Last Word

Pictured: Rosamunde Pilcher

Andrea Catherwood on:

Activist Hugh Lewin who was jailed for his stand against apartheid in South Africa,

Iraqi archaeologist Lamia Al-Gailani who helped rebuild the National Museum of Iraq after looting,

Dr Stewart Adams, the Boots pharmacist who invented Ibuprofen,

Scottish ecologist Adam Watson who devoted his life to protecting the Cairngorms,

and author Rosamunde Pilcher, the mistress of the British Family Saga.

Interviewed guest: Lord Peter Hain

Archive clips from: The Whites Who Fought Apartheid, Radio 4 23/05/2010; ISIL's Destruction of Antiquities, Al Jazeera English 26/02/2015; Dan Cruickshank's Civilisation Under Attack, BBC Four 08/07/2015; Saturday Live, Radio 4 22/12/2007; Afield, Radio 4 03/01/1971; Bookshelf: Rosamunde Pilcher, Radio 4 03/01/1992.

Pictured: Jeremy Hardy

Julian Worricker on:

Comedian Jeremy Hardy, a mainstay of The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue on Radio 4....

Editor and author, Diana Athill, who wrote candidly about her personal life especially in her later years...

Sir Conrad Swan, who, as Garter King of Arms, was the senior heraldic authority of England...

Oscar-winning composer, pianist, conductor and arranger, Michel Legrand....

Interviewed guest: Mark Steel

Archive clips from: The News Quiz, Radio 4 01/06/2018; The News Quiz, Radio 4 01/05/2012; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 20/06/2004; Midsummer Night in the Workhouse: A Weekend in the Country, Radio 4 16/10/2011; BBC Breakfast News, BBC One 18/11/1994; Kaleidoscope, Radio 4 15/04/1974; Carte Blanche, Radio 2 08/01/2019; The Music Never Ends: The Michel Legrand Story episode 6, Radio 2 09/05/2003.

Pictured: Hugh McIlvanney

Matthew Bannister on

Hugh McIlvanney, the respected sports writer known for his love of language and combative approach to life.

Jennie Buckman, the theatre practitioner who trained a generation of famous actors and founded a company to give voice to the disadvantaged.

John Beavis, the surgeon who was forced to retire from the NHS through ill health but then spent the next 25 years training medical professionals in war zones around the world.

And David Pritchard, the TV producer who created mould-breaking food programmes featuring Keith Floyd and Rick Stein.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Roddy Forsyth

Archive clips from: Life Behind the News, Radio Scotland 18/01/2009; The Final Curtain, Radio Wales 28/08/2004; Today, Radio 4 14/09/1993; Giants Vlog, Tips for Actors, 23/10/2017; Jennie Buckman’s Beginnings Workshop, 18/06/2012; Westway, BBC World Service 03/04/2000; Piece of Silk by Jennie Buckman, The Hope Theatre, Giants Theatre Co 08/07/2016; Midweek, Radio 4 19/05/2010; Midweek, Radio 4 27/05/2009; Floyd’s American Pie: San Francisco, BBC Two 14/11/1989; The Food Programme, Radio 4 01/06/2015; Rick Stein’s Taste of the Sea, BBC Two 1995.

Pictured: Joe Casely-Hayford

Matthew Bannister on

Joe Casely-Hayford, the fashion designer whose creations ranged from punk to Savile Row tailoring. His children, who followed him into fashion, pay tribute.

Nicholas Crichton, the judge who pioneered specialist family drug and alcohol courts in the UK.

Professor Sophie Oluwole, who was a powerful advocate for African philosophy.

Professor Paul O'Brien, the pioneer of nanotechnology who developed new ways of producing the quantum dots which lie behind our HDTVs and barcode scanners.

And Carol Channing, the colourful Broadway star of 'Hello Dolly' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'.

Interviewed guest: Charlie Casely-Hayford

Archive clips from: Ebony People, BBC Two 09/06/1989; Inside the Family Court episode 1, Radio 4 08/06/2006; Importance of the Mother Tongue, Tunde Kelani TV 13/01/2016; Oro Isiti with Professor Sophie Oluwole, Tunde Kelani TV 17/02/2016; North West Tonight, BBC One 30/10/2008; What is Professor Paul O'Brien Researching?, School of Materials, University of Manchester 14/07/2015; Broadway Babes: Carol Channing, Radio 2 14/09/1984; Star Sound, Radio 2 24/09/1979.

Pictured: Nancy Roman

Matthew Bannister on

Nancy Roman, the American space agency NASA's first Chief Astronomer. She was known as the mother of the Hubble Telescope.

Ralph Koltai, the influential theatre set designer who worked on more than 250 productions.

Julia Grant, the transgender activist who allowed her transition from male to female to be filmed by the BBC.

Jin Yong, the Chinese writer whose martial arts adventures sold 100 million copies.

And Norman Gimbel, the prolific lyricist who wrote the words for "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song".

Interviewed guest: Kimberly Kowal Arcand

Archive clips from: Nancy Roman the Mother of Hubble, NASA 12/06/2017; Horizon: The Sharpest Show of the Universe, BBC Two 09/04/1990; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 23/08/1998; Inside Story: George, BBC Two 25/06/1979; A Change of Sex: Julia Gets Her Man, BBC Two 10/08/1999; Books Abroad, Radio 3 31/08/1996; The Legend of the Condor Heroes episode 11, iQIYI Motion Pictures 2017.

