Last Word

Pictured: Robert Mugabe

Matthew Bannister on

The former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. He was once hailed as a hero of the liberation struggle but later seen by many as a tyrant.

Alla Verber, the Russian socialite who brought high fashion to the newly wealthy in the post-Soviet society.

Ciaran McKeown, who joined Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams to found the Peace People of Northern Ireland.

Bill Anderson, described as Scotland's greatest ever Highland Games heavyweight athlete. He held countless records for throwing the hammer and tossing the caber.

Interviewed guest: Stanley Kwenda

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Today, Radio 4 06/09/2019; Alla Verber: Leading Russia's Fashion Revolution, ABC News 09/04/2010; BBC Sound Archive, 13/08/1976; PM, Radio 4 27/11/1976; The World This Weekend, Radio 4 28/11/1976; The Heavies, BBC 2S 04/01/1982; Scotland on Film: Aberdeen And Grampian, BBC 2S 05/03/2006; Braemar Games Commentary, AP 1970; Interview with Bill Anderson, BBC Sound Archive, 05/09/1963.

Matthew Bannister on

Lord Bell, the advertising and public relations executive who helped Margaret Thatcher to win three elections.

Paule Marshall, the novelist who wrote about the experiences of black Americans of Caribbean origin.

David Koch, the American billionaire who poured money into right wing political causes.

Richard Booth, the second hand bookseller who was the self-styled King of Hay-on-Wye.

Interviewed guest: David Hopper

Archive clips from: Tim Bell, Booktalk, BBC Parliament 04/12/2012; Coming Soon, Saatchi & Saatchi, 1979; PM, BBC Radio 4 4/05/1979; Newsnight, BBC Two 04/09/2017. Paule Marshall, A stranger in a strange land, Radio 3, 9/04/1993; Praisesong for the widow, Radio 4, 17/05/1993. Richard Booth, Down the River Wye, Radio 4 16/08/1987; BBC Wales News 27/05/88, Jamie Owen’s Wales, Radio Wales, 06/11/2013.

Pictured: Peter Fonda

Matthew Bannister on

Peter Fonda, the actor who became a hero of the 1960s counterculture, by riding his Harley Davidson across America in the classic film Easy Rider.

Princess Christina of the Netherlands who was born nearly blind. When her mother Queen Juliana consulted a soothsayer, a constitutional crisis followed.

Geoffrey Paul the respected long serving editor of the Jewish Chronicle.

Jim Bouton, the baseball player whose memoir caused a scandal by revealing the behind the scenes antics of his colleagues.

Interviewed guest: Roger Corman

Archive clips from: Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper, Pando Company Inc./Raybert Productions 1969; The Wild Angels, directed by Roger Corman, American International Pictures 1966; The Trip, directed by Roger Corman, American International Pictures 1967; The Big Fix, directed by Joshua Tickell, Big Picture Ranch/Green Planet Productions 2012; Holland Aka New Princess 1947, Pathe News 1947; Huwelijk Prinses Christina en Jorge Guillermo (1975), Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid 27/06/2013; Sunday Night, BBC One 16/01/1983; The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, Lion's Gate Films 1973; Jim Bouton: MLB All-Star, EaglesTalent 13/02/2012.

Pictured: Julia Farron

Julian Worricker on:

The Cambodian political leader, Nuon Chea, who was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during his time as a member of the Khmer Rouge....

Julia Farron, a dancer with the Royal Ballet, who's been described as a great performer of virtuoso roles....

The pioneering graphic designer, June Fraser, whose work has influenced so many of the logos and packaging we're familiar with today....

And Marcel Berlins, lawyer, broadcaster and critic who presented Law in Action on Radio 4 for sixteen years....

Interviewed guest: Rob Lemkin

Archive clips from: Enemies of the People, directed by Rob Lemkin, Old Street Films 2009; Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia 05/12/2011; BBC News 19/09/2007; John Pilger, Radio 4 16/10/1989; Dancing in the Blitz, BBC Four 05/03/2014; Compulsion, directed by Richard Fleischer, Darryl F. Zanuck Productions 1959; Quote Unquote, Radio 4 15/02/2010; Law in Action, Radio 4 14/07/1989; Round Britain Quiz, Radio 4 05/07/2014; Puzzling Passions, Radio 4 03/10/2000.

Pictured: Toni Morrison

Matthew Bannister on

The Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, acclaimed for her novels which put the experience of black women centre stage.

Hal Prince, the successful theatre producer and director behind West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera and Evita.

The pioneering radar and sonar engineer, Dr Elizabeth Killick.

Li Peng, the Chinese Premier who ordered troops to fire on unarmed students in Tiananmen Square.

Barrington Pheloung, the TV and film composer who wrote the theme music for Inspector Morse.

Interviewed guest: Dr Tessa Roynon

Archive clips from: Start The Week, Radio 4 08/12/2003; Toni Morrison reads Song of Solomon, Penguin / PRH Audio; World Book Club, Radio 4 Extra 12/06/2016; Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize Lecture, 07/12/1993; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 16/11/1986; Broadcasting House, Radio 4 04/08/2019; Elaine Paige on Sunday, Radio 2 04/08/2019; Workers Join Pro-Democracy Protests, BBC Sound Archive 23/05/1989; Tiananmen Square protesters battle Chinese troops, BBC News 04/06/1989; Today, Radio 4 08/11/1997; The Radio 2 Arts Show, 30/03/2016.

Pictured: Russi Taylor

Matthew Bannister on

Beji Caid Essebsi who became the first democratically elected President of Tunisia in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Russi Taylor the versatile voice artist best known for playing Minnie Mouse. She married the man who did the voice for Mickey Mouse.

Jane Hubert, the anthropologist and psychologist who studied young people with severe learning disabilities and transformed the academic study of archaeology.

