Last Word

Pictured: Nadja Poderegin

Julian Worricker on:

David Thouless, whose work in the world of quantum mechanics earned him a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics.

The Serbian actress, Nadja Poderegin, who went from 'Bond girl' on screen to be a publisher and novelist.

Stand-up comedian, Ian Cognito, whose act was much loved on the comedy circuit but never allowed on TV.

Michael O'Donnell, who combined a medical background with a career in journalism and broadcasting, notably on Radio 4.

And the songwriter Les Reed, who co-wrote memorable songs for the likes of Englebert Humperdinck and Tom Jones.

Interviewed guest: Michael Thouless

Archive clips from: Profile, Radio 4 09/10/2016; From Russia With Love, directed by Terence Young, Eon Productions 1963; Goldfinger, directed by Guy Hamilton, Eon Productions 1964; Comic To Comic: Ian Cognito, Radio 4 Extra 07/04/2012; Stop The Week, Radio 4 14/11/1987; O'Donnell Investigates, BBC Two 19/09/1988; Midweek, Radio 4 11/12/2002; Relative Values, Radio 4 30/08/1988; The Songwriters: Les Reed, Radio 2 18/11/1975; Les Reed Interviewed By Debbie Greenwood, Radio 2 29/03/1988.

Pictured: Sydney Brenner

Matthew Bannister on

Sydney Brenner, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist who worked with Francis Crick to map DNA.

Dan Robbins, the artist who invented painting by numbers.

Edda Tasiemka, the archivist who kept a comprehensive newspaper and magazine cuttings collection in her North London home.

Ian McDonald, the Ministry of Defence spokesman during the Falklands War who became a familiar face on TV and was known for his sonorous delivery.

Interviewed guest: Professor Jonathan Hodgkin

Pictured: Agnès Varda

Matthew Bannister on

Michel Bacos, the pilot of the Air France jet that was hi-jacked to Entebbe in 1976. He was offered the chance to leave, but chose to stay with the hostages until they were freed in a dramatic raid by the Israelis.

The film director Agnès Varda, known as the mother of the French New Wave.

The impresario Victor Hochhauser who specialised in bringing top Russian artists to the UK.

The biochemist Barbara Low who used X-ray crystallography to identify the structure of penicillin.

Ranking Roger, the singer and frontman of the 70s ska revival band The Beat.

Interviewed guest: Rosemary Bacos

Archive clips from: Raid on Entebbe, directed by Irvin Kershner, 20th Century Fox Television, Edgar J. Scherick Associates, 1977; La Pointe Courte, directed by Agnès Varda, Ciné Tamaris, 1956; Cléo from 5 to 7, directed by Agnès Varda, Ciné Tamaris, Rome Paris Films, 1962; Front Row, Radio 4 13/07/2018; Today, Radio 4 30/03/2019; In Tune, Radio 3 17/11/2017; Liz Kershaw, 6 Music 09/07/2016.

Pictured: Baroness Warnock

Matthew Bannister on

Baroness Warnock, the philosopher who set down the principles which govern human fertilisation treatment and embryo research.

William Hucklesby, the Police Commander who led the anti-terrorist branch at the time of the Hyde Park and Brighton bomb attacks.

Rose Hilton, the artist who put her career on hold to support her husband, but gained recognition after his death.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, who brought together academics and industrialists at the Warwick Manufacturing Group.

And Scott Walker, the chart-topping singer who moved into experimental music later in life.

Interviewed guest: Baroness Onora O’Neill

Archive clips from: Meeting Myself Coming Back: Mary Warnock, Radio 4 12/07/2014; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 04/12/1988; The World Tonight, Radio 4 20/04/1984; PM, Radio 4 06/09/1982; BBC News 19/12/1983; Sound Archive: Brighton Press Conference, Radio 4 13/10/1984; Rose Hilton interviewed by Susan Marling, 2017 (not broadcast); Woman's Hour, Radio 4 05/04/2011; The Politics Show: West Midlands, BBC One 11/12/2011; Midlands Today, BBC One 09/12/2011; Scott Walker talks to Jarvis Cocker, 6 Music 2017; The Late Show, BBC Two 10/05/1995.

