geese'....

Interviewed guest: Victoria Brittain

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Daniel arap Moi’s funeral, NTV Kenya 12/02/2020; Weekend, BBC World Service 08/02/2020; Final Attack on Shanghai 1937, British Pathe 13/04/2014; Controversy: Criminology Is Obscuring The Causes Of Crime, BBC Two 23/08/1973; PM, Radio 4 11/03/1996; Homosexuality: Its Nature and Causes by Donald West, Aldine Transaction 22/05/2008; Gay Life, Straight Work by Donald West, Paradise Press 01/03/2012; Mike Hoare Talks Africa, Emma Goldman 15/04/2017; The Wild Geese, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, Richmond Film Productions/Victory Films/Varius Entertainment Trading A.G. 1978; Last Word, Radio 4 10/03/2019; Breakfast Time, BBC One 20/08/1986.

Pictured: Kirk Douglas

Julian Worricker on:

Terry Hands, long serving artistic director of the RSC, who co-founded the Liverpool Everyman theatre and revived the Clwyd theatre Cymru...

The wine marketer, Hazel Murphy, who's credited with spearheading Australia's wine invasion of Europe....

The nationalist Northern Ireland politician, Seamus Mallon, whose negotiating skills helped secure the Good Friday Agreement...

And the actor Kirk Douglas, whose career in film spanned seven decades, and involved memorable portrayals of all-action if not always likeable characters...

Interviewed guest: Paul Allen

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 08/08/1981; Australian Table Wines, Monty Python’s Previous Record, Charisma 1973; BBC News, 03/02/2000; 1800 News, Radio 4 14/10/1999; The Vikings, directed by Richard Fleischer, Brynaprod S.A./ Bavaria Film/ Curtleigh Productions 1958; Kirk Douglas: I am Issur Danielovitch, Eyes On Cinema 21/10/2016; Parkinson, BBC One 16/04/1979; The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, directed by Lewis Milestone, Hal Wallis Productions 1946; Lust for Life, directed by Vincente Minnelli, MGM 1956; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4 26/09/1988; The Oscars, ABC 1996.

Pictured: Nicholas Parsons

Matthew Bannister on The Just A Minute host, TV presenter and actor Nicholas Parsons. Sheila Hancock and Tony Hawks pay tribute - in just a minute!

Mary Craig who wrote the best selling book "Blessings" after struggling to care for her severely disabled son.

Lord Maclennan of Rogart, formerly the MP for Caithness and Sutherland, who negotiated the merger between the SDP and the Liberal Party.

Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers basketball star, who gave himself the nickname The Black Mamba.

Interviewed guest: Sheila Hancock

Archive clips from: Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 04/11/2007; Don't Raise The Bridge, Lower The River, Columbia Pictures Industries,1967; The Arthur Haynes Show, ATV, 1957-65; Just a Minute Series 64 Ep. 2, BBC Radio 4, 13/08/2012; Just a Minute Series 64 Ep. 3, BBC Radio 4, 20/08/2012; Sale of The Century, Anglia TV, 08/01/1972; 50 years of Just a Minute: Nicholas Parsons in Conversation with Paul Merton, Radio 4, 01/01/2018; Woman’s Hour Radio 4, 1976; The World at One, BBC Radio 4, 31/01/1988; Dear Basketball, Believe Entertainment Group Kobe Inc, 2017; LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, BBC 5 Live Extra, 04/10/2010; Toronto Raptors v LA Lakers, Kobe Bryant 81 Points Game Highlights, 2006; USA VS CHINA at the Beijing Olympics, X9Highlights, 2008; Newsbeat, BBC Radio 1, 06/08/2003; 10 o'clock news, BBC One, 05/08/2003;