Ivan Erod who fled persecution and, in exile, became one of Hungary's leading composers.

Interviewed guest: Mohamed El Aassar

Producer: Neil George

Archive Clips from: The White House video archive, 07/10/2011; Actuality of Tunisian Uprising, RT, 14/01/2011; BBC News, 30/06/ 2015; Beji Caid Essebsi inauguration ceremony, AP archive 03/08/2015; Tunisian Television -al watania, 27/07/2019; The Voice Behind The Mouse, Walt Disney Home Video; The Spirit of Mickey, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Pictured: Andrea Camilleri

Matthew Bannister on

Andrea Camilleri, the Sicilian writer who created the Inspector Montalbano novels. His literary success began in his late sixties.

Johnny Clegg, the white South African singer and guitarist who confronted the apartheid government by embracing Zulu music and culture.

Christopher Kraft, the founder of mission control for the NASA space programme.

Paul Krassner, the controversial American satirist who coined the word "Yippie".

Professor Rolf Gehlhaar, the electronic music composer and technician who co-founded the Paraorchestra.

Interviewed guest: John Hooper

Archive clips from: Foreign Bodies: Inspector Montalbano, Radio 4 02/11/2012; Newsday, BBC World Service 17/07/2019; 13 Minutes to the Moon, BBC World Service, May 2019 (archive courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project); Paul Krassner on George W. Bush and Abu Ghraib, MediaBurnArchive 22/07/2019; Paul Krassner on Political Satire in America (2005), Manufacturing Intellect, 22/07/2016; Paul Krassner February 1967 interview by Joe Pyne, 02/04/2013; Stockhausen at 70, Radio 3 21/08/1998.

Pictured: Audrey Eyton

Matthew Bannister on

Arthur Ryan, the Irish retailer who created Primark - known for selling fast fashion at low prices.

Audrey Eyton, who devised the F-Plan diet, which encouraged people to eat fibre to lose weight.

Jack Bond, the Lancashire cricket captain who led his team to success in the one-day game.

Rip Torn, the film and stage actor known for his violent temper who appeared in DodgeBall, Men In Black and latterly The Larry Sanders Show.

Interviewed guest: Paul Marchant

Archive clips from: Profile, Radio 4 22/06/2008; Midnight News, Radio 4 25/04/2013; Enterprise: Audrey Eyton, Radio 4 24/12/1981; See You Sunday, BBC 1 Wales, 05/05/1991; Breakfast Time, BBC One 14/10/1983; North West Tonight, BBC One 11/07/1996; 5 Live cricket commentary, 14/07/2019; 30 Rock, NBC 2009; The Larry Sanders Show, HBO 1998; Maidstone, directed by Norman Mailer, Supreme Mix Productions 1971; DodgeBall, directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, Twentieth Century Fox / Red Hour Films / Mediastream Vierte Film GmbH & Co. Vermarktungs KG 2004; Rip Torn on InnerVIEWS, Houston PBS, 05/02/2010.

Pictured: Eva Kor

Matthew Bannister on

Eva Kor who, with her twin sister, was the subject of experiments by the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in Auschwitz. She later publicly forgave her tormentors.

Christopher Booker, the founding editor of Private Eye and Telegraph columnist.

João Gilberto, the Brazilian pioneer of bossa nova music whose hits included The Girl From Ipanema.

And John McCririck, the eccentric TV racing pundit who was criticised for his sexist views.

Interviewed guest: Alex Kor

Archive clips from: Outlook, World Service 13/05/2015; Dirty Years Of Satire, Radio 4 06/10/1991; That Was The Week That Was, BBC One 19/12/1963; Today, Radio 4 04/07/2019; New Names Making News, Radio 4 18/12/1962; John McCririck Interview, Star Sports April 2018; Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 4 2005; Big Brother's Big Mouth, Channel 4 18/08/2006.

Pictured: Brenda Maddox

Matthew Bannister on

Ivan Cooper, the human rights campaigner and politician from Northern Ireland who played a key role in the protests on Bloody Sunday.

Min Hogg, the colourful founding editor of World of Interiors magazine. Her friend Nicky Haslam pays tribute.

John Gunther Dean, the last US diplomat to be evacuated from Cambodia as war loomed.

Brenda Maddox, author of many books including The Half Parent and a biography of James Joyce's wife Nora Barnacle.

Dave Bartholomew, the New Orleans musician who wrote four thousand songs including many of Fats Domino's greatest hits.

Interviewed guest: Dr Simon Prince

Archive clips from: Against the Grain, Radio 4 22/02/2011; News Special: Bloody Sunday, BBC Northern Ireland 30/01/1972; Bloody Sunday, directed by Paul Greengrass, Granada Television/Irish Film Board/Portman Entertainment Group/Bórd Scannán na hÉireann/Hell's Kitchen Films 2002; Arena, BBC Two 21/02/1984; Veteran US diplomat John Gunther Dean dies age 93, AP Archive, 16/06/2019; Cambodia War US Embassy Evacuation AP 12/04/1975; Vietnam helicopter pilots describe the war from the cockpit, Military Times 18/04/2018; John Gunther Dean, former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, 1974-75, Documentation Center of Cambodia 12 Jun 2019; Happily Ever After? Radio 4 29/11/1983; Nora, directed by Pat Murphy, Natural Nylon Entertainment/Road Movies Filmproduktion/Volta Films/GAM 2000; Night Waves, Radio 3 16/06/2009; Margaret, directed by James Kent, Great Meadows Productions, BBC Two 26/02/2009; Fats Domino's Longtime Collaborator, American Masters PBS 24/02/2016; Dancing In The Street: A Rock And Roll History: Whole Lotta Shakin', BBC Two 15/06/1996.