Pictured: June Whitfield

Matthew Bannister on

Dame June Whitfield, the comic actress whose long career spanned classic radio shows and Absolutely Fabulous.

Sir Jack Zunz, the civil engineer who led the construction of the Sydney Opera House and became chairman of Ove Arup.

Thomas Baptiste, the Guyana-born actor who appeared in Coronation Street and The Ipcress File and campaigned for colour blind casting.

David Austin, who devoted his life to breeding new varieties of English roses.

And Mastanamma, the 105-year-old Indian cook who became a sensation on the internet.

Interviewed guest: Greg Hodkinson

Archive clips from: Absolutely Fabulous, BBC One 19/11/1992; Absolutely Fabulous, BBC One 27/12/2002; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 29/04/1990; Dame June Whitfield in Conversation with Joanna Lumley, Radio 4 30/12/2018; Terry and June, BBC One 10/03/1980; The News Huddlines, Radio 2 21/09/2000; The building of the Sydney Opera House, Huntley Film Archives; ABC: Official Opening of the Sydney Opera House 1973; Till Death Do Us Part, BBC One, 27/06/1966; Black and White in Colour: Television, Memory, Race 1968-1992, BFI / BBC 1992; Play for Today: King, BBC One, 03/04/1984; Gardeners' World, BBC Two 06/07/1984; Gardeners' World, BBC Two 14/07/1989; Granny's Life Story: Mastanamma Story, Country Foods, 22/02/2017; Watermelon Chicken by my Granny, Country Foods, 03/03/2017.

Pictured: Sister Wendy Beckett

Julian Worricker on:

The nun, Sister Wendy Beckett, who became an unlikely television star when she brought her knowledge of the history of art to the small screen...

Nicolas Roeg, the film director behind such classics as Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth...

The German soprano, Inge Borkh, described as one of the most exciting operatic performers of her era...

The Nobel prize winning scientist, Professor Sir Aaron Klug, credited with ground-breaking work on the structure of viruses...

And Geoff Emerick, a recording engineer regarded as the technical genius behind the sound of the Beatles...

Producer: Paula McGinley

Pictured: Nancy Wilson

Matthew Bannister on

Sir David Weatherall, the world renowned haematologist and geneticist who pioneered molecular approaches to medicine.

Penny Marshall, the first woman to direct a film which grossed more than a hundred million dollars. She also starred in the US TV sitcom Laverne and Shirley.

Evelyn Berezin who invented the first computerised word processor for secretarial use.

Zhores Medvedev, the Soviet scientist who revealed the use of psychiatric hospitals to lock up political dissidents.

Nancy Wilson the versatile Grammy award winning singer who recorded jazz, pop and R&B songs.

Interviewed guest: Tom Soloman

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Eureka: David Weatherall, Radio 4 03/12/95; Science at War: Hydrogen Bomb, BBC Two 10/12/98; Newsnight, BBC Two 21/03/84; Newsnight, BBC Two 28/04/86; Happy Days, Henderson Productions/Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions/Paramount Television; Big, American Entertainment Partners II LP/Gracie Films/Twentieth Century Fox, 1988; The Talk of the Town, BBC TV 30/04/72; Oral History of Evelyn Berezin, Computer History Museum, Interviewed by Gardner Hendrie 10/03/14 in New York.

Pictured: Peter Boizot

Matthew Bannister on

Peter Boizot who founded the Pizza Express chain of restaurants and invested heavily in his home town of Peterborough.

Judith Kazantzis, the feminist poet, novelist and activist.

Sir Sze-Yuen Chung, the Hong Kong businessman who led the campaign for residents' views to be heard during the handover negotiations between the UK and China.

Cecylia Roszak, the Polish nun who helped to save Lithuanian Jews from the Nazis during the second world war.

Scott English the songwriter who gave us "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Mandy".

Interviewed guest: Clementine Allen

Archive clips from: Nationwide, BBC One 13/08/76; Nationwide, BBC One 05/05/81; Table Talk in the 60s, Radio 3 23/05/93; Look East, BBC Norwich 17/02/03; Newsbeat, Radio 1 04/12/97; I Write the Songs: The Barry Manilow Profile, Radio 2 21/11/06; Radio 4 News, 30/06/97.

Pictured: Pete Shelley

Matthew Bannister on

Harry Leslie Smith who grew up in poverty in Yorkshire. He became an outspoken campaigner for the welfare state and a social media star in his nineties.

Pete Shelley, lead singer and songwriter of Buzzcocks.

Monica Sims, the BBC executive who ran children's TV, then became Controller of Radio 4.

Wendy Atkin, the epidemiologist who devised a breakthrough screening test for bowel cancer.

Ivan March, the music critic who set up a record lending library and co-wrote the Penguin Stereo Record Guide.

Interviewed guest: John Smith

Archive clips from: Labour Party Conference, BBC Parliament 24/09/14; Harry Leslie Smith: Comment is Free, The Guardian 23/03/16; Afternoon Edition, 5 Live 07/10/14; 5 Live Breakfast, 07/12/18; The Seven Ages of Rock, 6 Music 05/04/18; The Buzzcocks Story, 6 Music 31/07/14; Interviews with Monica Sims from the BBC Oral History Collection; BBC News, 12/04/02; Today, Radio 4 28/04/10.