Pictured: Dick Dale

Matthew Bannister on

Gillian Freeman, the novelist and screenwriter whose books include The Leather Boys, a story of a gay love affair between two working class men in the 1960s.

Sir Peter Hutchison who travelled to remote parts of the world to collect rare plants.

Sister Dorothy Bell, the nun who after a career devoted to education, turned her attention to AIDS awareness.

And the King of the Surf Guitar Dick Dale.

Interviewed guest: Michael Arditti

Archive clips from: Woman's Hour, Radio 4 22/03/1978; In Search Of The Golden Pleione, Radio 4 30/04/1982; Losing the Habit, Radio 4 29/04/2009.

Pictured: Jacques Loussier

Matthew Bannister on

Mike Oliver, who was paralysed from the neck down after diving into a swimming pool as a teenager. He became the UK's first Professor of Disability Studies and transformed the debate about disabled people's rights.

Jacques Loussier, the French pianist and composer best known for his jazz arrangements of the works of J.S. Bach.

Professor Richard Lacey, the microbiologist who warned of the dangers to humans of mad cow disease.

The Reverend Ruth Scott, the Anglican vicar known for her appearances on Radio 2's Pause for Thought and Radio 4's Thought for the Day.

Interviewed guest: Colin Barnes

Archive clips from:

Pictured: Simon Norton

Matthew Bannister on

France-Albert René, the Seychelles President who came to power in a coup and stayed in office for more than 25 years.

Simon Norton, the brilliant but eccentric mathematician who became fascinated by public transport.

Belle Tutaev who campaigned for better early learning provision for the UK's children.

Ian Adamson, the Northern Ireland doctor who wrote many learned history books and became Lord Mayor of Belfast.

And Keith Flint, the flamboyant lead singer of The Prodigy.

Interviewed guest: Tim Ecott

Archive clips from: Seychelles Daily TV, 17/04/18; World at One, Radio 4 03/12/81; Early Years Alliance, 23/02/12; Lifetimes: Ian Adamson, Radio Ulster 2002; Keith Flint Interview, Radio 1 09/05/96.

Pictured: André Previn

Matthew Bannister on

André Previn, the conductor and pianist whose repertoire ranged from the classics to film and jazz music. He took part in a celebrated sketch with Morecambe and Wise.

John Haynes, publisher of the Haynes manuals which gave amateur mechanics a step by step guide to repairing their cars.

Tony Mendez, the CIA operative who smuggled American diplomatic staff out of Tehran disguised as a film crew. The story later became the Hollywood film Argo.

Lady Grantchester, who played a key role in the success of the Littlewoods retail and football pools empire.

Interviewed guest: Edward Seckerson

Archive clips from: Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 18/08/1996; How to Write an Instruction Manual, Radio 4 21/08/2009; Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, Warner Bros./GK Films/Smokehouse Pictures 2012.

Matthew Bannister on

Lady Falkender who was the controversial political secretary to Harold Wilson for twenty seven years.

Karl Lagerfeld, the designer who re-vitalised Chanel, developed Fendi and became an icon in his own right.

John Stalker, the Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police who led an investigation into allegations of a shoot to kill policy in Northern Ireland.

Andrea Levy, the award winning novelist who reflected the experience of children of the Windrush generation.

Peter Tork who played bass with one of the first manufactured boy bands, The Monkees.

Interviewed guest: Michael Cockerell

Producer: Neil George

Matthew Bannister on

Gordon Banks, the goalkeeper in England's 1966 World Cup winning team, who made one of the greatest saves of all time in 1970.

Vikki Orvice, the first woman to work as a football writer on a national tabloid newspaper.

David Garman, the inventor of the portable bath lift and many other devices to help people with disabilities.

Mary Oliver, the American poet known for her works about animals and the natural world.

The acclaimed actor Albert Finney who was nominated for an Oscar five times but never attended the ceremony.

Interviewed guest: Jacqui Oatley

Producer: Neil George